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Scoop of the day: Most Ukrainians do not regret USSR collapse - poll

Scoop of the day: Most Ukrainians do not regret USSR collapse - poll

Surveys

President Petro Poroshenko and President Leonid Kuchma have topped the rating of politicians who did the most to strengthen Ukraine's statehood and sovereignty, a survey by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatves Foundation and the Razumkov Centre sociological service have found out.

A survey by the Rating Group has found that most Ukrainians (61%) do not regret the collapse of the USSR and 80% would vote for Ukraine's independence if they had to.

If Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO were put to a referendum, 64% and 54% of Ukrainians would vote in favour respectively, the Rating Group has learnt.

German chancellor's visit

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that German Chancellor Angela Merkel may bring certain guarantees of energy security for Ukraine after she comes to Kyiv on 22 August after her trip to Moscow. In an interview with Washington Post, Liberation, Funke Media, Novoye Vremya and Novaya Gazeta, he said he did not expects any "gifts" from Merkel.

In the interview, he also called Putin an "irrational" and "overly emotional" person.

USA

US President Joe Biden will receive Zelenskyy on 31 August, a day later than was initially planned, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said at a briefing. A tete-a-tete meeting will be held in addition to a meeting between the delegations.

Ambassadors

President Zelenskyy has accepted credentials from ambassadors Therese Healy of Ireland, Shina Fatai Alege of Nigeria, Kim Hyun Te of Korea, and Vladimir Karapetyan of Armenia.

Zelenskyy welcomed the opening of the Irish embassy in Kyiv, which he believes will promote practical cooperation between the two states.

UK transfers ice-capable ship to Ukraine

After 30 years of service with the British Antarctic Survey, the RRS James Clark Ross is to be sold to the Ukrainian National Antarctic Scientific Centre, the British Embassy in Ukraine has said. It noted that this is the second time that a UK research asset has been transferred to Ukrainian research colleagues - the first being the transfer in 1996 of the former Faraday station that is now known as Vernadsky.

The ice-capable ship is a new asset for Ukraine and opens up new research opportunities for its National Antarctic Scientific Centre, in particular research into oceans and climate change in the polar regions, the embassy said.

Donbas

Ukrainian contract serviceman Vasyl Ostrovsky, 41, was killed by enemy fire in Donbas today, the Joint Forces Operation HQ has said.

He is the fourth KIA of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in August.

Incident

The body of a 24-year-old Ukrainian border guard was found in Selyatyn, Chernivtsi Region close to the state border with Romania. There is a gun wound on the body. Police are investigating the case.

Appointment

The deputy head of the Servant of the People faction, Tetyana Yehorova-Lutsenko, has been elected the new head of the Kharkv regional council. Her predecessor Artur Tovmasyan (Servant of the People) is suspected of corruption and was dismissed earlier today.

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