Blue &Yellow: Politics and Economics in Ukraine

KIEV, November 19 (Itar-Tass) - The probe conducted by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is "a political contract and a fake," the ad hoc investigation commission of Verkhovnaya Rada (parliament) stated on Tuesday.

The lawmakers from the commission on ascertaining facts of sale of Ukrainian military equipment in violation of the country's legislation and international norms, said the objective of the SBU's probe was to "hide the criminal actions and corruption of individuals from (President Viktor) Yushchenko's closest milieu."

"The SBU's actions are aimed at deliberate misinformation of the Ukrainian citizens," the commission said.

A preliminary report by the commission is due shortly. The parliamentarians are planning to present "new evidence and a legal and political evaluation of the actions by the ruling regime."

The commission also demanded "an immediate report by acting SBU chief Nalivaichenko in the parliament and his personal responsibility for the gross violations of the Constitution and the Ukrainian law.

Lawmakers said they had repeatedly - and unsuccessfully - invited Nalivaichenko to supply the information necessary for their probe. "But during the period of the commission's work, we have not received a single answer to our inquires, nor have we met with the SBU leadership at our sessions," they claimed.

Earlier on Tuesday, head of the ad hoc commission Valery Konovalyuk accused the SBU of illegal arms sales to Georgia, accompanied by "serious financial violations,' which lost the state budget hundreds of million dollars."

On November, 12, the SBU opened a criminal case over the divulging of confidential information, following the publication on the Internet of a copy of the letter by Ukrspetsexport, the state weapons exporting company, together with Konovalyuk's comments on the document. Konovalyuk then was summoned for interrogation at the SBU.

Konovalyuk earlier stated that Ukraine was selling armaments to Georgia even after the conflict in South Ossetia in August, and that it continues to sell, while the proceeds from arms sales do not end up in the budget. According to the commission's information, President Viktor Yushchenko is one the persons behind the supplies.

In October, director of the department for military security issues under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Sergei Khimchenko said Kiev would continue to sell armaments to Georgia, in accordance with concluded contracts.

Ukraine mostly supplies to Georgia Soviet-era armaments, except for the Shkval combat module. Arms sales to Georgia account for 7 percent of all Ukraine's weapons exports, Khimchenko said.

He denied Ukraine's supplying weapons to Georgia during its aggression against South Ossetia, dismissing the allegations that weapons were disguised as humanitarian aid.

Khimchenko also denied the reports that Ukrainian military specialists had taken part in the fighting on Georgia's side.

There were 17 specialists servicing military equipment at that time (in August), which belonged to Ukrainian companies. "However when hostilities began, they all were evacuated to Ukraine on August 7-13," the director said.

Konovalyuk asserts that Ukraine has sold missile air defense systems to the detriment of its defense capability.

"Our data prove that over the past four years virtually all weapons were sold at understated prices. For example, a Kalashnikov assault rifle was sold for 547 hrivnas (one U.S. dollar buys approximately 5.6 hrivnas), a T-72 tank for 240,000-250,000 hrivnas," Konovalyuk said.

"According to our estimates, arms exports to Georgia considerably exceeded this country's defense demands. This concerns offensive weapons such as Pion, Grad and Shkval systems. We bear moral responsibility for the fact that Ukrainian weapons, delivered to the Caucasus, resulted in the death of civilians and Russian peacekeepers," he said.

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council denied that arms supplies to Georgia were illegal.

"Georgia was not and is not under sanctions or embargo of the U.N. Security Council, the OSCE, the European Union or other international organizations," the council said.

The council said Ukraine cooperated with Georgia "absolutely transparently" by providing all information about its arms exports to the U.N. Register and other international agencies, and that Konovalyuk's assertions that the Ukrainian armaments had been sold to Georgia underpriced were "unprofessional and subjective".

Konovalyuk insisted that over the last three years Ukraine had sold two billion U.S. dollars worth of arms, while only 840 million U.S. dollars reached the state budget.

"The commission has received information from the state treasury, which clearly indicates that a great deal of the money Ukraine should have received from the sale of arms ended up outside the state budget and the Defense Ministry," he said.

The director general of the Ukrspetsexport weapons trading company Sergei Bondarchuk said his country had supplied mainly defense systems to Georgia.

"As for Georgia, the supplies mostly related to defense, not assault," Bondarchuk said, adding, "Grads (salvo systems) wee not supplied."

Kiev also supplied to Georgia radio electronic warfare systems, radars and air defense equipment.