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Ukraine's opposition cries foul

Opposition leaders Yulia Tymoshenko (L) and Yuri Lutsenko walk after a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko in Kiev on March 30, 2007. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) .
Opposition leaders Yulia Tymoshenko (L) and Yuri Lutsenko walk after a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko in Kiev on March 30, 2007. (UPI Photo/Sergey Starostenko) . | License Photo

KIEV, Ukraine, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A former Ukrainian interior minister under detention in Kiev said he doesn't understand the latest charges filed against him.

Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko was arrested by security forces Sunday. His backers said he was detained in connection with an investigation into the 2004 poisoning of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

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He said the charges are politically motivated, adding that he doesn't "understand what's going on," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

Lutsenko was one of the leaders of the Orange Revolution in 2004 along with opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Tymoshenko heads to the prosecutor general's office Wednesday to answer charges she misused federal money to pay for state pension funds during her tenure as prime minister.

The opposition leader, who ran for president against Victor Yanukovych this year, said authorities in Kiev are trying to destroy her reputation in a smear campaign.

State prosecutors, RFE/RL adds, confirmed only that new a new criminal case was opened against the former interior minister. Tymoshenko adds that her rivals are launching a "terror" campaign against the opposition.

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