The constitution enacted in the wake of the post-Soviet “Orange revolution” gave more power to parliament – and was ditched when Viktor Yanukovych took office.

Its return would mean parliament, not the president, choosing the prime minister. But the ruling Party of Regions says more discussion is needed.

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Dass der Präsident unser Killerboss ist und dass Drohnen für derartige Tötungen geeignete Waffen sind, wird als gegeben betrachtet. Es wird auch als gegeben betrachtet, dass im Namen der Sicherheit Amerikas alles geht, so lange es in eine entlastende Wohlfühlverpackung gewickelt ist, sogar wenn es überhaupt nichts mehr mit dem zu tun hat, was Amerikaner einst als Rechtsstaatlichkeit bezeichnet hätten.

(24.01.) Some bloggers suggested that it was a Russian-hired sniper who killed the protester. But a Parliament deputy of the ruling Party of Regions, Yevgeny Balitsky, claimed that the sniper was recruited by the West: “We cannot exclude that we are talking here of a professional recruited in one of the NATO countries, who was brought here on an order from the opposition’s radical wing,” a local newspaper Segodnia.ru, quoted the deputy on Thursday.

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The three major areas of clashes in Kyiv are on Institututska and Shovkovychna streets, Hrushevskoho Street and Mariinsky Park. Police by mid-afternoon had repelled protesters from a government district that includes the Presidential Administration, the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers.

Polizisten rücken auf den besetzten Maidan vor, Spezialeinheiten stürmen das Oppositionscamp.
Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier droht mit Sanktionen gegen Einzelpersonen.
Demonstranten haben erneut das Rathaus in Kiew besetzt.
Das Ultimatum der Regierung an die Demonstranten ist ausgelaufen.
Die Zahl der Toten am Dienstag ist nach offiziellen Angaben auf mindestens neun gestiegen. Mehr als 300 Menschen wurden verletzt.

The number of police, who died of gunshot wounds in Kiev’s unrest, has increased to six, Ukraine’s interior ministry says.

Die Polizei hat um 20 Uhr Ortszeit (19 Uhr MEZ) die Lager der Opposition gestürmt, berichtet die ukrainische Nachrichtenagentur Unian. Mit drei Wasserwerfern näherten sich die Spezialeinheiten. (..)
Die Polizei versucht von der Gruschewski-Straße in der Nähe des Dynamo-Stadions aus den Maidan zu stürmen. An einigen Stellen durchbrachen die Sicherheitskräfte die Barrikaden der Demonstranten.

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(28.01.) Speaking to the Guardian, Klitschko praised the oligarchs and boasted of his close ties to them. “In private conversations, all the oligarchs support the idea of the rule of law,” he said. “The leaders change, the rules change, and the lack of set rules means business groups can’t be sure they will keep their assets.”

Rinat Leonidowytsch Achmetow (* 21. September 1966 in Donezk) ist ein ukrainischer Unternehmer und Politiker tatarischer Herkunft.[1] Mit einem Vermögen von geschätzten 16 Mrd. US-Dollar[2] (2011) ist Achmetow der reichste Mensch der Ukraine, er gilt auch als der einflussreichste Oligarch des Landes.

(25.01.) Akhmetov‘s position in the crisis has intrigued observers ever since the protests first broke out in late November over the government‘s refusal to sign a pact with the EU.

He is believed to have held secret talks last month with visiting US senior diplomat Victoria Nuland on the unrest, at a meeting where the possibility of sanctions against pro-Yanukovych tycoons was evoked.

(27.02.) When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, he told the oligarchs they could keep their money if they stayed out of politics. But no leader in Kiev has been strong enough to silence Ukraine‘s oligarchs.

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The European Union is ready to provide a new Ukrainian government with economic aid, according to the head of the parliamentary fraction Batkivshchina, Arseni Yatsenyuk, who is in Germany at the moment. The Ukrainian mass media report that the aid means a loan from the IMF, the EU, or international institutes.

(13.02.) In a briefing in Kiev today, European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle said that any aid would be accompanied by a demand for “reforms, reforms, reforms,” with the International Monetary Fund playing a “central” role in setting the terms. Ukraine previously walked away from a potential IMF bailout after the fund conditioned the aid on measures that would hit ordinary Ukrainians hard, including a steep hike in energy prices and reduced spending on social programs.

(11.02.) European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will hold discussions Thursday with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Ukraine, she said Tuesday, as the EU explores options for providing assistance to Kiev.

The meeting is a bid by the EU to clarify the conditions under which the IMF could extend a financial rescue package for the country, possibly with complimentary loans from Brussels and Washington.

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