National Bank governor's dismissal
Parliament has approved the president's bill dismissing National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) governor Yakov Smoliy. Smoliy resigned due to "long-time systemic political pressure".
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that international partners are fine with Smoliy's resignation, adding that he expects the signing of an agreement with the EU on the fifth programme of macrofinancial assistance (1.2bn euros) to be a proof of that.
Parliament has also dismissed the head of the Antimonopoly Committee, Yuriy Terentyev, who has headed the office since 2015.
According to propresidential MP Iryna Vereshchuk, candidates for NBU governor include the head of parliament's finance committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, NBU board head Bohdan Danylyshyn, former Raiffeisen Bank Aval board chairman Volodymyr Lavrenchuk and Ukrgazbank CEO Kyrylo Shevchenko. The latter two are the top candidates, she added.
NBU deputy head Kateryna Rozhkova will step in as acting governor until the new one is appointed.
Coronavirus
Ukraine has registered 876 new coronavirus cases. Thus, the total number of cases has reached 46,763, the Health Ministry has said.
Transcarpathoan Region and Kharkiv have decided to tighten the quarantine measures due to the deteriorating coronavirus situation. Kharkiv will keep cinemas closed while restaurants will only be allowed to work until 10 p.m. Transcarpathian Region will also close down restaurants and locations used for big events such as weddings, proms, wakes, etc.
The Lviv regional state administration has accused the city of Lviv of lifting the quarantine prematurely and called on its authorities to close restaurants again.
Volyn Region will also tighten the quarantine in popular recreation spots, particularly on the shoreline.
Turkey
Ukraine expects to sign a free trade deal with Turkey by the end of year, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
USA
Exclusive: Russia may provoke another migration crisis in Europe by prompting about a million refugees from Libya to the European continent, the former commanding general of United States Army Europe, Lt-Gen Ben Hodges, has said in an exclusive interview with LB.ua.
He also described Donald Trump's decision to withdraw 9,500 US troops from Germany as a big mistake that will play into Russia's hands.
He suggested that Ukraine should prevent the deployment of Russian troops in Belarus.
In his opinion, Russia's ultimately goal in southern Ukraine is Odesa, in addition to Kherson, because it wants to control the entire northern part of the Black Sea.
Judiciary
The Council of Judges of Ukraine has protested against the remarks made by the head of the executive comittee of the National Reform Council on the need for a "fundamental overhaul" of the judiciary. The council recalled that Saakashvili heads an auxiliary body without any special authority.
Donbas
A civilian woman got killed as a result of separatists' shelling attack on the village of Zaytseve in Donetsk Region this morning, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has reported.
Two civilian houses were ruined after separatists shelled Avdiyivka in Donetsk Region with 120-mm mortars.
Education
Parliament has passed the president's bill allowing school leavers from occupied territories to enroll into university without sitting a series of mandatory independent tests.
Crime
An explosion has rocked the office of the pro-Russian Opposition Platform-For Life in Poltava. It is tentatively believed that an explosive device was thrown inside through the window. A staff member was lightly injured, some of the furniture damaged.
The Digital Transformation Ministry, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Prosecutor-General's Office, the State Tax Service and the State Financial Monitoring Service have blocked an illegal VAT refund scheme, after which the budget received an additional 9bn hryvnyas in two months.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the law under which drink driving is no longer fraught with criminal punishment.