Ukraine opens criminal probe into surveillance of ex-US ambassador

Associated Press
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch may have been under surveillance while in her post, Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has suggested in an interview - AP
Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch may have been under surveillance while in her post, Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas has suggested in an interview - AP

Ukrainian police say they have opened an investigation into the possibility that the former US ambassador came under illegal surveillance before she was recalled from her post.

The announcement on Thursday came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released a trove of documents that showed Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, communicating about the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as the ambassador to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry, which runs the police forces, said in a statement that Ukrainian police "are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States."

The statement continued: "However, the published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state."

More to come