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Scoop of the weekend: Victory Day, easing of quarantine

Scoop of the weekend: Victory Day, easing of quarantine

Coronavirus

There have been 15,648 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ukraine, including 408 deaths and 3,288 recoveries by the morning of 11 May.

As of 11 May, Ukraine has somewhat eased quarantine restrictions. People are now allowed to walk in parks, cafes and restaurants may open summer terraces. Gyms, cinemas and food courts are still closed.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Chief Sanitarian Doctor Viktor Lyashko, however, urged Ukrainians to strictly follow the sanitary rules to prevent another spike in the number of diseases.

Over 300 Ukrainians were evacuated from the UAE and Armenia on 11 May. They will stay in digitally-controlled self-isolation.

The Foreign Ministry has said that Ukrainians are not banned from leaving the country, except through closed checkpoints or by air. It said so in response to the UK embassy's inquiry on whether Ukrainians need a special permit to leave the country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will not block seasonal workers from leaving the country, provided they have contracts for at least three months. "There is no slavery in Ukraine," he added.

Czech Airlines, Wizz Air and Lufthansa have announced plans to resume flights from Ukraine in late May-early June.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that the government should offer credit holidays for small and medium businesses.

Victory Day

President Zelenskyy has said that Ukrainians made a huge contribution to the victory over Nazis in World War II and no-one will be able to privatize this victory. He also suggested installing four symbolic bells in Luhansk and Transcarpathian regions, and later, when Ukraine's integrity is restored, in Donetsk and Simferopol.

During a video link, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reminded the UN Security Council that Russian aggression against Ukraine has lasted longer than World War II and has cost over 13,000 Ukrainians their lives.

Information security

Ex-President Petro Poroshenko has said that President Zelenskyy should convene the National Security and Defence Council and extend the ban on Russian social networks and TV channels in Ukraine. He suggested that a pan-European, pan-American Russian-language channel is necessary to give Russian speakers in Europe and the USA an alternative point of view to balance off the Russian propaganda channel Russia Today.

Crime

A Ukrainian sailor, a member of the Cyrpus-registered freight vessel Panamax Alexander, was found dead in Mexico, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said. His body was found by local fishers.

A Ukrainian crew member of the Regal Princess cruise liner crew was found dead in Rotterdam. According to preliminary reports, she committed suicide.

Pirates have attacked a ship off the shore of Equatorial Guinea and abducted two crew members, one of whom could be a Ukrainian citizen.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has said that it has detained two neo-Nazis over an attempt to set a synagogue in Kherson on fire.

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