Alexander Gorobets: The tough luck of American diplomats in Ukraine

The bodies of Gregory Hulka, the US embassy’s consul general, and his 10-year-old daughter arrived today in Kiev to be transported further to the USA. Earlier, a Toyota car belonging to US embassy’s attache for energy was stolen. The consul general of the US embassy in Ukraine died in a car crash late at night in the Vinnitsa region. According to the traffic police, a Fiat car containing the US diplomat and his daughter suddenly moved onto the contrary traffic lane and collided with a Mercedes minibus driven by a resident of the Zaporizhzhya region. After that, the US embassy in Ukraine announced that apart from Mr. Hulka and his daughter Abigail, their relative Yuri Kotik, a Ukrainian citizen, also died in the crash. The crash occurred on the road between the cities of Uman and Nemirov. The three were heading for the Khmelnitski region from Kiev to attend a wedding party held by another Ukrainian relative.

Greg Hulka, 44, first arrived in Kiev in early September and filled the position of the consul general in the consul department of the US embassy in Ukraine. He had been longing for this appointment for many years. His previous appointments included Moscow, Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Beijing, and Guanzhou (China).

As for the stolen car, it finally has been found and returned to the embassy staff. This morning, a local resident was detained in Kyiv, suspected of stealing the Toyota car belonging to the officer at the US embassy in Ukraine. The thieves, trying to run away from the possible pursuit, failed to keep the car on the road and slammed into a pole. Both were injured, but only one was hospitalized; the other managed to flee from the ambulance.

Alexsander Gorobets PRAVDA.Ru Kiev Ukraine

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2001/11/14/33784.html