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Scoop of the day: More initiatives on Donbas, corruption at Ukrzaliznytsya

Scoop of the day: More initiatives on Donbas, corruption at Ukrzaliznytsya

Donbas

Russia-backed militants have violated the ceasefire three times today, the Joint Forces Operation HQ said in the evening update. They fired with small arms and a grenade launcher capable of dropping POM-2 bombs near Maryinka and opened random fire from small arms near Vodyane.

A deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group on Donbas, Vitold Fokin, has suggested on the air of UA: Ukrainian Radio that the UN Security Council mandate can be used to form an "interim international government" in militant-controlled areas of Donbas in order to hold local elections there.

Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov has told Ukrayina 24 TV that the government is developing a package of bills on the transition period for Donbas. which will also include bills on transitional justice (amnesty). He noted that there would be no general amnesty as murderers and traitors who committed war crimes and acts of genocide cannot be pardoned. "They should be running away indeed because they will bear the full brunt in line with all international conventions in addition to Ukrainian laws," he said.

Ratings

Were an election held in mid-September, six parties would make it to parliament: Servant of the People, European Solidarity, Opposition Platform-For Life, Fatherland, and Oleh Lyashko's Radical Party, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology has found out. Shariy's party and the Honor and Dignity party also stand a chance.

Were a presidential election held in mid-September, 31.8% would vote for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and 18.9% for Petro Poroshenko, 13.3% for Yuriy Boyko, and 9.8% for Yuliya Tymoshenko.

Human rights

A media coordinator of the Crimean Solidarity group, Nariman Memedinov, who was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison by a Russian court, has served his term and has been released. In 2019, Russia accused the blogger of public calls for terrorism.

Appointments

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Andriy Plakhotnyuk Ukraine's ambassador to Sweden. Plakhotnyuk was the director of the sixth territorial department of the Foreign Ministry.

The president appointed Yaroslav Melnyk Ukraine's ambassador to Italy. He was the head of the department of state protocol and ceremonial of the Ukrainian president's office.

Belarus

The Novi Yarylovychi checkpoint at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border has resumed operation. It was closed over coronavirus concerns after it was besieged by hundreds of Hasidic Jews seeking to get to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, who were stranded in the buffer zone.

Crime

The High Anticorruption Court has placed in custody MP Oleksandr Yurchenko, who was expelled from the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction. Yurchenko, who is suspected of extorting a bribe in exchange for lobbying a bill, may leave if he deposits a bail of 3m hryvnyas.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained the head of the Kharkiv district administrative court during the transfer of a 3,000-dollar bribe. She gave the money to a judge who was to issue a decision she desired in a land case.

The SBU has exposed senior managers of the Ukrainian railway company Ukrzaliznytsya on suspicion of corruption during container shipment. The suspects have allegedly embezzled 4m hryvnyas, some of which they stored in a refrigerator.

The SBU has said it has blocked a large-scale "bot farm" used by Russia to disseminate destructive information aimed at fueling interethnic feud and separatism. It was run by Ukrainian and Russian citizens from Kyiv and Zaporizhzhya.

President Zelensky has signed a decree on urgent steps to prevent and combat home and gender violence. He described home violence Ukraine's second urgent problem after Covid-19.

Military

The Defence Ministry has presented a line of new and improved dry rations. The line will include 24 types of rations two of which were presented today. They include 100 f of canned meat, 60 g of pâté, 280 g of main course (for example, buckwheat, vegetables and pork), galettes, a honey stick, coffee and tea.

Fires

Dry grass at the training range of the South Operational Command has caught fire during a shooting exercise, the General Staff has said. No-one was hurt. Firefighting efforts are underway.

A fire at a landfill in Kyiv's Darnytskyy district has spread to turf fields, causing thick smoke because of smouldering turf. Firefighters are pouring water onto the fields to prevent open fire.

Coronavirus

By the morning of 21 September, Ukraine has registered 2,675 new cases and 672 recoveries. The case total since the start of the epidemic has reached 178,353, including 3,583 fatalities and 78,184 recoveries.

 

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