Court head suspended
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suspended Constitutional Court head Oleksandr Tupytskyy for two months "for the sake of restoring justice and resolving the constitutional crisis".
Servant of the People faction head Davyd Arakhamiya said that he supported Zelenskyy's decision.
On 21 December, the Schemes investigative project published a recording suggesting Tupytskyy's possible involvement in judicial fraud.
Top officer removed from security council
President Zelenskyy has dismissed a deputy head of the National Security and Defence Council, Maj-Gen Serhiy Kryvonos. The president's decree assigns Kryvonos to the Defence Ministry.
In an interview with the NV weekly, the officer said that the president's idea of blanket mobilization in case of an escalation was unrealistic and wrong because most of the population has not been trained for this.
Coronavirus
The Health Ministry expects the first 150,000-200,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in February 2021. This amount would allow for a mass vaccination campaign to start, according to Health Minister Maksym Stepanov.
Ukraine will receive 16 million doses under the Covax facility, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleh Nemchinov has said on Dom TV. This is enough to vaccinate 8 million people.
On the morning of 29 December, Ukraine reported 6,988 new Covid-19 cases, 16,106 recoveries and 232 fatalities.
Donbas
Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova has said that 258 Ukrainians have gone missing in occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukrinform has said. Some 251 Ukrainians more are in the occupiers' captivity.
Around 300,000 Ukrainians in occupied areas of Donbas, Deputy Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has told TSN.
The Joint Forces Operation HQ registered seven ceasefire violations by pro-Russian militants on 29 December. Militants opened fire near Vodyane with 120-mm and 82-mm mortars, grenade launchers and small arms, near Talakivka using anti-tank grenade launchers, and near Nevelske and Avdiyivka using underbarrel grenade launchers.
Economy
Based on the 2020 results, Ukraine's GDP fall will not exceed 4.8%, Economic Minister Ihor Petrashko has said at a news conference.
Media
MP Vadym Stolar of the pro-Russian Opposition Platform-For Life party is launching a local TV channel, Kharkiv.Live, which together with Kyiv.Live and Odesa.Live will form a new media holding, Live Network, the specialist website Detector.Media has said.
Kharkiv.Live will start broadcasting in Kharkiv in spring 2021.
Defence procurement
The Defence Ministry and the state-owned company Antonov have signed a memorandum on cooperation during the construction of aircraft for the Armed Forces. During the first stage, Antonov will manufacture three new military transport aircraft An-178.
Crime
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has declared former Party of Regions MP Oleksiy Zhuravko a suspect in absentia. He is suspected of creating a terrorist organization and carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing constitutional order. Zhuravko also supported Russia's annexation of Crimea and incursion in Donbas.
A former owner of the Ukrbud construction company, who is suspected of embezzling the National Guard's property, Maksym Mykytas, is officially suspected of ordering the abduction of a lawyer in Kyiv on 8 December, Interfax-Ukraine has said.