Ukraine News in brief. Friday 22 September. [Ukrainian sources]

FRIDAY

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Trump says US ready to provide Ukraine with defense and technical support.  Peskov: "The deployment of a UN mission on the Russian-Ukrainian border does not go".  Britain leaves the EU but not Ukraine, the British minister for Europe.  Paris investigates intentions to open so-called "DPR" mission in Marseille.  Council of Europe urges Ukraine to continue investigation into Gongadze murder.  Sberbank of Russia will close its business in a number of European countries through sanctions.  The aggregate growth of Ukraine's economy in the next 3 years will be over 11%.  US Congress postponed a hearing on Kaspersky for an indefinite time.  We ask the United States to support the UN resolution on the withdrawal of troops from the territory of Moldova. In Moscow, busts for Lenin and Stalin were opened.

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U.S. President Donald Trump promised technical and military assistance for Ukraine to help it push back Russia in the Donbas.

This was announced by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in an interview with FOX Business, Censor.NET reports.

"Today [Thursday, Sept. 21] President Trump said we are ready to support Ukraine, including with military and technical cooperation," Poroshenko told the channel, noting that this support would be strictly limited to defense weapons rather than lethal weapons.

According to him, this will be the first time in years that a U.S. president will flex American military power in the eastern European nation.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Kremlin again rejects the idea of ​​placing the UN peacekeeping contingent along the uncontrolled section of the Russian-Ukrainian border.

This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to "TASS".

"The essence of the Russian proposal, the Russian initiative, is that this UN mission could guarantee the security of the OSCE mission staff in the places where the OSCE mission staff performs their functions," Peskov said.

He drew attention to the fact that "they mainly perform their functions on the line of differentiation."

Asked that the mandate of the OSCE mission includes the opportunity to visit different territories of Ukraine, including on the border with the Russian Federation, Peskov replied: "Yes, of course. It is about securing the security of the mission of the OSCE staff where they are engaged." "But this does not mean the deployment of a UN mission at the border," he stressed.

"The fact is that the placement of some missions at the border is clearly spelled out in the Minsk accords, this (placing a United Nations security mission on the Russian-Ukrainian border, ed.) Would be contrary to the Minsk accords," he said.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Great Britain is in a difficult process of leaving the EU. Probably, this will also affect the country's foreign policy. However, these changes will not affect the relationship between Britain and Ukraine.

This was stated by British and European affairs minister, Sir Alan Duncan, in a comment to the Gromadsky.

"The anexia of the Crimea is unacceptable," he stressed.

At the moment, most European politicians and diplomats are avoiding talking about the Crimea, placing more emphasis on the Minsk accords as a precondition for the return of peace to the continent.

Duncan is convinced that Britain is one of the leading countries in the world who believes that world-based law is a prerequisite for peace and security. That is why in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Great Britain "fully shares Ukraine's vision."

"We will continue to consistently and firmly do this at the UN and in other venues," he says.



"We will continue to be part of Europe, a member of the United Nations, the G20, NATO. We will continue to play an important role in the field of defense and security at the global level, even after leaving the EU (...) We do not abandon our responsibilities as one of the world's most powerful players, "said Duncan, adding:

"Yes, we leave the European Union - but we will not leave Ukraine!"

Earlier it was reported that Prime Minister of Britain is ready to pay the EU 54 billion euros for Brexit.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin said that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to the prosecutor's office to investigate the intentions to open the so-called "DPR" office in Marseilles.

Klimkin wrote about this on Twitter.

"The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to the prosecutor's office because of the intentions of the so-called" DPR "to open a" representative office "in Marseille," he wrote.

Klimkin stressed that the establishment of false diplomatic missions entails legal responsibility.

"Reminder for those who have not yet realized that the world has united for the sake of Ukraine", - wrote Klimkin.

French Ambassador to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont earlier said that the trips of French deputies to the Crimea and Donbass do not call into question France's position on maintaining the integrity of Ukraine.

At the end of June 2017, the court of the Czech city of Ostrava finally eliminated the so-called "DNR" representation in the city as illegal.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Prosecutor General's Office together with the Security Service of Ukraine have apprehended the chairman of the Kirovskii District Court of Dnipro and a judge of the same court who tried to bribe the head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Nazar Kholodnytskyi.

Censor.NET reports citing PGO's special investigations department official Olha Varchenko.



According to her, the head of the court with another judge of the same court who is suspected of committing a corruption offense offered a $300,000 bribe to chief anti-corruption prosecutor Kholodnytskyi for closing criminal proceedings against the latter.

"The judges were detained red-handed with a part of the sum - $50,000," Varchenko said.

She added that the judge who tried to avoid criminal responsibility was "under house arrest."




The actions of the detainees fall under Part 4 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code. They are faced with imprisonment for up to 10 years with confiscation of property.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Council of Europe calls on the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze.

Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform referring to a decision by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers overseeing member states' execution of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights.

According to the document, the Committee of Ministers has repeatedly called on the Prosecutor General's Office to continue the investigation into the circumstances behind the disappearance and murder of Heorhii Gongadze

The committee demands that the former Ukrainian officials who have to do with the case be involved in the probe.

The decision also notes that the investigation into the Gongadze murder must be completed as soon as possible in accordance with the norms of the Council of Europe.

Founder of Ukrainska Pravda news website, journalist Heorhii Gongadze disappeared Sept. 16, 2000. His decapitated corpse was later found in the forest in Kyiv's vicinity. Ex-Chief of Interior Ministry's Directed Surveillance Department Oleksii Pukach was arrested on suspicion of the murder in a village in the Zhytomyr region July 21, 2009.

The investigation found that Pukach received a verbal order to eliminate Heorhii Gongadze from then Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yurii Kravchenko. The criminal ring consisting of Interior Ministry officers Valerii Kostenko, Oleksandr Popovych (both sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2008), Mykola Protasov (got 13 years in prison in 2008) and led by Pukach turned out to be behind the murder committed Sept. 17, 2000.

The court found Pukach guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment Jan. 23, 2013. Asked by the judge whether he agreed with the verdict, Pukach said: "I will agree with it as soon as I'm sharing my cell with Kuchma and Lytvyn." The Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the verdict Jan. 6, 2016.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Russian State Savings Bank plans to close down business in several European countries under sanctions sanctions.

This was announced by the head of the financial institution, German Gref, reports The Financial Times.

According to him, the sanctions have made life of Sberbank in Europe extremely difficult. "We are not a big bank in Europe, but we have been made a systemically important bank under the direct control and regulation of the European Central Bank," Gref said.

In accordance with the sanctions adopted in 2014 in response to Moscow's aggression against Ukraine, companies are prohibited from providing loans to Sberbank for a period of more than 30 days. This year, the United States has tightened the limit from 30 to 14 days in response to Russia's interference in last year's presidential election.

Gref did not specify which countries are to come out of, but said that the bank "optimizes" its main European office in Austria.

On March 27, Sberbank of Russia announced the sale of a 100% stake in a Ukrainian subsidiary bank.

In early July, a citizen of Byelorussia and Cyprus Victor Prokopenya filed a package of documents for the acquisition of a subsidiary of Sberanka in the National Bank . But later the Belarusian businessman withdrew the application for the acquisition of the "daughter" of Sberbank.

September 12, the National Bank of Ukraine said that there is one bidder to purchase a "daughter" of the Russian Sberbank.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The aggregate growth of Ukraine's economy in the next three years will exceed 11%.

This was stated during the presentation of the draft state budget by the Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danyliuk.

"According to our forecasts, the aggregate GDP growth over the next three years increases by more than 11%," the minister said.

According to him, inflation will decrease to 5%.

Earlier it became known that in the budget-2018 proposed to increase the funding of the Verkhovna Rada to half a billion hryvnia.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The US Congress postponed a meeting with Eugene Kaspersky, whose company in the US is suspected of having ties to the Russian authorities for an indefinite time.

Recall, the US Senate has supported the ban on using Kaspersky Lab's products by the government .

On September 12, it was reported that  Kaspersky Lab closed the United States unit that cooperated with the government.

On September 15, the  founder of Kaspersky Labs was asked to give evidence  in the US Congress.

The US Congress suggests that Kaspersky Lab, a Russian company established in Russia, may be controlled by the Kremlin .

On the eve of the United States Department of Homeland Security announced the introduction of a ban on the use of Russian Kaspersky Lab's products in US state agencies.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Prime Minister of Moldova Pavel Philip at a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, "in the fields" of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, asked to support a resolution on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the republic.

It is reported by "Interfax-Ukraine" with reference to the press service of the Moldovan government, informs Tsensor.NET.

Philip noted that the Moldovan government initiated the procedure for listing the item entitled "Removal of foreign military forces from the territory of the Republic of Moldova" on the agenda of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

"We are asking the United States to support and promote the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on the withdrawal of foreign military forces from the territory of the country," - said the prime minister.

At the end of August, Permanent Representative of Moldova to the United Nations, Victor Moraru, said that Chisinau had requested the UN to raise the question of withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria to the agenda of the next session of the General Assembly. The Moldovan Ambassador to Moscow, Andriy Neguscu, was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who stated that this Chisinau step was "unfriendly and provocative," urging Kishinev to abandon this intent.

A week ago a number of media reported that the issue of withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria would not be considered with the consent of Chisinau and Moscow. This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (MFA) of Moldova denied this information.

MFA of Moldova argues that Chisinau's request to raise this issue on the agenda of the General Assembly "is on the list of additional issues of the order of the General Assembly and will be considered at one of October sessions of the session."

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

In Moscow, the "Alley of the Rulers" was officially opened, on which busines of Lenin and Stalin are located.

This is reported by Radio Liberty.

This will be the first monument of Lenin, established in the post-Soviet period.

Altogether, on the "Alley of the rulers" will set eight busts of leaders of Russia of XX century - Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko, Gorbachev and Yeltsin.



The ceremony was attended by Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinsky, author of the works Zurab Tsereteli and the widow of Russia's first president, Nain Yeltsin. At her request, the opening of the bosom of Boris Yeltsin was postponed to the day of his birth on 1 February.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Budapest Memorandum of 1994, according to which Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, did not in fact provide Ukraine with guarantees of protecting its territorial sovereignty from signatories.

On this occasion, leading international experts, including the former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst and former deputy general secretary of NATO Alexander Vershbow, agreed with the Atlantic Council's (USA) think-tank, the Censor. NET, citing the Voice of America, reports.

"There is no doubt that the Budapest Memorandum does not guarantee Ukraine's security. The United States has not provided Ukraine with guarantees, but assurances," said Herbst in particular.

He added that "sometimes lawyers and politicians who use them appear to be too intelligent."

According to Vershbow, the Budapest Memorandum does not include a mechanism for implementation and "unfortunately for the Ukrainians, was not a guarantee of security."

"I think Ukrainians feel that they were" thrown "into the 3rd or 4th largest nuclear arsenal in the world," he added.

"We have no legal obligations under the Budapest memorandum, but I think that it has created at least a moral commitment to do what we can to help Ukraine restore sovereignty and territorial integrity," Vershbow said.

Former deputy general secretary of NATO also noted that he considers Ukraine's lethal defensive arms to be part of such a "moral" debt.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Russian intelligence services had a plan for the physical removal of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.
As informs Tsensor.NET, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, ex-representative of the President in the Verkhovna Rada Roman Nessmertn , on Espero.TV said.

"For the first time in 1997, Ukrainian intelligence, intelligence agencies intercepted documents for a plan to develop President Kuchma's destruction during a foreign visit," he said.

At the same time, as noted by Immortal, then the leaders of the state decided not to inform the media.

"Unfortunately, in the society in which we lived, the leadership of the state decided not to disclose these documents. But if we take this moment, since 1997, efforts have been made against discriminating against individuals, political leaders, political forces or direct To do this you need to look at completely different eyes for this period,"- added the politician.

In connection with this event, 2013-2014, he calls the "continuation" of this plan.

In addition, according to Immortal, in 2005 in the Kremlin was officially approved the plan to discredit President Viktor Yushchenko.

"As for Yushchenko, this discredit, we must pay tribute to Russian special services, it has been successful," said Bessmertny.

ua.censor.net.ua  , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on the Russian Federation to lift all allegations against Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semeni.

This is stated in a statement by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Arlem Desire, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to UNIAN .

"I am glad that Semen was released from house arrest, but the fact that he was found guilty and forbidden to participate in any public activity will have a negative impact on journalists and freedom of speech," Desir said.

He noted that all allegations against the Seed should be lifted because they violated the OSCE principles of freedom of expression and media freedom.

"Seeds should be able to travel freely," added Desire.

Let's remind that on Friday, September 22, controlled by the Kremlin, the Zheleznodorozhny District Court of Simferopol issued a verdict against a Crimean journalist, Mykola Semeni, in the form of 2.5 years suspended for a probationary period of three years and a ban on engaging in public activities.

The occupation authorities accused Semyon of public appeals to violate the territorial integrity of Russia.

In April 2016, in his house, the FSB of Russia conducted a search, and in May of that year, he was charged with an official charge that he had published on site "Crimea.Realii" article. The journalist was under the sign of non-departure.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Russia had violated the weapons non-proliferation arrangements.
He said this at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to Rosbalt .

Tillerson called on Russia to explore how best to support efforts to prevent the proliferation of these weapons. At the same time, the US Secretary of State pointed to the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for supporting the non-proliferation regime, and also mentioned the joint programs in this area.

"Unfortunately, in recent years, Russia has sometimes acted in a way that weakens global norms and undermines the principle of national responsibility, examples of which include violations of [Russia's] own obligations under DRSMD, non-compliance with the security guarantees given at the end of the Cold War, obstruction an effort to develop the legacy of past nuclear security efforts, as well as attempts to weaken the IAEA's independence in investigating hidden nuclear programs, "Tillerson said.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine together with the military discovered weapons of Russian production in the Volnovak district of the Donetsk region.

Tsensor.NET informs about it , referring to the press center of the SBU.

In the forest belt, firing ammunition of the rocket bomber "Shmel" and small-sized jet fire-rocket "MRO-A" with the marking of the armed forces of the Russian Federation were found. A sabotage terrorist group from this place recently shells the positions of the ATO. PHOTO report The seized ammunition is another confirmation of the material provision of the "DNR" band groups by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.




Criminal proceedings were opened under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою

After 2022, Poland wants to become completely independent of Russian natural gas.

Such a statement was made at the end of his visit to the United States, Polish Foreign Minister Vitold Vaschikovsky, reports Tsensor. NET with reference to Radio Poland .

According to him, Warsaw may not extend a contract with Russia, signed by former Minister of Economics Valdemar Pawlak in 2010:

"We want to be able to import gas from other politically safe sources by 2022, which will allow us to avoid Russia's politically motivated actions, for example, with regard to Ukraine or Belarus. It is expected that the LNG terminal will be expanded to Swinoujscie, as well as the Baltic Pipe project will be promoted."

According to the head of the Foreign Ministry of Poland, the Polish government is able to comply with all the terms related to the refusal of Poland from Russian gas supplies.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / Українською мовою