Agreement on pre-Easter prisoner swap
Ukraine and Russian-backed militants in the east of the country have agreed to another prisoner swap ahead of Julian calendar Easter. The Russian and Ukrainian sides in the so-called Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) made the announcement late on April 8 following a video conference. The talks led to “fundamental agreements on the lists for the mutual release of detained persons” no later than Orthodox Easter on April 19, according to a statement on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s website. Russia’s envoy to the TCG, Boris Gryzlov, said Kyiv and “separatists” in the Donbas region had “principally coordinated the lists of detained persons for exchange.” It was not immediately clear how many prisoners the two sides would exchange. The last prisoner swap in December 2019 involved 200 people. During the video conference, held in keeping with recommendations against in-person gatherings because of the coronavirus pandemic, the sides also discussed demining and negotiations on the disengagement of troops in the Donbas region. Negotiations for a new ceasefire between Kyiv and the separatists have so far failed to halt the fighting. The conflict has claimed around 13,200 lives since April 2014, according to the United Nations. The prisoner swap comes as U..N Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March called on the warring parties in conflicts around the world to halt fighting due to the coronavirus pandemic. (RFE/RL, with reporting by DPA and TASS)
Aid to Eastern Partnership countries
Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – the Visegrad Four group of Central European countries – will launch a solidarity program for the six members of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) to help them fight the coronavirus outbreak. In an April 8 joint statement on the future of the Eastern Partnership, the four EU members said they will “launch an extraordinary ‘V4EastSolidarity program’ for the EaP countries” that would provide up to 250,000 euros in aid. The partnership, which was launched in 2009 and consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, is meant to bring the countries closer to the EU without the concrete offer of future membership in the bloc. The statement stops short of calling for future EU membership for the six, saying only that “political association and economic integration of the Eastern partners with the EU remain our main goal.” It also supports their “gradual access” to the EU markets. The Visegrad statement will be included in the debate on the Eastern Partnership that EU foreign ministers are scheduled to have at the end of the month. An Eastern Partnership summit is still scheduled for June 18 in Brussels, although it might be postponed due to the pandemic. (Rikard Jozwiak of RFE/RL)
Ukraine confirms 1,892 coronavirus cases
Ukraine had 1,892 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases as of April 9, according to the Public Health Center of the Health Ministry of Ukraine. Among those were 57 lethal cases. Some 45 patients have recovered. Over the past day, 224 new cases were recorded. An earlier report from the Public Health Center indicated that 85 percent of the deceased were people over the age of 50. (Ukrinform)
Secretary of state speaks with Zelenskyy
U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said on April 6 that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that day. She noted: “Secretary Pompeo and President Zelenskyy discussed ongoing U.S. assistance to Ukraine during the COVID-19 crisis, including the planned delivery of much-needed medical lab equipment. Secretary Pompeo thanked President Zelenskyy for Ukraine’s support in repatriating U.S. citizens and residents, including more than 200 Peace Corps volunteers. The secretary and the president also stressed the continued importance of access to Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Russia-led forces continue to mount attacks and prevent the work of humanitarian organizations and OSCE monitors.” (U.S. Department of State)
100 Ukrainians in Italy’s hospitals
Ukrainian doctors, who will work in Italy for two weeks, will receive invaluable experience, Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov stated on April 4. “Today we send 20 Ukrainian doctors to Italy. For us, this is a very important step. Firstly, it’s humanly and right to help friends. Secondly, there are a lot of Ukrainians working in Italy. According to our unofficial data, about 100 of them are in Italian hospitals and they are treated by Italian doctors,” Mr. Avakov told reporters. According to him, Ukrainian doctors from the Ministry of Health and the Internal Affairs Ministry will help both Italy and Ukraine. “For us, the experience that our doctors will receive is invaluable,” the minister said. He added that the Ukrainian doctors who flew to Italy are volunteers. Among the Ukrainian medical personnel who will perform their work in Italy are anesthetists, resuscitators, infectious disease specialists, therapists and nurses. Mr. Avakov said that protective means are fully provided by the Ukrainian side, while Italy provides work and accommodations. (Interfax Ukraine)
Five Ukrainians die abroad from COVID-19
Five citizens of Ukraine have died abroad from the coronavirus, while 11 have recovered, the Foreign Affairs Ministry reported on April 3. Four Ukrainians recovered in Japan, two citizens were cured in Italy and Poland, and one in each of Germany, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Telegram. Currently, 166 Ukrainians are being treated for coronavirus abroad: 121 people in Italy, 16 in Greece, four in Germany, Poland and the Dominican Republic, three in Austria, one each in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, Nigeria, Portugal, the Netherlands, the UAE, Russia, the U.S., Serbia, Seychelles, Thailand, Switzerland and Sweden. The ministry did not indicate in which countries Ukrainians had died of the coronavirus, but deaths in Italy were previously reported and, according to Ukrainian media, one Ukrainian died in France. (Interfax Ukraine)
Fire extinguished near Chornobyl
Emergency authorities in Ukraine said there are no signs of any fire still burning in the uninhabited exclusion zone around the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear plant after firefighters mobilized to put out a blaze. The country’s State Emergency Service said early on April 5 that background radiation levels were “within normal limits.” More than 130 firefighters, three aircraft and 21 vehicles were deployed on April 4 to battle the fire, which was said to have burned around 20 hectares (50 acres) in the long-vacated area near where an explosion at a Soviet nuclear plant in 1986 sent a plume of radioactive fallout high into the air and across swaths of Europe. Fire and safety crews were said to be inspecting the area overnight on April 4-5 to eliminate any threat from sites where there was still smoldering. The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that “as of April 5, 7 a.m., there was no open fire, only some isolated cells smoldering.” Officials had earlier shared aerial images of white smoke blanketing the area, where it said firefighting was complicated by “an increased radiation background in individual areas of combustion.” There was no threat to settlements, the State Emergency Service said. A number of regions of Ukraine this week have reported brushfires amid unseasonably dry conditions. Fires are a routine threat in the forested region around the exclusion zone. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with additional reporting by Interfax)
Police identify Chornobyl arson suspect
The Kyiv police have identified a man who allegedly started a mass fire in the uninhabited exclusion zone around the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear plant last week. The police said on April 6 that a 27-year-old resident of the village of Rahivka told investigators that he had set some garbage and grass on fire “for fun.” Police launched a probe into the destruction of forestry – an offense punishable with hefty fines or imprisonment for up to five years. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, has not yet been officially charged. Earlier in the day, the State Emergency Service said firefighters and rescue teams continued to put out fires at two sites near Rahivka, adding that radiation levels in the city of Kyiv and the Kyiv region were within the normal range. The total area affected by the fire near Rahivka was reported as five hectares. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Russian drone downed in Donbas
Ukrainian servicemen in the Donbas downed a $2 million drone produced in Russia on April 5. They handed the drone over to specialists for examination, the press service of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said on its Facebook page. “On April 5, thanks to skills of one of detachments, which hold the line in the direction towards Svitlodarsk, a drone Zastava Bird Eye 400 was downed. Russia has been producing such drones since 2012. It costs around $2 million,” the JFO said. The drone was passed to experts from specialized detachments to check the data storage device. “This fact once again proves the direct participation of the Russian armed forces in the war in eastern Ukraine,” it said. (Interfax Ukraine)
Eight Ukrainian MPs have COVID-19
As of April 6, eight cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among national deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, said Oleksandr Kachura, a member of the Servant of the People faction. “Today, according to the results of epidemiological investigations of cases of the disease COVID-19, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine confirmed cases of this disease in the following deputies of Ukraine: Vitaliy Bort, Opposition Platform – For Life; Volodymyr Vatras, Servant of the People; Ruslan Horbenko, Servant of the People (recovered); Ihor Kisiliov, Opposition Platform – For Life; Oleksandr Lukashev, Opposition Platform – For Life; Serhiy Rudyk, independent; Hanna Skorokhod, independent; and Serhiy Shakhov, Dovira (recovered),”Mr. Kachura wrote on his Telegram channel. (Interfax Ukraine)
Interpipe, EastOne fight coronavirus
The Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe and the investment advisory group EastOne, with its stakeholders Victor and Elena Pinchuk, have declared an initiative to combine the efforts of business and state authorities to fight COVID-19. This decision was made following the meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and businesses on March 16. The two companies have gotten involved in the establishment and operation of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Anti-Crisis Headquarters, led by Governor Oleksandr Bondarenko. Interpipe and EastOne will make a major contribution to the funding and development of the action plan and preventive measures to fight COVID-19, as well as the information campaign among the population regarding these measures. As part of implementation of this initiative, the company has already donated $2 million (U.S.) for state procurement of COVID-19 tests, part of which will be supplied to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Additional funds will be provided upon establishment of the region’s primary need plans. The Pinchuks issued the following statement: “A pandemic is everybody’s challenge. And everybody must fight it. The leadership must adopt measures to protect its citizens. The citizens must behave responsibly. The media must inform and warn. Doctors must heal. Business must be solidary and provide financial support. Today, one must not sit idle. We want our country to be prepared to fight the coronavirus.” As previously reported, the Elena Pinchuk Foundation and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation have bought 10 artificial lung ventilation machines for Ukrainian hospitals in Chernivtsi, Donetsk, Luhansk, Lviv, Odesa, Volyn and Zakarpattia oblasts, and in the city of Kyiv. (East One)
‘Hero of Labor’ for Crimean bridge
Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded his former judo instructor the title “Hero of Labor” for building a controversial bridge from Russia’s southern regions to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Mr. Putin going back decades when they practiced martial arts in their youth, received the award on March 16, the sixth anniversary of a widely denounced referendum that was organized by Russia to annex Crimea. Mr. Rotenberg’s Stroygazmontazh was the general contractor for the $3.7 billion bridge, which stretches 19 kilometers and is the sole link between Crimea and Russia. The bridge was opened to automobile traffic in 2018 and rail traffic last year. The United States and the European Union have condemned Russia’s construction of the bridge, calling it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and have imposed sanctions on firms associated with its construction, including Stroygazmontazh. Mr. Rotenberg sold the company late last year for 75 billion rubles ($1 billion) reportedly to companies affiliated with the state-owned gas giant Gazprom. Mr. Putin had signed an order in 2013 establishing a “Hero of Labor” award for Russia to “raise the prestige of selfless and conscientious labor.” The award had also existed in Soviet times. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Kommersant)
Ukraine condemns Russia’s draft in Crimea
Ukraine has strongly protested the implementation by Russia of another draft for military service in Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said. “Such actions by Russia are a gross violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits Russia, as an occupying state, from forcing protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. It is also forbidden to exert pressure and conduct propaganda in favor of voluntary entry into the army, as well as to transfer protected persons outside the occupied territory,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement released on April 6. The ministry said military conscription in the context of the coronavirus pandemic is especially cynical. “The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine demands that Russia cancel the call for military service in Russian-occupied Crimea and ensure the unconditional fulfillment of its international obligations as an occupying state,” the ministry said. (Interfax Ukraine)
Ukraine expects explanations from Iran
Ukraine expects immediate explanations from Iran concerning a statement by an Iranian parliamentarian saying that the Iranian “military forces carried out their duties well” in downing a Ukrainian passenger airliner in January, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Vadym Prystaiko said. “We expect an immediate explanation from #Iran on this deplorable statement. It shows full disrespect for human lives. Dozens of families from Iran, Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, UK & Afghanistan lost their loved ones in the attack against defenseless civilian aircraft,” Mr. Prystaiko wrote on Twitter on April 7. Hassan Norouzi, spokesman for the Iranian parliamentary legal and judicial committee, said in an interview with a state-run daily that the Iranian “military forces carried out their duties well” in downing a Ukraine International Airlines aircraft in January, the Al Arabiya TV channel reported on its English-language webpage. A Boeing 737-800 of Ukraine International Airlines crashed in the vicinity of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport soon after takeoff on January 8. None of the 167 passengers and nine crewmembers survived the crash. Iranian authorities acknowledged on January 11 that the Boeing was downed by the Iranian military by mistake. Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Forces later assumed full responsibility for the crash of the Ukrainian plane. (Interfax Ukraine)
IMF praises adoption of legislation
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised the Ukrainian Parliament’s adoption of legislation on banking and land reforms that could unlock billions of dollars in loans. Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year, $5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year. The Verkhovna Rada on March 30 voted to lift a ban on the sale of farmland and approved in the first reading a banking law, although it failed to adopt a revised budget for 2020. “We welcome the support by the Ukrainian Parliament in the first reading of the legislation aimed at strengthening the fundamentals of bank restructuring, and we expect its final adoption,” IMF envoy Goesta Ljungman said in a statement on April 4. “We also look forward to the adoption of amendments to the budget for 2020, which will help the authorities respond to the extraordinary challenges that have arisen as a result of COVID -19.” The banking bill prevents the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years during a widespread financial-sector clean-up from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation. Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine’s banks, observers say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine’s most powerful tycoons, Ihor Kolomoisky, the former co-owner of PrivatBank, from regaining ownership rights to the bank. Lawmakers also approved legislation lifting a ban on the sale of farmland, which is expected to unlock enormous investment potential in what is already one of the world’s top grain exporters. The land market should be opened by July 1, 2021, based on the bill’s provisions. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax and Reuters)