Ukraine Politics
President Viktor Yushchenko fired his former ally Yulia Timoshenko on Tuesday:
He leveled sharp allegations at his one-time comrade-in-arms, accusing the popular politician of trying to use her post to wipe out $1.5 billion in debts owed by a defunct energy company she once headed.
Tymoshenko, in a brief phone interview with the AP, called Yushchenko's allegations a shock, saying he was trying to revive the "old repression that (former President Leonid) Kuchma had used against me and my family."Back in 2001, Yulia Timoshenko was accused of smuggling and falcification of documents, according to the following BBC news report:
"The deputy prime minister is accused of funnelling more than $1.1 billion dollars out of the Ukraine and of cheating tax authorities to the tune of nearly $150,000 between 1997 and 1999. Ms Timoshenko, 40, denies any wrongdoing and claims that her political opponents, who are upset by her handling of energy reforms, are behind the legal moves and want to wreck her career".What next?