Case against ex-president
The State Bureau of Investigation has said it has issued a notice of suspicion for ex-President Petro Poroshenko in the case of high treason and aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.
The case concerns a criminal scheme on the supply of coal from separatist-controlled territories in Luhansk and Donetsk regions and aiding the terrorist Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics, worth around 1.5bn hryvnyas.
Poroshenko is suspected of collusion with a group of people, including senior Russian officials, for the purpose of aiding and abetting the LPR and DPR.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that the case was built on witnesses' statements, forensic conclusions, audio files and documents dating back to 2014-2015 and other evidence.
The SBU insists that Poroshenko, who was the president at the time made sure that contracts with the Republic of South Africa get terminated and that, on Russia's insistence, Ukraine sign contracts on coal supply from the uncontrolled territories.
Poroshenko's ally Oleksandr Turchynov dismissed the allegations as fabricated.
"The situation then was super complicated, there was a real military escalation, and in these conditions the then Ukrainian leadership was able to ensure Ukraine's energy security, was able to heat up Ukrainians' homes. Today, the uniformed agencies in power are touting the suspicion of this trumped-up case. This looks especially cynical against the background of the fact that for the last two years Ukraine, led by Zelenskyy and his team, has completely destroyed energy security of our state, which was ensured by President Poroshenko and the government in 2015-2019 years", he said.
Poroshenko is currently abroad but intends to return to Ukraine, he added.
Poroshenko's lawyers described the case as "a deliberately false accusation, a deliberately false prosecution of an opposition leader, political repression".
Presidents' meeting
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at the state-run Synyohora residence in Huta, Ivano-Frankivsk Region.
Zelenskyy thanked Duda and Nauseda for being friends and very close partners of Ukraine. He noted that the presidents signed a common declaration registering support for Ukraine's membership in the European Union and NATO and the fight against Russian aggression.
"An important topic was the migration crisis on the borders of the EU and Belarus. In its assessments, we stand in solidarity with our Polish and Lithuanian partners. To foil any attempts to arrange the same scenario in Ukraine, we are actively strengthening the state border. At the same time, coordination of common efforts and exchange of experience is important in this matter," he said.
The presidents also discussed Russia's military buildup at the border and its activities in Donbas.
"Our common task is to contain the threat from Russia, to shield Ukraine from Russia's aggressive policy. Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania are in the vanguard of this deterrence," the Ukrainian president added.
Donbas
Two Ukrainian servicemen got wounded after tripping a wire, the Joint Forces Operation HQ said in its afternoon update.
Ex-minister bailed out
Leonid Kozhara, foreign minister in ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's government, who is suspected of killing his friend, has been released from custody and placed under house arrest after a 2.1m-hryvnya bail was deposited for him, the victim's daughter has said.