Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and Batkivshchina (Fatherland) party leader Yulia Tymoshenko said she intended to go to Germany for medical treatment.

During a telephone conversation with Tymoshenko on Sunday, February 23, German Chancellor Angela Merkel invited her to come to Germany and undergo treatment at the Charite clinic.

On October 11, 2011, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for having acted in excess of her powers which had resulted in damage to national interests. Tymoshenko was also barred from holding public positions for three years and has to pay a penalty of $189 mln in damages to Naftogaz Ukrainy. She was also charged with financial abuses in the Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine.

The Prosecutor General's Office then filed a lawsuit demanding compensation from Tymoshenko in the amount of 19.5 million hryvnia in this case.

In late December 2011, Tymoshenko was transferred from the investigation prison to a correctional facility in the eastern Kharkov region. She fell ill on August 18, 2011, two weeks after her arrest. She insisted that she be examined and treated by independent medics. On May 9, 2012, she was admitted to the Kharkov Railway Hospital for medical treatment.

The opposition demanded that Tymoshenko be set free and allowed to go abroad for medical treatment.

Tymoshenko was released from prison last week by a resolution adopted by the parliament.