Tymoshenko Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison

The former Ukrainian PM decries the charges against her as 'politically motivated' as she promises to appeal.

Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine, will spend the next seven years behind bars after a court found her guilty of abusing power in a trial that the European Union denounced as politically motivated. The charges stem from a natural gas deal that Tymoshenko signed with Russia that led to Ukraine's state energy provider, Naftogaz, losing nearly $200 million. But Tymoshenko, the leading voice of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, has maintained that she did nothing wrong and that the entire case has been orchestrated by the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovich. The European Union voiced its support of Tymoshenko, telling Yanukovich that Tymoshenko's imprisonment will have "profound implications for the EU-Ukraine bilateral relationship." During sentencing, Tymoshenko slammed Yanukovich's "authoritarian regime" and pledged to appeal her sentence.