Ukraine orders troop pull-out from Iraq

Anna Melnichuk, Kiev

Ukraine, whose 1,650 troops are the fourth-largest contingent in the US-led military operation in Iraq, previously expressed intentions to withdraw this year, but the order apparently speeds up the timetable.

Sunday’s fatal blast in Iraq was reported as an accident, but acting land forces commander Lieutenant General Volodymyr Mozharovsky said yesterday investigators were looking into the possibility that it was an attack.

He said witnesses reported seeing a car apparently watching the soldiers shortly before the blast, raising the possibility that the explosion could have been set off by remote control.

In all, 16 Ukrainian soldiers have died in Iraq.

“The situation in Iraq has deteriorated, and as a consequence we lost our men,” acting Defence Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency after meeting with Mr Kuchma, adding that the withdrawal could begin as early as March.

Although Mr Kuchma is expected to leave office within days and be replaced by Viktor Yushchenko, whom preliminary results show won last month’s presidential election, the change of leadership is unlikely to affect the Iraq policy.

Mr Yushchenko has also promised a withdrawal of forces.

Ukraine’s Supreme Court yesterday rejected an array of appeals against last month’s election results filed by allies of Viktor Yanukovich, the former prime minister.

The rejections mean the Central Elections Commission can begin the process of issuing final official results of the court-ordered December 26 revote.

Mr Yuschenko’s campaign manager, Oleksandr Zinchenko, said yesterday that withdrawal was a difficult procedure, burdened with political, financial, military and diplomatic details. However, he stressed that the issue would be one of Mr Yushchenko’s top concerns.