More charges line up against Tymoshenko

KIEV, Ukraine, May 20 (UPI) -- A Ukrainian prosecutor said former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pressured state utility company Naftogaz to sign a 2009 gas deal with Russia.

Tymoshenko and Oleg Dubina, the former head of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, were questioned by Ukrainian authorities in April in a case involving a 2009 natural gas deal with Russian energy company Gazprom.

Gazprom cut gas supplies to Ukraine briefly before Tymoshenko helped clinch a deal to resume supplies. The deal put tight restrictions on Kiev, and President Viktor Yanukovych later landed a new deal in exchange for an extended lease for the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimea. Kiev claims Tymoshenko's deal was brokered without the consent of the Cabinet.

A state prosecutor said Tymoshenko had threatened to fire Dubina unless he signed the contract, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"She intervened in the process of negotiation, intervened in the actions of an economic entity, and gave written instructions to conclude this contract," Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin was quoted as saying. "She demanded it, threatening Dubina with dismissal."

Tymoshenko's defense team complains the complaints are politically motivated.