UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO POISONING REMAINS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 001630

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO POISONING REMAINS IN
POLITICAL MIX

REF: A. KYIV 1064

B. KYIV 1052

Classified By: Charge for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (SBU) Summary. President Yushchenko,s 2004 poisoning has
resurfaced as a major issue being examined both at at the
Prosecutor General,s Office (PGO) and in the press, with
many seeing the Presidential apparatus working the issue as a
potential vote getter in the upcoming presidential campaign.
On July 16, Russian officials announced to the PGO that they
would not extradite former Deputy Head of the SBU Volodymyr
Satsyuk, widely rumored to be one of the main suspects in the
poisoning case. Yushchenko for the first time on July 24
publicly accused David Zhvaniya, one of his former "dear
friends" and godfather to his youngest son, of direct
involvement in the poisoning plot, a claim that was then
echoed by PGO representatives. Zhvaniya, whom the PGO
brought in for questioning on July 23 after a dramatic public
summons, continues to suggest that Yushchenko was never
poisoned and he himself is embroiled in a battle over his
right to Ukrainian citizenship. Yushchenko, his
post-poisoning lead doctor Olha Bohomolets, and prominent
journalist Serhiy Leshchenko also spent multiple hours at the
PGO on various dates in June and July to provide testimony.
Despite the recent uptick in activity at the PGO and
Yushchenko,s continual foreshadowing that he knows who the
perpetrator is, there has been no indication that the PGO
will formally announce its suspect(s) anytime soon.


2. (C) Comment. Russia,s refusal to extradite Satsyuk is
probably only partially responsible for the PGO,s sudden
resurgence in its efforts to complete the investigation. The
recent PGO actions are seen by many as another indication of
the office's increasingly open pro-presidential stance. The
reemergence of this issue, which has seen an ebb-and-flow in
interest over the years, may well be an attempt by Yushchenko
to remind the public of the dramatic fate he suffered as he
led the Orange Revolution -- and gain support for the
upcoming 2009/2010 presidential election. However, given the
passage of time and barring a truly stunning revelation
(increasingly unlikely after four years),this issue doesn't
look to figure strongly in the upcoming contest. End Summary
and Comment.

Satsyuk: Staying Put in Russia


3. (U) The Russian Prosecutor General,s Office notified the
Ukrainian PGO on July 16 of its decision not to extradite
Satsyuk, widely rumored to be one of the main suspects in the
poisoning case, on the basis that he holds Russian
citizenship in addition to his Ukrainian citizenship. In an
interview with Ukrayinska Pravda (UP) published on July 7,
Zhvaniya detailed Satsyuk,s association with Yushchenko and
financial support to his electoral campaign in 2004. Another
lengthy interview published on August 11 and 12 in UP with
Yevgeniy Chervonenko, head of Yushchenko's security detail at
the time of his poisoning, reinforced the notion of Satsyuk's
guilt and insinuated Satsyuk more likely took orders from the
Russian "criminal world" than from the GOR.

Zhvaniya: Irking the Investigation, Pleading International
Assistance


4. (SBU) Ten members of the PGO presented Zhvaniya a
highly-publicised summons at Kyiv's airport on July 16, as he
was seeing his family off on vacation. The summons was for a
July 23 interview at PGO headquarters for questioning related
to Yushchenko,s poisoning at the PGO. (Comment: The drama
and media coverage of the summons underscores the ongoing
public battle between Zhvaniya and forces allied with the
President. The fact that Zhvaniya remained in Ukraine has
led to speculation that questions over whether he obtained
his citizenship through fraudulent means preclude his
entering and exiting Ukraine. End Comment.) Zhvaniya
subsequently announced that he would only be willing to meet
with Halyna Klymovych, the PGO's head investigator in the
poisoning case; when he was denied this meeting upon arrival
at the PGO, he claimed parliamentary immunity and left the
building immediately. He has also launched a public campaign
attempting to show the Ukrainian government as violating his
human rights and subjecting him to political persecution. He
has made requests to present his case at various European
parliaments -- including France, Italy and Belgium. on this
alleged violation of his human rights and political
persecution. So far, none of the parliaments has agreed to
his request.

High-Profile Interrogations at the PGO, Media Interviews


5. (SBU) Political analyst Viktor Nebozhenko told poloffs
on August 14 that the resurgence of the poisoning issue was
an attempt on the part of Yushchenko, whose popularity
ratings remain under 10 percent, to gain voters, attention
and sympathy as campaigning for the presidential 2009/2010
election gets underway. The President, who has been voicing
support for the PGO and the diligence of its investigation,
appeared for lengthy questioning sessions himself on July 22
and 28. His increasingly estranged Rada bloc partner,
Interior Minister Lutsenko, publicly accused Yushchenko,s
Secretariat of using the poisoning issue as a campaign tactic
and of interfering in the investigation by dragging
Zhvaniya--who bankrolls Lutsenko,s People,s Self Defense
party--back to the PGO. Lutsenko also accused the PGO of
acting prematurely by naming Zhvaniya as a possible
conspirator. Perhaps as a counterattack, Chervonenko's
interview not only assigns blame to Zhvaniya but also accuses
him of attempting to talk Yushchenko out of going abroad for
treatment when his illness became apparent the day after the
dinner at Satsyuk's dacha.


6. (SBU) Dermatologist Olha Bohomolets, the Ukrainian member
brought onto Yushchenko,s medical team at the time of his
poisoning, was brought into the PGO for a half day of
questioning on June 9 and went on to give her first public
interview on the poisoning to UP, published on July 16 and

17. She agreed that it was curious that the PGO took so long
to call for her testimony, but declined to release any
details from the interrogation, citing PGO-mandated
confidentiality. Much of the interview centered on a graphic
description of the President,s treatment--with an emphasis
on his will to persevere--starting from the time of the
poisoning, and could be read as an attempt to regain sympathy
for the incumbent presidential candidate. Likewise,
Chervonenko, head of Yushchenko's security detail at the time
of the poisoning, gave special emphasis on Yushchenko's valor
in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and a constant
strength that carries through today. Both Bohomolets and
Chervonenko answered questions to directly refute Zhvaniya,s
claims that Yushchenko was not poisoned but rather suffered
food poisoning, pancreatitis, or some other less sensational
illness. Yushchenko's influence over the timing and content
of these two lengthy interviews is notably clear; Bohomolets
"received permission" from the President to tell her story,
and the Secretariat reviewed the contents of Chervonenko's
interview before publication.


7. (U) The PGO used force to bring Serhiy Leshchenko, a
prominent UP journalist, in for seven hours of questioning on
July 14; details have not been released, but Leshchenko,s
colleagues speculate the questioning was related to his
interview with Zhvaniya in early July regarding Zhvaniya's
relationship with Yushchenko and the events leading up to and
including the dinner at Satsyuk's dacha.




8. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
PETTIT