Coronavirus
Sixteen makeshift checkpoints have been installed at motorways in Ivano-Frankivsk Region to contain the spread of Covid-19, the regional police have said. Checkpoints are manned by police, medics, rescuers and the National Guard. They do not block or limit traffic but only perform check functions.
There are 1,029 confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients in hospitals of Chernivtsi Region, the deputy head of the regional state administration, Nataliya Husak, has said. This is the highest number of such patients since the start of the pandemic.
The first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been dispatched from the manufacturing plant in India, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov, who is on site, has said. The batch is being transported from Pune to Mumbai. It will take days for 500,000 doses to reach Ukraine, he added.
On the morning of 21 February, Ukraine registered 4,489 new coronavirus cases.
Donbas
One ceasefire violation has been registered in Donbas since midnight, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has said on Facebook. Near Svitlodarsk, militants made several aimed shots from sniper arms. The Joint Forces returned fire.
Militants committed seven ceasefire violations on 20 February.
Belarus
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko have expressed their concern with the latest events in Belarus, where authorities continue pressure and persecution of journalists.
"Ukraine unequivocally stands by defending democracy and media freedom and condemns, together with the international community, attacks of Belarusian authorities on representatives of the media," they said in a statement.
The ministers expressed their particular concern "with destructive actions of Russia which fully usurped the information space of Belarus using its army of propagandists, thus depriving Belarusians of their right to freely access various sources of information".
Heavenly Hundred Day
On 20 February, Ukraine paid tribute to the fallen participants in the 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests, known as the Heavenly Hundred. 20 February 2014 was the worst day in terms of casualties during the resistance between the people and the regime.