UKRAINIAN EX-PREMIER RETURNS FROM ISRAELI REFUGE.

Yukhim Zvyahilsky is back home in Donetsk after more than two years spent as a fugitive in Israel. As acting prime minister in 1993-94, Zvyahilsky was accused of large-scale misappropriation of state property in connection with fuel exports and currency transactions, and fled to Israel shortly after being dismissed from office. He is still a deputy to the Ukrainian parliament, which recently rescinded its earlier decision to lift Zvyahilsky’s parliamentary immunity. In his first interview upon returning, Zvyahilsky announced his reappointment as chairman of the Zasyadko mining company he had once headed, and his intention to lobby for coal industry interests in parliament. Donetsk mayor Volodymyr Rybak predicted that Zvyahilsky’s popularity in Donbass will propel him to a political comeback with "beneficial consequences" for the region. (Interfax-Ukraine, UNIAN, Itar-Tass, March 4-5)

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