Ukrainian Parliament Votes to Allow Release of Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko
The embattled president of Ukraine and leaders of the opposition signed a political deal on Friday aimed at ending a spiral of lethal violence with early elections and a reduction in presidential powers, but Russia declined to endorse the accord, and many protesters said nothing short of the president’s resignation would get them off the street.
In a further sign of President Viktor F. Yanukovych’s diminished influence, the Ukrainian Parliament voted to allow the release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who has been imprisoned for more than two years. In a 310-54 vote, lawmakers decriminalized the count for which she was incarcerated.
It was not immediately clear when Ms. Tymoshenko might be released from a penitentiary in the eastern city of Kharkiv where she has been serving her sentence. But she is still considered one of Mr. Yanukovych’s most potent adversaries.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/22/world/europe/ukraine.html?emc=edit_na_20140221
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