Serhiy Vlasenko, lawyer for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, raised eyebrows on Feb. 11 when he was quoted by UNIAN newswire as saying that he is being spied on by Security Service of Ukraine officers dressed in “cartoonish bear costumes.” Later the same day, UNIAN ran a correction quoting Vlasenko as saying that he meant general prosecutor spies, not those with the secret service. The next day the scandal erupted as Vlasenko denied ever speaking to UNIAN.
