Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Wednesday denied new accusations of attempted theft as based on "fake" documents, while wrangling intensified in her trial on abuse-of-office charges, according to Reuters. Tymoshenko, the fiercest rival of President Viktor Yanukovich, faces up to 10 years in prison on charges linked to a 2009 gas deal with Russia and is the target of two other pending criminal cases. Her case has raised questions over the independence of the judiciary in the former Soviet republic and overshadowed its plans to forge closer ties with the European Union. This week, Ukraine's state security service SBU said it had launched an additional criminal case linked to the affairs of an energy company once run by Tymoshenko. -- SPA
