Ukraine's Tymoshenko plans to travel

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KIEV, Ukraine, March 17 (UPI) -- Authorities in Kiev gave permission to opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to leave the country to attend a women's and political summit, she said.

A Kiev court ruled in early February that Tymoshenko couldn't leave the country to visit European leaders. She is accused of misusing federal funds during her tenure as prime minister. Critics say the accusation is part of a smear campaign meant to diminish complaints about President Viktor Yanukovych.

The prosecutor's office in Kiev said she could travel to Brussels later in March to attend the European People's Party Summit to discuss Ukrainian affairs. She can also head to Lithuania in June to take part in a summit on women's roles in enhancing democracy, the opposition leader said on her Web site.

Yanukovych said he was concerned by the February court decision and that Tymoshenko should be able to leave the country if she wants.

Tymoshenko was one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution in 2004. A former prime minister under Yanukovych, she launched a bruising presidential bid against him in 2010 and later emerged as a key opposition leader.