New Ukrainian PM moves to cancel privatization deals

Ukraine's new prime minister ordered the government Saturday to begin the process of returning Ukraine's largest steel mill to state control with the aim of putting the mill back up for auction. The order by Yulia Tymoshenko is the latest in a number of manoeuvres surrounding the Kryvorizhstal steel mill, which was bought at a rock-bottom price last year by a consortium that included the son-in-law of former president Leonid Kuchma. Many Ukrainians consider the deal one of the most corrupt of this country's post-Soviet privatizations. "All the documents which the former government approved illegally have been cancelled," Tymoshenko said after chairing the first meeting of her new cabinet. "This means that we have begun the process of returning Kryvorizhstal to be state property." Preparations will then be made to resell the mill during an open, transparent auction, Tymoshenko said. She pledged that the process would proceed as quickly as the law allowed. Tymoshenko promised more details, but the Cabinet of Ministers press office said it had no more information. It was unclear what the next step would be. A Ukrainian court already had frozen shares in Kryvorizhstal, and newly elected President Viktor Yushchenko had made no secret of his plans to undo the sale.