Ukraine

Top Ukrainian diplomat calls for calm over ‘Steinmeier formula’

KIEV, October 7. /TASS/: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Prystaiko has warned the Ukrainians against rushing to condemn the "Steinmeier formula," as a broad discussion of the laws on a special status for Donbass and elections in the region is due before it is put into practice.

Ukraine opposition slams Zelensky for continuing bias policy against Russian speakers

KIEV, October 7. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is carrying out a policy of discrimination against the Russian-speaking population, failing to fulfil his campaign promise to analyze and review the current Ukrainian language law, Chairman of the Ukrainian opposition platform "For Life" Viktor Medvedchuk stated on Monday.

"The unconstitutional and blatantly discriminatory language law of Poroshenko-Parubiy is still in force, and this means that President Zelensky has not fulfilled his campaign promise," the politician said.

Ukrainian president discusses East Ukraine disengagement with defense chiefs

KIEV, October 6. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky on Saturday met with heads of security and defense agencies to discuss the disengagement of troops in Eastern Ukraine, his press service said.

According to the press service, the president met with Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko on Saturday.

Kiev hopes for Normandy Four summit at end of October — foreign minister

KIEV, October 4. /TASS/: The Normandy Four summit (Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France) may be held at the end of October, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko said on Friday.

"We hope that [a meeting in] the Normandy format will take place at the end of October," UNN news agency quoted Pristayko as saying.

On Wednesday, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said that dates for the next summit in the Normandy format have not been discussed yet, but considering Russian President Vladimir Putin's schedule, the meeting is unlikely to be held in October.

Ukraine must investigate Joe Biden's son, says ex-Ukrainian PM

MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine must investigate the activities of U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son to establish whether his role in a Ukrainian gas company complied with the country’s laws, Mykola Azarov, Ukraine’s former prime minister, said in an interview.

Azarov did not specify to which Ukrainian laws he was referring.

Ukraine reviews cases on owner of firm that hired Biden son

ZHYTOMYR, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s top prosecutor said Friday his office is reviewing several cases related to the owner of a gas company where the son of former Vice President Joe Biden sat on the board, but he added that he wasn’t aware of any evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden.

Ukraine’s leader: Trump didn’t use US military aid as lever

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president said Tuesday that no one explained to him why millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to his country was delayed, dismissing suggestions that President Donald Trump froze the funding to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is struggling to distance himself from U.S. politics — and to contain the damage to Ukraine and his own reputation from a July phone conversation with Trump that unleashed a congressional impeachment inquiry.

Biden’s dilemma: Navigating Trump’s no-holds-barred style

(AP) —  John Kerry got “Swift Boated” in 2004. For Hillary Clinton in 2016, it was her “damn emails.” Remembering those failed Democratic presidential campaigns, Joe Biden is determined not to get “Ukrained” in 2020.

Since a whistleblower report last week revealed that President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian officials to investigate Biden, the former vice president has struck an aggressive tone.

Ukraine wants to stay out of U.S. domestic affairs: aide

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine does not want to get involved in U.S. domestic affairs, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as an impeachment inquiry in Washington was set to consider whether U.S. President Donald Trump pressured Kiev to investigate his political rival.

The inquiry was triggered by a whistleblower’s complaint about a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy. That call is central to the impeachment investigation that Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. Democratic-led House, announced last week.

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