The three members of the Board named in the lawsuit were nominated by Telenor East Invest AS, a holder of 26.6% of the Company's voting shares. The lawsuit relates to the acquisition of Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) "Ukrainian Radiosystems", a wireless telecommunications operator in Ukraine that operates under the WellCom brand name, and makes certain claims about the motivations of the three directors in connection with the Board's failure to approve VimpelCom's acquisition of WellCom.

As earlier reported by the Company, at a Board meeting held on April 22, 2005, a majority of the Company's board of directors, five of the nine members, voted in favor of the acquisition of Wellcom. However, VimpelCom's charter requires a super-majority approval, eight out of the nine board members, to approve the acquisition and therefore the decision did not pass.

The lawsuit initiated by Eco Telecom Limited seeks to (i) recognize as unlawful the voting by the three directors at the Board's meeting on April 22, 2005 with respect to the acquisition of CJSC Ukrainian Radiosystems; (ii) declare that the quorum provision and the super-majority voting requirement shall not be applicable for the purposes of the Board making a decision on such acquisition; and (iii) declare the results of the vote taken on April 22, 2005 as approving the acquisition of WellCom.

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