Coronavirus
The Cabinet of Ministers has added detergents and printed press to the list of eligible goods which can be sold during the strict lockdown scheduled for 8-25 January, government representative in parliament Vasyl Mokan has told Ukrayina 24 TV. He said that this was done on the initiative of Health Minister Maksym Stepanov.
The state medical procurement company Medychni Zakupivli has said that the Health Ministry has blocked its operation by not approving an interim spending plan for 2021. Therefore, the company cannot accept and distribute goods bought under the Health Ministry's state programmes, including coronavirus tests, personal protective equipment and so on.
On the morning of 5 January, Ukraine's Health Ministry reported 5,334 new Covid-19 cases, 13,850 recoveries and 202 fatalities.
Iran
Iran has finally provided Ukraine with a draft technical report on the reasons behind the downing of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 outside Tehran on 8 January 2019, Suspilne has quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin as saying.
Donbas
The Central Electoral Commission has inquired the Donetsk and Luhansk military-civil regional administrations about a possibility of preparing and holding the first local elections in some areas of these regions on 28 March 2021. They were not held there together with the local elections elsewhere in Ukraine over security concerns.
Russia-backed militants breached the ceasefire five times in Donbas on 4 January, according to the Joint Forces Operation HQ.
Constitutional Court
Judges of the Constitutional Court have expressed their concern over President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decree suspending court head Oleksandr Tupytskyy. The judges recalled that he must respect the constitution in a situation which could otherwise block the work of the Constitutional Court.
Energy
As of January 2020, Ukraine has resumed electricity import from Belarus, Ukrenerho's press service has said. The company explained that the regulations authorising the regulator to cancel results of auctions on access to interstate interconnections with countries which are not members of the Energy Community were effective in 2020 only.
Crime
Customs and Security Service officers have seized 1,035 t of heroine which Turkish nationals attempted to smuggle to the EU. The cargo which was initially shipped to Ukraine via the Odesa port was apprehended when it was driven to Lviv. It is worth 2.3bn hryvnyas in the black market.
Four officials of the Lviv regional state administration are suspected of embezzling 3.2m hryvnyas during the construction of medical facilities and a sports centre.