OCTOBER 24, 2022:
JUNE 3, 2022:
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A U.S. senator says a North Dakota farmer arrested in Ukraine on accusations he planned to kill his business partner is no longer behind bars but his status is unclear. Republican Sen. John Hoeven told the Bismarck Tribune that Kurt Groszhans is no longer jailed but is still in Ukraine. Hoeven says his office continues to work with the U.S. Department of State and Ukranian officials about Groszhans’ treatment and safety. Hoeven’s office didn’t say how it learned that Groszhans was no longer jailed. Groszhans is from Ashley, North Dakota. He moved to Ukraine to farm in 2017 and partnered there with Roman Leshchenko. Groszhans was arrested in November 2021 on charges of plotting to assassinate Leshchenko.
JUNE 3, 2022:
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota farmer who had been jailed in Ukraine since November has been released from custody, yet still remains in the eastern European country. Sen. John Hoeven sayswork continues in regards to “fair treatment and safety” of Kurt Groszhans, who was arrested on charges he plotted to assassinate Ukraine’s then-agriculture minister, Roman Leschenko. Groszhans’ family has said the charges are false and aimed at silencing his claims of corruption in Ukraine. Groszhans, of Ashley, decided in 2017 to move to Ukraine, where his ancestors are from. His family said he invested a large sum of money to get a farming operation up and running. After connecting with Leshchenko, then a law professor, Groszhans named him director of his company.
APRIL 6, 2022:
UNDATED (AP)- A North Dakota farmer jailed in Ukraine has been moved to a new facility away from the capital city of Kyiv. Sen. John Hoeven told KX News that Kurt Groszhans was moved to Lviv. Groszhans, of Ashley, has been jailed since November 2021 on charges that he plotted to assassinate Ukraine’s then-agriculture minister, Roman Leschenko. Groszhans’ family has said the charges are false and aimed at silencing his claims of corruption in Ukraine. He is among a handful of Americans jailed in Ukraine or Russia whose paths home have been complicated by the war.
FEBRUARY 2, 2022:
WASHINGTON (AP) — An American farmer is jailed in Ukraine on charges he attempted to assassinate a former business partner who is now a government minister. The family of Kurt Groszhans says the charges are bogus and designed to stifle his claims of corruption. His former partner, Roman Leshchenko, has denied that he embezzled money from the American’s company. Groszhans’s relatives and supporters are also concerned that the North Dakota man risks being left behind as the U.S. braces for a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The State Department says it’s closely following the case and takes seriously its responsibility to help detained Americans.
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