Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he hopes his planned talks with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany will settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskiy said Wednesday he expects the four-way summit in Paris will yield a roadmap to local elections in the region and determine a mechanism for Ukraine to regain control of the border with Russia in the rebel-held territories. Speaking after talks with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Zelenskiy said he also will push at Monday’s summit for a sweeping prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine before the year’s end. The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. More than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists. … [Read more...] about Ukraine hopes upcoming summit will settle conflict in east

KIEV (Reuters) - An independent Ukrainian lawmaker said on Thursday he had met U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer in Kiev to discuss the alleged misuse of U.S. taxpayer money by Ukrainian state bodies. Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach attends a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani in Kiev, Ukraine in this undated picture obtained from social media. Courtesy of Andriy Derkach via REUTERS In a statement on Facebook accompanied by photos of the meeting, Andriy Derkach said the two had discussed the creation of an interparliamentary group to fight corruption. As Trump faces an impeachment inquiry led by House of Representative Democrats into whether he abused his office by pressing Ukraine to investigate a political rival, the U.S. president and his allies have sought to reject that by saying Trump is interested in the wider issue of corruption in Ukraine. As first reported by the New York Times, lawyer Rudy Giuliani has … [Read more...] about Ukraine lawmaker met Giuliani to discuss misuse of U.S. taxpayer money in Ukraine

Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been in power for less than two months, and already he is taking steps to fulfill one of his most ambitious campaign promises: to resolve the intractable conflict with Russia in the country's east. "With the change in administration, something moved," noted Sokol Bega, deputy head of reporting and political analysis at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. "This week is, maybe, a turning point." In late June, Ukrainian troops abandoned their position along the so-called contact line that separates the Donbas, the part of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, from the rest of Ukraine. The country's military withdrew around 500 meters from the line of contact, an unprecedented move in a longstanding conflict marked daily skirmishes and ceasefire violations. Military formations controlled by the Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) also allegedly withdrew … [Read more...] about Ukraine’s New President Breaks With Predecessor and Offers Peace Talks With Vladimir Putin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Ukraine's newly elected President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday and expressed her support for continuing to sanction Russia for its interference in Ukraine. Zelenskiy is meeting with key European leaders this week in an attempt to gin up support for Ukraine's struggle against Russian aggression and interference. Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskiy on Tuesday, Merkel noted that Russia continues to occupy the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and supports pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country known as the Donbas. "As long as there is no progress on this front, the sanctions cannot be lifted, and the sanctions related to Crimea can only be lifted if Crimea returns to Ukraine," Merkel said. Germany plays a key role in determining the European Union's foreign policy, and Merkel's statements are likely to be taken seriously. The EU first began sanctioning Russia for its … [Read more...] about Angela Merkel Vows to Keep Sanctions on Russia Until it Returns Crimea As She Meets With Ukraine’s New President

KYIV, Ukraine - President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani met Thursday in Ukraine with one of the key figures working to build a corruption case against Hunter Biden, the Ukraine official said in a Facebook post. The lawmaker, Andriy Derkach, posted photographs of himself meeting Giuliani in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, vowing to set up an anti-corruption group in the Ukraine parliament. Derkach gave no further details of the meeting in the Facebook post. He could not immediately be reached for comment. But Giuliani's presence in Ukraine advances efforts of Trump allies to create an alternative narrative in the rapidly moving impeachment investigation - tapping some of Ukraine's most controversial figures who have spread theories of corruption and impropriety around Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden and Ukraine interference in the 2016 election. The New York Times, which first reported Giuliani's travels, said he had meetings in Budapest and Kyiv this week to meet current and … [Read more...] about Ukraine lawmaker seeking Biden probe meets with Giuliani in Kyiv