VISUAL REPORTS
Protesters Clash With Police Near Ukrainian Parliament
Owners of vehicles with foreign license plates clashed with police in front of the Ukrainian parliament building on May 16 while protesting a proposal to fine owners who did not pay the import duty tax. (Ukrainian Service)
The Ukrainian Parliament’s ‘Piano Voting’
It’s illegal, but voting for absent colleagues in Ukraine’s parliament is still going on.
From Toxic Dump To Golf Course? Russian Site Targeted For Major Cleanup
The Russian city of Dzerzhinsk, a hub for the chemical industry, is also home to one of the most polluted dump sites in the world. A complex cleanup project is under way to try to make the contaminated land usable again.
Mapping Chernobyl's Radiation Hot Spots
Automated drones have been deployed to map in 3D radiation distribution in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster.
OTHER NEWS
U.S. Lawmakers Call On Turkey To Cancel Purchase Of Russian Missile System
A bipartisan group of senior U.S. lawmakers has called on Turkey to cancel its planned purchase of Russia's S-400 missile-defense system, which Western powers say is incompatible with NATO systems and poses a threat to U.S.-made warplanes.
Russian Embassy Protests Arrest Of Accused Smuggler Of U.S. Fighter Jet Manuals
Russia's embassy has protested the arrest of Oleg Tishchenko, a Russian software developer who was extradited from Georgia and charged by a Utah federal court with trying to obtain user manuals and instructional materials for F-15 fighter jets. Court documents showed that Tishchenko was charged in a sealed federal indictment issued in June 2016.
More Than 20 People Jailed Over Yekaterinburg Church Protest
More than 20 men and women have been sentenced to several days in jail for taking part in an unsanctioned protest in the city of Yekaterinburg over local authorities' decision to build a new Russian Orthodox church on the site of a popular park.
Court Acquittals Reach Historic Low In Russia
Russian media reports that the rate of court acquittals in 2018 was .23%, a record low in modern Russia, with only 2,045 defendants acquitted out of 885,000 criminal cases tried. The odds for Russian officials are better, with 105 defendants acquitted of 3,400 prosecuted last year. (Russian Service)
Moscow Prosecutor Seeks Harsh Sentence For Millionnaire Police Officer
The prosecutor in a high-profile case has requested a guilty verdict, a 15-year prison sentence, and a $7.5 million fine for Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko, a Moscow police officer who has served in the Interior Ministry's anti-corruption directorate, who was found with the equivalent of $120 million in cash at home.
Russian Butina Appeals 18-Month Sentence From Oklahoma Cell
Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty to not registering as an agent for the Russian government while in the United States and was sentenced to 18 months in a U.S. prison, has filed an appeal against her sentence.
Inauguration Of Ukraine's President-Elect Zelenskiy Set For May 20
Ukrainian lawmakers have set May 20 as the day of inauguration of incoming President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The president-elect, who has suggested he might dissolve parliament and call snap elections, has accused lawmakers of deliberately postponing the swearing-in ceremony.
Ukrainian Oligarch Kolomoyskiy Returns To Ukraine
Ukrainian tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskiy has returned to the country after spending almost two years in self-exile. Schemes, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service’s investigative news program, quoted sources at the international airport in the city of Dnipro as saying that Kolomoyskiy had arrived there by private plane from Tel Aviv early on May 16.
Ukrainian Singer, Launches Political Party Ahead Of Parliamentary Elections
Ukrainian musician and public figure Svyatoslav Vakarchuk on May 16 announced the creation of a new political party called “Voice,” and his plans to contest parliamentary elections this fall. Vakarchuk was elected to parliament in 2007, but resigned his mandate in 2008. (Ukrainian Service)
Laura Codruta Koevesi: The Bête Noir Of Romanian Corruption
As Romania's chief anticorruption prosecutor, Laura Codruta Koevesi put dozens of Romanian politicians and officials behind bars. But the government ousted her last year and has sought to block her appointment to a job in Brussels as Europe's top prosecutor for cross-border European Union fund and sales-tax fraud.
POLL: Two Thirds Of Russians Have No Savings
A Levada Center poll finds that 65% of Russian families say they have no savings. Ordinary Russians, about 80% of the population, who do save have accumulated, on average, between $2,100--$3,200; among the top 20% of Russian earners, the average amount saved is $7,500. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
MAJLIS PODCAST: Preelection Discontent Spills Out In Kazakhstan