Category: Ukraine

The president-elect of Ukraine, Petro O. Poroshenko, vowed on Monday to restore order in the country’s east, which is besieged by pro-Russian separatist violence, but said he would not negotiate with armed rebels and instead would demand swifter results from a military campaign that has achieved only limited success. While Mr. Poroshenko has said that he would push for parliamentary elections before the end of the year, on Monday he said he saw no reason for the removal of Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk and other leaders of the interim government, which has been running Ukraine since the toppling of President Viktor F. Yanukovych in February. Mr. Poroshenko also promised to mend ties with the Kremlin, citing his business connections to Russia as well as his personal relationship with President Vladimir V. Putin, who has promised to respect the Ukrainian election results. “Most probably the meeting […]

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The new Ukrainian government struck the separatists in this eastern province with a major military offensive on Monday, battling them over an important provincial airport in ground fighting that lasted for hours. The rebels were left scattered and shaken, just one day after a successful national election they had tried to disrupt. The airport battle was the first time the Ukrainian military had moved so aggressively against the separatists, who took over government buildings in two eastern provinces in March, after weeks of low-grade military maneuvers meant to stop their spread to other areas. There was no immediate indication that the Ukrainian military’s operations extended any further than the strategically important airport and surrounding area. Experts said that while the military’s attack might have put the separatists on the defensive, it was unlikely to stop their power. As fighting lasted into a rainy evening, the military […]

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Ukraine’s army said on Tuesday it had retaken Donetsk international airport after a day of heavy fighting following its seizure by pro-Russia militants in the aftermath of an election that saw billionaire Petro Poroshenko become the country’s new president. However, occasional bursts of gunfire could still be heard in the area and it was not clear whether Kiev’s forces have regained full control. Sergei Prokofiev Donetsk airport , which was modernised in 2012, remained closed on Tuesday. Some representatives of the rebels said at least 30 had been killed. However, that number was impossible to immediately verify. Mr Poroshenko, who won 54 per cent of the vote with more than 76 per cent of the ballots counted, has promised to negotiate with the anti-Kiev groups in eastern regions to end the months-long crisis. But he has also said that force should be used against “killers and terrorists”. On Monday […]

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Russia and Ukraine took a tentative step toward resolving a dispute that threatened to cut off Ukraine’s gas supply, as the two sides said they would consider a deal in which Ukraine would quickly pay Russia $2 billion in unpaid bills. Under a deal floated at negotiations in Berlin on Monday, Ukraine would make the $2 billion payment on Thursday, followed by negotiations on Friday over the disputed price Russia charges Ukraine for its gas, European Union Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said after Monday’s talks concluded. But first, the deal would need to be approved by Moscow and Kiev, as well as the boards of state gas companies Naftogaz of Ukraine and Gazprom of Russia, according to Mr. Oettinger. Alexander Novak, Russia’s energy minister, said the two sides had made "significant progress" on Monday. But Ukraine Energy Minister Yuri Prodan stopped short of endorsing the possible […]

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Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said he hopes Russian and Ukrainian gas companies will sign a gas agreement by Thursday or meet in court in Stockholm to resolve their disputes, Interfax reports Tuesday. Mr. Yatsenyuk used harsh language when talking about a compromise gas-price agreement between Russia and Ukraine after the two sides agreed to sit down to discuss gas prices if Ukraine agrees to pay its gas supply debt promptly. "We hope that our Russian neighbors have a bright thought and the agreement between Naftogaz and Gazprom is signed," Mr. Yatsenyuk said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. "Russia has made no steps to solve the dispute," Mr. Yatsenyuk said. Mr. Yatsenyuk also said that Ukraine will only negotiate with Russia in the presence of intermediaries from the U.S. and the European Union. "You sit at the table with just them, they will sure deceive […]

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Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate manufacturer, claimed the Ukrainian presidency with an emphatic election victory on Sunday, taking on a fraught mission to quell pro-Russian rebels and steer his fragile nation closer to the West. A veteran survivor of Ukraine’s feuding political class who threw his weight and money behind the revolt that brought down his Moscow-backed predecessor three months ago, the burly 48-year-old won 55 percent in exit polls on a first-round ballot marred by the reality that millions were unable to vote in the troubled eastern regions. Results will not be announced until Monday but runner-up Yulia Tymoshenko, on 13 percent, made clear she would concede, sparing the country a tense three weeks until a runoff round. Poroshenko, known as the "Chocolate King", has no time to lose to make good on pledges to end "war" with separatists in the Russian-speaking east, negotiate a […]

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Petro O. Poroshenko, the billionaire businessman who won Ukraine’s presidential election on Sunday , was portrayed last month in a bilious campaign profile on Russian television here as money-grubbing, devious, a radical sympathizer — in short, a run-of-the-mill Ukrainian politician to Russian eyes. The program on NTV, a Kremlin ally, said he owned a mansion resembling the White House, clear evidence of dangerous Western sympathies. The report mocked him as “The Chocolate Rabbit,” twisting his usual nickname, “The Chocolate King,” from his confectionary fortune. A scientist, or at least someone wearing a white coat, materialized on screen to denounce his popular Roshen chocolate brand as riddled with carcinogens. Then as Mr. Poroshenko emerged as the front-runner, a change occurred. The attacks ceased, and his chocolate factory in southern Russia, which government police had shuttered , was allowed to operate again. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia even […]

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Total SA (FP) agreed to seek shale oil in Western Siberia with OAO Lukoil (LKOD) , brushing off U.S. and European sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea. Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie signed the deal at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in a demonstration of Total’s commitment to Russia, after officials from companies including Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and ASA Statoil withdrew from the meeting. Total and Moscow-based Lukoil will set up a venture to seek so-called tight oil in the Bazhenov area of Siberia under their agreement, the French company said in a statement . Siberian shale has “huge potential,” de Margerie said. Investment in the venture will be $120 million to $150 million in the first two years, according to Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov. Total says its Russian business isn’t affected by sanctions against the country, including on Gennady Timchenko , shareholder of […]

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Ukraine is preparing for a presidential election tomorrow amid persistent clashes between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the country’s easternmost regions. Ukrainians will vote for a new leader to replace Kremlin-backed Viktor Yanukovych, ousted after deadly protests in February. Billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko leads all candidates. If he fails to garner more than 50 percent backing, a second-round runoff will be held June 15. Preparations in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are being disrupted by the fighting. “It’s not easy to prepare and conduct elections when huge financial, political, and military resources are used to disrupt them,” Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said today in a televised address. “It will be an expression of will of Ukrainians from the west, east, north and south. The choice will be fair and free.” While Russia earlier said the violence threatens to undermine the election’s legitimacy, President Vladimir Putin said he will […]

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Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) extended its partnership with Russia ’s state-controlled oil company even as U.S. and European nations threaten additional sanctions to punish Vladimir Putin’s regime for its actions in Ukraine. Exxon signed the agreement with OAO Rosneft (ROSN) Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin at a forum in St. Petersburg today, extending a pact that involves drilling for crude in the Arctic and Siberia and liquefying natural gas for export in Russia’s Far East, according to a statement on Moscow-based Rosneft’s website. Exxon didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment. Exxon is among American oil producers that rebuffed U.S. State Department pressure to skip the International Economic Forum this week in Putin’s hometown. With at least $30 billion already invested in Russia’s oil and gas sector, U.S. and European explorers are betting the Ukraine crisis won’t derail their aspirations to capture some of Russia’s 75 billion barrels […]

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