KIEV, Sept. 10 – The Russian Defense Ministry's lawsuit to recover $405.5 million of the debt of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation from the Cabinet of Ministers, which was led by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in 1995-1997, has been described by the Batkivschyna Party as a gift, the Kommersant Ukraine newspaper wrote on Monday.

"This lawsuit is just a gift to us, because if a court rejects a lawsuit lodged by Russia, it, in fact will recognize that the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has no debt to the Russian Defense Ministry, and therefore, there is no subject of Yulia Tymoshenko's crime. If the lawsuit is satisfied, then [President] Viktor Yanukovych will have to pay over UAH 3 billion for the opportunity to try Yulia Tymoshenko in this case," a source in the BYT-Batkivschyna faction told the newspaper.

As reported, the Russian Defense Ministry filed at Kiev Economic Court a lawsuit against the Ukrainian government for the non-payment of UAH 3.239 billion under a criminal case on the activities of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation. This is stipulated in a court ruling dated September 5, 2012 and published in the single state register of judgments.