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Scoop of the weekend: debate over elections in Donbas

Scoop of the weekend: debate over elections in Donbas

Donbas

The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group on Donbas, Leonid Kravchuk, has told Suspilne that Russia and its puppet militants will block the work of the group of the Ukrainian parliament does not change its resolution under which elections in occupied territories can only be held after their de-occupation, withdrawal of illegal paramilitary groups and restoration of control over the border by Ukraine.

Speaking with Strana.ua, Kravchuk approved of the idea of moving the Donbas talks from Minsk to Austria. He added that it was up to the OSCE as the moderator of the talks to decide on the change of venue.

Speaking at Savik Shuster's Freedom of Speech TV talk show, presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak has said that elections in uncontrolled parts of Donbas can only be held after they are fully de-occupied, all security issues are settled and only in line with OSCE standards.

A Ukrainian serviceman was wounded near Pisky on 19 September, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has said. The Russian occupying troops violated the ceasefire three times near Pisky, Pavlopil and Vodyane.

Military exercises

Hundreds of British troops parachuted in Mykolayiv Region on 18 September as part of the Joint Endeavour 2020 exercises. According to Mirror, "the drop is the biggest mass UK exercise in more than 20 years". Servicemen of the 16th Air Assault Brigade were dropped from several C-130 Hercules aircraft which took off from a military airfield in Britain.

Crimea

The Russian occupying authorities have warned Crimean residents that water supply to Alushta and several other locations in the south of the peninsula will be rationed. Similar measures have taken in Simferopol and its metropolitan area since 24 August.

Coronavirus

By the morning of 20 September, Ukraine has registered 2,966 new cases, 41 deaths and 758 recoveries. The case total since the start of the epidemic has reached 175,678.

Local elections

The pro-presidential Servant of the People party has officially nominated MP Iryna Vereshchuk for Kyiv mayor and announced its top-10 list of candidates for Kyiv councillors.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the law under which candidates in elections are no longer required to submit rap sheets, clean or otherwise.

Economy

For 18 days now, 154 miners at four mines in Kryvyy Rih have been protesting underground, demanding a pay rise and safer working conditions. So far pay rise negotiations have failed, trade union leader Mykhaylo Volynets has said.

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has ruled out a default of the Ukrainian economy.

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