Protest against coronavirus restrictions
Several hundred small-business owners have protested in the Ukrainian capital, demanding that the authorities ease restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The demonstrators gathered on April 29 near a government building in the center of Kyiv and briefly blocked traffic in defiance of rules against public gatherings. Wearing face masks, the protesters called for permission to reopen small enterprises such as shops, restaurants and cafes to save them from bankruptcy. “One more day of your protection and we will disappear,” one sign read. Ukraine has confirmed 9,866 coronavirus cases, including 250 deaths, according to official data. Authorities imposed lockdown restrictions in March, ordering all nonessential businesses to close and reserving public transport for employees of essential services, including police and hospital staff. The government plans to gradually lift the lockdown after May 11 if coronavirus cases don’t spike. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
One killed, 10 wounded in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that during the week of April 17-23, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and 10 were wounded in action. In that week, the ministry said, Russian-terrorist forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions on the Luhansk and Donetsk sectors of the front 59 times in total, including at least 17 times with heavy weapons. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
FSB general linked to MH17 downing
Open-source researchers have linked a top general in Russia’s main security and intelligence agency to the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) over eastern Ukraine. A report published jointly by Bellingcat and the Russian news site The Insider on April 28 said that Col. Gen. Andrei Burlaka of Russia’s Federal Security Service (known by the acronym FSB) is one of the Russian officials whose calls with leaders of the militants in eastern Ukraine were intercepted and recorded. Three Russians and one Ukrainian have been identified by Dutch investigators, and a Dutch court began criminal proceedings against them last month. All four are believed to be in Russia. Most of the 298 people on board MH17 were Dutch citizens. The jet was downed by a Russian-built surface-to-air missile system, which Dutch officials believe was secretly transported across the Russian border into Ukraine. As part of their investigation, Dutch authorities released intercepted phone calls and called for public help in identifying some of the individuals heard on the calls. One was a key figure named as “Vladimir Ivanovich.” Bellingcat and The Insider identified him as Col. Gen. Burlaka, who they said was the chief of operational staff for the Border Guard Service of the FSB. The outlets said they established the general’s identity by searching phone records and travel data, and comparing his voice from different recordings. “This FSB general is the highest-ranking Russian official identified as a person of interest in the criminal investigation into the downing of MH17,” Bellingcat said. The Insider said Gen. Burlaka’s position in the Border Guard Service puts him close in the hierarchy to FSB director Aleksandr Bortnikov, who answers directly to President Vladimir Putin. Gen. Burlaka was “in a crucial position to supervise the movement of weapons from Russia to Ukraine, and thus would have had to authorize the transfer of the Russian Buk missile launcher that shot the Malaysian airliner after crossing the border,” Bellingcat said. Russia has repeatedly denied any role in the crash, and refused to turn over the four men to stand trial in the Netherlands. (RFE/RL)
Fires continue near Chornobyl
Firefighters in Ukraine continue to battle a series of fires near the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant nearly a month after they broke out. The State Service for Emergency Situations said on April 27 that brigades were still working to extinguish fires in the Lubianskyi, Paryshivskyi, Dytiatkivskyi and Denysovytskyi forest districts in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. “The main efforts are focused on the localization of two fire sites, smoldering stumps, wood segments and peat-boggy soil,” the service said, adding that radiation in the area does not exceed permissible levels. The fires began on April 3 in the western part of the uninhabited Exclusion Zone before spreading to nearby forests. Ukrainian officials have said they have extinguished the fires several times, but new fires continue appearing in the area. The National Police has said it detained two people suspected of setting the initial fire. (RFE/RL Ukrainian Service)
9,866 coronavirus cases in Ukraine
Ukraine recorded 9,866 cases of the coronavirus as of April 29, according to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov. “Some 9,866 people have fallen ill since the start of the pandemic, including 672 children and 1,976 health-care workers,” the health minister said at a briefing. He added that 456 people had contracted COVID-19 in the past day, including 33 children and 133 health-care workers. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,103 people in Ukraine have recovered from the disease and 250 people have died. The Cabinet of Ministers has supported the criteria developed by the health and economy ministries that enable food markets to resume their operations, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reported on Telegram. “The main condition for the operation of food markets is the decision of a respective territorial body of the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection to comply with anti-epidemic requirements,” he explained. Mr. Shmyhal stressed that the work of food markets during the coronavirus pandemic should be regulated by strict sanitary standards.” (Ukrinform, Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
World Bank to aid COVID-19 response
The World Bank stated on April 27 that its board of executive directors had approved $135 million in additional financing for the Serving People, Improving Health Project, to scale-up Ukraine’s health sector response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing project provides assistance for the renovation of urban hospitals and rural health posts, purchase of modern equipment and improvement in the quality of health services. The initial $215 million investment focused on supporting health reforms, improving delivery of services (including primary and secondary prevention, early detection and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and cancer), as well as enhancing the efficiency of the health-care system. The additional $135 million will help Ukraine with important hospital upgrades and reforms, and also help train thousands of Ukrainian doctors in the provision of modern medical services. The project will also provide $35 million for COVID-19 emergency response activities. These funds will be used to buy essential materials and equipment for the country’s response to the pandemic, provide much-needed training for medical personnel and support communication of essential public information. It will also cover reimbursement of financing to Ukrainian providers of health care for COVID-19 patients. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)
Ukraine begins chairmanship of OSCE forum
Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba officially opened Ukraine’s chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation, delivering a speech at its first online session on April 29. “Ukraine will hold the chairmanship in tumultuous times when Russian aggression continues against our country and the world faces the coronavirus pandemic. This is a time of great challenges, but we will continue seeking opportunities and constructive responses to these challenges,” the minister said, addressing the representatives of the forum’s participating countries and partners, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported. Mr. Kuleba stressed that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe remains a key platform for cooperation and dialogue and that the Forum for Security Cooperation, which focuses on the military-political dimension of security, is still a cornerstone of the organization. The Ukrainian minister underscored that steps needed to be taken to restore confidence and stability in the OSCE region as the ongoing gross violations of the organization’s principles cannot be merely observed. Mr. Kuleba also praised the important role of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission that has been working in the Donbas for six years. He mentioned the American paramedic, OSCE SMM member Joseph Stone, who died in the Donbas in 2017, and expressed condolences to his family and friends. In his speech, Mr. Kuleba outlined the priorities of the Ukrainian chairmanship, including strengthening the role of OSCE in promoting the peace process between Ukraine and Russia and ending the war in eastern Ukraine; observing the security situation in the Black Sea-Sea of Azov region and its militarization; countering hybrid warfare; countering covert and unlawful use of private military companies in conflict zones; responding to challenges related to the spread of COVID-19, in particular in the armed forces; combating arms trafficking; managing conventional munitions stockpiles; demining territories affected by conflicts and wars; building confidence and security in the military; implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540 against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security; and holding a dialogue to implement the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. Ukraine took over the chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation from Turkey on April 20. Ukraine will be the first to chair the forum in an online format due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Ukrinform)
Supreme Court postpones PrivatBank hearing
Ukraine’s Supreme Court has postponed a review of a lower court decision on whether state-owned PrivatBank has to pay back more than 1 billion hrv ($37 million U.S.) to two brothers who lost their savings in the 2016 nationalization of the financial institution. The Supreme Court’s press service said on April 27, the day the hearing had been scheduled, that the decision to postpone the hearing was made due to pressure imposed on judges by media reports and comments on social networks in recent days. Ukraine’s central bank had recognized the tycoon brothers, Ihor and Hryhoriy Surkis, as related parties and included money from their deposits at PrivatBank in a bail-in when one of Ukraine’s largest privately owned banks was nationalized. The Surkis brothers, known as associates of the former owner of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoisky, challenged that decision in court, forcing the central bank to defend its actions. Mr. Kolomoisky lost control over PrivatBank when the central bank took it over after it failed stress tests and was deemed to be undercapitalized. Two years later, an independent audit concluded that PrivatBank had conducted “large-scale and coordinated fraud” for at least 10 years before its takeover by the state. The U.S.-based corporate investigative firm Kroll and attorneys at AlixPartners also found a hole of at least $5.5 billion in the bank’s balance sheet. Mr. Kolomoisky has denied wrongdoing and maintains that he is the rightful owner of the bank, over which he has vowed to regain control. In late March, Ukrainian lawmakers approved the first reading of a bill preventing the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by Reuters)
Ukraine’s offer to Saakashvili angers Georgia
The government of Georgia, led by former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s longtime foes, has voiced objection to his possible appointment to the post of deputy prime minister of Ukraine, saying such a move would negatively affect relations between the two countries. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said in Tbilisi on April 24 that it was “absolutely unacceptable” for Ukraine to appoint to a top post a person who has been convicted in his native Georgia and is wanted on charges of abuse of power. “If such a decision is made, we would recall our ambassador from Kyiv for consultations, at a minimum,” Mr. Gakharia told journalists. In Kyiv, Ukrainian lawmakers representing the ruling Servant of the People party said they were divided over the government’s proposal to give Mr. Saakashvili the post of deputy prime minister in charge of reforms. Mr. Saakashvili, whose appointment needs to be approved by the Verkhovna Rada, told reporters that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had asked him to conduct talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ukraine, which desperately needs IMF loans to shore up its economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, is to face “the most difficult social and economic test since it won independence,” he said. If Mr. Saakashvili’s appointment is approved, it would mark a remarkable political comeback for the 52-year-old, who served as Georgia’s president from 2004 to 2013. In Georgia, he has been prosecuted by the government that came to power after his party’s defeat in 2012 parliamentary elections. He was sentenced in absentia in 2018 to a total of nine years in prison after being convicted of abuse of power in two separate cases. Prosecutors also said that he was wanted in his native country for allegedly authorizing a plot to kill an opposition politician who died in Britain in 2008. Mr. Saakashvili, who has rejected all charges as politically motivated, started a new political career in Ukraine in 2015, when he was granted Ukrainian citizenship and appointed to the Odesa Oblast governor’s post by President Petro Poroshenko. But when relations between Messrs. Poroshenko and Saakashvili soured over reform efforts and the fight against corruption, the Ukrainian president in 2016 fired him as governor. In 2017, Mr. Saakashvili created the Movement of New Forces opposition party and President Poroshenko issued a decree that stripped him of his Ukrainian citizenship, which was reinstated by his successor, Mr. Zelenskyy, after his inauguration last year. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian and Georgian Services, with reporting by Ukrayinska Pravda, UNIAN, Interfax, DPA and AP)