Ukraine, deeply dependent on the Trump administration for financial and military aid, froze its cooperation with the special counsel’s office. Four cases involving Paul J. Manafort have been effectively frozen by Ukraine’s chief prosecutor. Ukrainian officials are wary of offending President Trump

By Andrew E. Kramer @ NYTimes.com, May 2

KIEV, Ukraine —  [....]

Volodymyr Ariev, a member of Parliament who is an ally of President Petro O. Poroshenko, readily acknowledged that the intention in Kiev was to put investigations into Mr. Manafort’s activities “in the long-term box.”

“In every possible way, we will avoid irritating the top American officials,” Mr. Ariev said in an interview. “We shouldn’t spoil relations with the administration.”

The Ukrainian investigators had been tracing money paid to Mr. Manafort and a New York law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, by figures in the political party of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the Russian-leaning Ukrainian president who was ousted by street protesters and fled the country in 2014. Mr. Manafort was a longtime adviser to Mr. Yanukovych, working with him to revamp his public image and acquire a pro-Western patina that helped him win the presidency in 2010 [....]