Banking bill
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the so-called "anti-Kolomoyskyy" bill into law to prevent former owners of bankrupt bans nationalized by the state from claiming back their assets. The law in particular seeks to prevent tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskyy from laying claims to his former PrivatBank nationalized by the state.
Picket
Relatives of Ukrainian political prisoners held by the Kremlin have held a picket outside the presidential office, protesting against the absence of communication on the problem. They recalled that these prisoners would be included in an all-for-all exchange in December 2019 but there has been no progress at all.
Coronavirus
There have been 19,706 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ukraine, including 579 deaths and 6,227 recoveries by the morning of 21 May. According to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov, the "record-high" number of PCR tests, 9,361, was carried out yesterday.
The Cabinet of Ministers has published a resolution on the easing of quarantine as of 22 May. People will still have to wear masks in public places, carry IDs and limit events to 10 people. The regions with favourable epidemiological situation will relaunch public transport, reopen hotels and allow sports events without spectators.
Poland has relaxed quarantine rules for seasonal workers from Ukraine and Belarus by allowing them to get to work on the first day of their stay in the country. They will have to follow certain sanitary measures on site.
Donbas
One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and five wounded when the Russian occupying troops shelled Joint Forces Operation positions in Luhansk Region with 120-mm mortars banned by the Minsk agreements.
Eastern Human Rights Group NGP has said that Donetsk and Luhansk separatists have started calling up "reservists" from among local residents. On 20 May, the first anniversary of President Zelenskyy's presidential tenure, the separatist chieftains put their troops on combat alert due to the "shelling of a power transmission line by the Ukrainian Armed Forces", which Ukraine denied as fake news.
At a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council, the Ukrainian delegation has presented copies of Russian passports issued to Donetsk separatist chieftain Denys Pushylin and several other militants whom Russia has invited to take part in the trilateral contact group on Donbas. Ukraine said that Russia is seeking to shed responsibility for aggression by imposing people who do not represent the population of temporarily occupied Donbas.
Army
Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Ruslan Khomchak has decided to replace the Navy chief, the Babel website has reported, quoting its sources. Navy Commander Adm Ihor Voronchenko is likely to take up a job at the Defence Ministry and to be replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm Oleksiy Neyizhpapa.
High-profile cases
The notices of suspicion for Andriy Antonenko, Yuliya Kuzmenko and Yana Duhar, whom investigators suspect of killing journalist Pavlo Sheremet, have been redacted, Antonenko's lawyer has said. They no longer mention "ultranationalist ideas", "the supremacy of the Aryan race" and "other trash", he said. Antonenko is no longer listed as the organizer of the crime, but as the executor who acted on collusion.
Former Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, who is suspected of killing his acquaintance on 21 February, has been released on bail.
Media
Espreso TV has accused the National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting of political persecution after it appointed an unscheduled check of the channel. The watchdog said that the channel may be violating the rule to broadcast national audiovisual contents 24 hours a day by airing programs of Radio Liberty and BBC News Ukrainian.