President Viktor Yushchenko

Ukrainian nationalists hurled red paint at a restored monument to Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin moments after it was unveiled Friday, sparking a street brawl and revealing the bitter divisions over the legacy of communism in Ukraine. The nationalist group, Freedom, said the protest was inspired by persistent debate over the Ukrainian famine of 1932-33, a major irritant in Kiev's relationship with its former Soviet overlord, Moscow. It was the second time this year that vandals have targeted the more than 11-foot-tall (3.5-meter) granite statue of the Russian revolutionary on Kiev's central Shevchenko boulevard. In July, it was taken down for restoration after nationalists smashed ... Read Full Story

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will meet Thursday with his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko for talks on energy amid unease in Europe over possible cuts in gas supplies this winter. The two premiers are due to meet at the Livadia Palace in Yalta, the venue for the historic Yalta Conference in 1945 between Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, said a Ukrainian official. On Friday, Putin and Tymoshenko will then join their counterparts from other post-Soviet states in an effort to ramp up cooperation in energy and create a joint air defence system, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said. Energy issues are likely ... Read Full Story

Ukraine will double the fees it charges Russia for gas shipped through its territory to European customers from 2010, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Wednesday, in a move that could raise tensions. "The transit price of Russian natural gas through Ukrainian territory will be doubled from January 1, 2010," Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said in a statement released by the government. The decision comes ahead of a key meeting on Thursday between Tymoshenko and her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who has warned a gas payment dispute with Kiev could disrupt supplies to Europe. The fee is currently 1.7 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres ... Read Full Story

Ukraine has paid Russia for October gas supplies, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Friday, after her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had warned against late payment. "Today we've paid Russia the next 500 million dollars (336 million euros)," Tymoshenko said during a visit to the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Late last week, Putin said Ukraine appeared to be struggling to pay for its Russian gas supplies again and accused President Viktor Yushchenko of seeking to provoke a new gas crisis. A spokeswoman for the Russian gas giant Gazprom declined to comment. Valentyn Zemlyansky, a spokesman for Ukraine's Naftogaz, said that in October Ukraine ... Read Full Story

Ukraine is in a panic about swine flu, with officials closing schools, imposing travel restrictions and limiting public gatherings. Yet many suspect that politics, not health issues, are behind the uproar. The World Health Organization said Monday there is no evidence that Ukraine's outbreak is particularly severe, leading some political analysts to say Ukraine's politicians are using the swine flu scare to earn political points ahead of the country's presidential election in January. "Right now all the candidates are weighing their political options, looking around for a theme, and this is a very hot topic right now. The panic is there, and they are ... Read Full Story