KIEV, Ukraine, July 14 (UPI) -- Documents from Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz indicate opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is innocent of charges she abused her power, attorneys said.
Tymoshenko is charged with costing Ukraine billions of dollars in a natural gas deal she helped broker in 2009 with Russian energy company Gazprom while serving as prime minister. Gazprom had cut gas supplies to Ukraine for several weeks in early 2009, disrupting European energy markets.
Tymoshenko secured a deal to resume gas supplies that put severe restrictions on her country. She is accused of brokering the deal without the consent of the Cabinet. She's claimed she didn't need that, however, and asked the court in June to close the case.
Her defense team claims there are minutes from January 2009 meetings at Naftogaz that state the country's gas transit network was on the brink of disaster because of the suspension of Russian gas supplies. Other documents show the board at the energy company approved all of its contracts, the National News Agency of Ukraine reports.
The minutes were deliberately held back by prosecutors, Tymoshenko's lawyers claim.
Gazprom is pressing for a merger with Naftogaz. Opposition leaders claim the charges against Tymoshenko are politically motivated and complain a merger would tighten the Kremlin's grip on the country.
