Donbas
Russia is imposing "peace on its own terms" on the Ukrainian authorities while the recent initiatives of the heads of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group on Donbas speak of "capitulation", ex-President Petro Poroshenko has said at the European Solidarity party congress. He added that if Zelenskyy did not dismiss Vitold Fokin from the delegtion, it would mean that he shared his idea of "capitulation". Earlier, Fokin said that general amnesty should be announced in Donbas, special status should be given to entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and elections be held there.
According to presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Fokin's remarks do not reflect the official position of Ukraine. He ruled out amnesty for people who committed war crimes, abducted, tortured or killed prisoners. Yermak also ruled out a special status for entire Donbas.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described Fokin's remarks as provocative, speculative and going against national interests. "None of our soldiers has to die because of inappropriate political speculations," he said.
Fokin dismissed any criticism, saying that representatives of the current authorities criticize him because they are connected with their "predecessors". "If the proponents of war are mad, this means my words have hit the target," he said.
Servant of the People
Speaking at the Servant of the People congres,, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that there is no reason for parliament dissolution for now. He noted that although "some people forgot why they got here… they are microbes in your healthy organism", the single-party majority still exists.
Economy
The Antonov company has produced its first An-178 transport aircraft without Russian parts "We have been accused of not manufacturing any serial aircraft for several years. However with the onset of Russian military aggression in 2014, we have lost both the distribution market and the market of important components. Search for replacements for imports and new suppliers has taken a while," its president Oleksandr Los has said.
Minimum pension for the retired with full pensionable service will increase from 1,889 to 2,000 hryvnnyas as of 1 September.
Markiv's case
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said that Ukrainian investigators have found important witnesses whose statements prove that Ukrainian National Guard Serg Vitaliy Markiv, who is currently in custody in Italy, was not guilty of the death of photo correspondent Andrea Rocchelli and his translator Andrey Myronov in Donbas in May 2014.
Crimea
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Crimea has raided the houses of Crimean Tatars and detained four of them. Crimean Solidarity and Grani.ru correspondent Ayder Kadyrov was detained in Rozlyvy village, Ridvan Umerov in Sudak, Ayder Ablyakimov in Sonyachna Dolyna village and Enver Topchi in Radyanskyy.
Coronavirus
By the morning of 31 August, Ukraine has registered 2,141 new Covid-19 infections, 30 patients died and 380 recovered. The total count has now reached 121,215 cases, including 2,557 lethal ones.
The number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has increased four times over three months, according to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov. Last week 2,829 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospital.
Mykolayiv Region has introduced additional anti-epidemic measures due to a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 infections. Concerts will be cancelled, night and disco clubs and public eateries offering entertainment will have to close down.
Ivano-Frankivsk extended summer school holidays by at least two weeks because of the coronavirus. The city which found itself in the red quarantine zone thus seeks to avoid distant learning.
The Cabinet of Ministers has appointed Andriy Vilenskyy as acting head of the National Health Service instead of Oksana Movchan.
Crime
Unidentified individuals attempted to set off a train carrying fuel from Belarus near Korosten in Zhytomyr Region by planting an explosive under the rail. The train remained intact but the explosion damaged the rail and concrete sleepers. Police are investigating the case as a terrorist act.