Anti-corruption agency’s powers restored
The Ukrainian Parliament has voted to restore the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Agency (NAZK) as Kyiv is seeking to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fight a sharp economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. NAZK’s chief Oleksandr Novikov hailed the December 15 vote at the Verkhovna Rada, saying it would allow the agency to “tackle corruption.” Mr. Novikov said that “NAZK resumes all its operations in all major directions now.” In October, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court struck down some anti-corruption legislation and curbed the powers of the NAZK, sparking tensions between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the opposition, and members of the court. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said the European Union, the United States, and several other nations were following developments surrounding the Constitutional Court’s ruling with “growing concern.” The Verkhovna Rada’s move comes amid international concerns over Kyiv’s slow progress on reforms and anti-corruption efforts that have hobbled the implementation of a $5 billion program agreed in June with the IMF. Ukraine’s economy is expected to contract by 5 percent this year, dragged into recession by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU delegation to Kyiv has warned that its financial assistance was tied to Ukraine’s performance on corruption. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by Reuters)
City court orders OCU church dismantled
Russian government authorities in Russia-annexed Crimea, specifically, the so-called “Yevpatoria City Court,” on December 2 accused the Department of the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) of not fulfilling the November 3 decision of the court to dismantle the Church of the Image of the Mother of God “Burning Bush” in Yevpatoria, Crimea. Metropolitan Klyment of Symferopil and Crimea of the OCU received a package of documents from the “Department of the Federal Bailiff Service for the Republic of Crimea,” which found the OCU guilty of not dismantling the church and was initially fined 30,000 rubles, but later the fine was increased to 50,000 rubles, with the deadline date for dismantling extended to December 3. Ukrainian authorities issued a statement in response, which read: “The Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the latest violations of the occupying state of the Russian Federation against the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and its faithful. The decision of the so-called ‘court’ and further demands to dismantle the Burning Bush Church in Yevpatoria are aimed at ousting the Ukrainian church from the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Russia wants there to be one Ukrainian Church in Crimea, an important center of unity of Ukrainians.” Similar calls by the Russian occupiers to dismantle the church were issued on July 23. The so-called “Yevpatoria City Court” also issued a decision in November 2019 to dismantle the church. The Prosecutors Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol said it would provide an appropriate legal assessment of these actions of representatives of the occupation authorities as part of the criminal proceedings. “Such actions of the occupiers,” the office added, “are a direct violation of international humanitarian law and another confirmation of discrimination and pressure on the only Ukrainian religious community in Crimea.” (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)
Bartholomew on Unification Council anniversary
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has congratulated Metropolitan Epifaniy on the second anniversary of the Unification Council in Kyiv, the election of the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the approval of its charter. “I congratulate you, my blessed brother, on the significant church work done in such a short time, on the excellent management of church affairs, on cooperation with the authorities for the benefit of the entire Ukrainian people, as well as on initiatives and actions during the dangerous pandemic, to counter its social consequences and comfort the faithful,” the Patriarch said. Patriarch Bartholomew notes that thanks to the contribution of Metropolitan Epifaniy “to the functioning of the ecclesial life of Ukraine and his sincere interest in the unity of Orthodoxy,” the OCU autocephaly was recognized by several other Local Churches. “Ukrainian autocephaly is a fait accompli that cannot be changed. Refuting this truth is sought by other people’s interests, which “lead to no good,” but the inevitable filling of the Danaid barrel,” the message reads. “We are looking forward to the joy of meeting your Beatitude in Kyiv in 2021 during our visit to Ukraine on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the declaration of independence. …” (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)
Ukrainian mayor dies after COVID battle
One of Ukraine’s most influential and outspoken politicians, Hennadiy Kernes, the mayor of the eastern city of Kharkiv, has died of complications from COVID-19. A spokesman for the Kharkiv city council, Yuriy Sydorenko, confirmed to RFE/RL on December 17 that Mr. Kernes, 61, died overnight in a German clinic. He had been there undergoing treatment for weeks after contracting the coronavirus and falling ill in mid-September. Mr. Kernes’ wife, Oksana Haysynska, and his associate, Pavlo Fuks, reported the mayor’s death to other media outlets earlier in the day. Mr. Kernes won reelection and his eponymous Kernes Bloc won around 40 percent of the vote in Ukraine’s second-largest city in late October despite his not having been seen in public since August. His absence fueled a regional police case after a local rival filed a missing person’s report and there was speculation that he had died. Reports a week ago had suggested that Mr. Kernes’ condition was grave after both of his kidneys failed and doctors in Germany connected him to a life-support machine. Mr. Kernes had served two mayoral terms since 2010 and was required by law to turn up for the first session of the new city council by December 20 to begin a third term. Mr. Kernes survived a gun attack that left him requiring a wheelchair in April 2014, a time of growing instability in eastern Ukraine and a month after Moscow forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Mr. Kernes initially gave his backing to the pro-Russia separatists in the east before later switching his loyalty to the Ukrainian government. Kharkiv is just 20 kilometers from the Russian border. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Ukraine to get $300 million loan
The World Bank has approved a new loan for Ukraine intended to help the country hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak provide support for low-income families. The $300 million loan, which was approved late on December 11, comes as the international financial institution has projected that the poverty level in Ukraine could reach 23 percent by the end of the year. “The new funds will help finance Ukraine’s COVID-19 social protection emergency response by introducing fast cash transfers to individuals and households who have lost their jobs or income sources because of the pandemic,” the bank said in a statement. The funds will be added to an earlier, $150 million loan released in April. Ukraine has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 885,000 cases of infection and nearly 15,000 deaths. The continuing spread of the coronavirus recently led the government to impose harsh new restrictions, including bans on mass gatherings and the closure of schools and restaurants. Similar lockdown measures in June caused Ukraine’s economy to fall by more than 11 percent. Earlier this month, the World Bank signed off on a $100 million project aimed at promoting socioeconomic recovery and development in government-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, where a Russian-backed separatist conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014 still simmers. The World Bank has also recently announced plans to help Ukraine purchase COVID-19 vaccines. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters)
Clashes erupt during protests
Thousands of individual entrepreneurs have clashed with police in Kyiv’s Independence Square as they protested against state restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic. The demonstrators, who are demanding that lawmakers approve tax cuts for owners of small- and medium-sized businesses, tried to erect tents on the square on December 15 when police intervened. The protesters lobbed stones and firecrackers at the police, while law enforcement responded with volleys of tear gas. Despite the police efforts, protesters managed to set up several tents at the site, according to RFE/RL correspondents reporting from the square. The Interior Ministry said 40 police officers were injured in the clashes. Ambulances were visible at the scene, providing assistance to some protesters. It was not clear how many demonstrators were injured. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)
Pick for ambassador unlikely to get vote
The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote and is therefore unlikely to green-light the Trump administration’s choice of a retired Army lieutenant general to be the next U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, according to Senate and other sources. A failure to vote would leave the naming of someone for a posting that has been vacant for around 18 months to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. Career foreign service officer Marie Yovanovitch was dismissed as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in 2019 and later testified to Congress claiming she had been the target of a campaign to discredit her by surrogates of President Donald Trump. The White House announced on May 1 that it had nominated Keith Dayton, who currently serves as the senior U.S. defense adviser to Ukraine and as director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, as Washington’s next ambassador to Ukraine Nominees for ambassadorships must be confirmed by a Senate vote. There are currently no plans to vote on Mr. Dayton’s appointment before the current congressional session ends later this month, a spokesperson for one senator told RFE/RL. “While Dayton wasn’t particularly controversial, there is no point in confirming him this late in the term when Biden will want the opportunity to nominate his own ambassador to Ukraine,” a spokesperson for another senator said. A former U.S. career foreign service officer who is still active with Ukraine also predicted Mr. Dayton’s nomination would not move forward before Mr. Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Though Mr. Dayton served four decades in the Army, he is considered a political appointee as he is not a career foreign service officer. Political appointees frequently step down from their ambassadorial posts when a new administration enters the White House. Analysts initially expected the 71-year-old Mr. Dayton to be approved because he possessed significant experience in the former Soviet region, having served as U.S. defense attaché in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow before being appointed in 2018 as senior U.S. defense adviser to Ukraine. The United States has been without an ambassador to Ukraine since May 2019. Former Ukrainian Ambassador William Taylor served six months as charge d’affaires while the Trump administration sought a replacement until returning to the United States early this year. (Todd Prince, RFE/RL)