BRUSSELS – For nine agonizing minutes, images of the victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine flashed before the eyes of EU dignitaries in Brussels, the heart of Europe, on Sept. 5. The 6,400 photos, all verified by independent authorities, provide evidence of Russian war crimes committed against civilians in
Membership in the European Union has long been Ukraine’s key aspiration. The EuroMaidan Revolution of 2013-2014 was spurred on by the popular desire to get closer to the European Union and, ultimately, gain membership. Ordinary Ukrainians took to the streets and overthrew pro-Russian rule under the stars of blue
At the heart of the European Parliament in Brussels, a grand August Förster piano lies in pieces on the floor, blackened and burned. Now far from home, the instrument once stood proudly inside Irpin’s Central House of Culture, which was destroyed by shelling during the Russian army’s failed
A March 24 letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), authored by influential Ukrainian civil society members and bearing over 3,800 signatures, criticized the humanitarian body for not doing enough to help Ukraine. The appeal accused the ICRC of prematurely pulling out of the encircled city
A large demonstration took place in Brussels on March 24, with protesters gathering to demand tougher sanctions against Russia on the occasion of U.S President Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels for a summit on Ukraine. The event, organized by Ukrainian-led advocacy group Promote Ukraine, took place in front
Russian invasion forces are expected to launch attacks against the Sumy, Chernihiv, Kherson, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, and Kharkiv regions during the early morning, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada announced. Kyiv will be attacked at 3 a.m., media sources report. Citizens are encouraged to report enemy military activity to the military or local authorities.
Aircraft traveling through Ukrainian airspace will no longer be insured by international insurance companies from Feb. 14, forcing flights to be grounded or canceled, according to Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda. The outlet quoted information from unnamed sources in the aviation industry. Anatoliy Ivantsiv, head of Ukrainian insurance firm Expo, told
Ukraine is set to receive an additional $120 million in foreign aid from the United Kingdom in support of the country's “stable governance” and “energy independence,” according to a Feb. 1 statement by the British government. The announcement comes amid U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to Kyiv,
The Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office charged Petro Panteleyev, deputy head of the Kyiv City Administration, with negligence on Jan. 31. He is a long-standing ally of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. Panteleyev is accused of failing to decontaminate the site of Kyiv’s former chemical plant Radikal, which according to prosecutors,
A Sword of Damocles once again hangs over Ukraine. Since November, Russia has been amassing troops along Ukraine's eastern border, demanding sweeping concessions from the NATO alliance and threatening to plunge Ukraine back into Russia's sphere of influence once again. Many Western experts and governments now fear military incursion by
The frequency of a suspected Russian military shortwave radio broadcast, known as the “buzzer” for its recognizable repeating channel marker, has become the battleground for rival Russian and Ukrainian radio enthusiasts, who have been attempting to hijack the frequency to play memes and propaganda. The UBV-76 transmission, which can be
Following a global trend of dwindling demand, and severe staff shortages caused by the Covid-19 Omicron variant, fewer planes are now entering Ukrainian skies as Irish low-cost airline Ryanair cancels flights across Europe. In September, Ryanair stated that it planned to “expand aggressively” in Ukraine following the country's accession to
Russian-led militants in the occupied city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine released toxic ammonia gas into the atmosphere on Jan. 14, according to a report published on Facebook by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. The intelligence states that the release of chemicals could be part of a
The State Investigation Bureau seized 100% of the shares of Kyiv’s Bilshovyk machine-building plant on Jan. 11 over suspicions that it may have been knowingly undersold at its privatization auction, according to a post on the bureau's website on Jan. 13. The shares, which are owned by tycoon Vasyl
On Jan. 8, new amendments to Ukraine’s advertising laws came into force, targeting discriminatory hiring practices and advertising. It will now be forbidden to display sexist imagery or themes in adverts, as well as overtly sexual imagery. This includes objectifying bodies to attract customers, promoting the notion of gender
Nearly 400,000 new jobs were created in Ukraine in the first nine months of 2021, according to statistics published by the Economy Ministry. This statistic is part of a recent resurgence in employment in Ukraine after significant job losses during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to
The year 2021 was challenging for Ukraine due to lockdowns, anti-epidemic measures and a difficult economic climate. Inflation peaked at 11% this year, driving up prices on food and energy. According to the State Statistics Service, 67% of Ukrainians declared themselves "poor" in 2021. But the Ukrainian economy also showed
The Cabinet of Ministers has extended duties on Russian energy imports until Dec. 31, 2022, according to news outlet Ekonomichna Pravda. The Dec. 29 decision will renew existing duties which were set to expire on Dec. 31. This includes a 4% duty on diesel fuel, 3% on liquid petroleum gas
The parliamentary committee on energy, housing, and communal services proposed the introduction of a 4-5% duty on fuel and energy imports from Russia on Dec. 28, according to news outlet Ekonomichna Pravda. Committee chair Andriy Gerus was quoted as saying that Ukraine’s parliament is considering raising the duty on
Ukraine's longest river, Dnipro, might turn into a desert in 300 years if nothing is done to curb its pollution, according to the State Ecological Inspectorate. The agency's Dec. 22 announcement follows a study that discovered 161 different chemical pollutants in the Dnipro in June. Then, the parliament’s Accounting
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) is set to resume direct flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Toronto Pearson Airport in the summer of 2022, according to information available on the UIA booking system. It is currently impossible to take a direct flight from Ukraine to the
Healthcare workers and employees of orphanages are now eligible for a third booster vaccine dose against Covid-19, according to a press release published by the Ministry of Health on Dec. 22. People in these lines of work can receive their third shot if six months have elapsed since they got
Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz has appealed to the European Commission to take action against its Russian counterpart Gazprom’s alleged monopoly on the European gas market, highlighting the company’s manipulation of natural gas supply during the current European energy crisis. In a press release published on the Naftogaz
State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia's failure to fulfill its freight contracts and sell core assets were the main reasons it lost $436 million (Hr 11.9 billion) in 2020, according to a Nov. 23 report by the Accounting Chamber, Ukraine's top state auditor, that surfaced in the media on Dec. 20.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have reached an agreement to confirm more than 36 nominees for ambassadorships and senior positions in exchange for a vote on renewed sanctions on Russia’s Nord Stream 2 project. According to American publication Politico, the deal struck on
The Sixth Court of Appeal in Kyiv refused to let oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky-linked companies off the hook in the PrivatBank case on Dec. 14. The decision is a blow to Triantal Investments, a Cyprus-based firm that's under Kolomoisky's control, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The company used
Nord Stream 2, an $11 billion undersea gas pipeline meant to connect Russia’s rich gas fields with fuel-hungry European energy markets, has found itself at the center of a conflict between the West and Russia. A great deal of Russian gas had to go overland, through Ukraine, to reach
The World Bank announced on Dec. 10 that it will give Ukraine $150 million to help "prevent, detect and respond to the threats posed by Covid-19 and strengthen Ukraine's national health system." Around $120 million will go towards helping Ukraine buy 16.5 million vaccine doses, enough to fully innoculate
Renewable energy developer SREW N.V. is taking Ukraine to an international arbitration tribunal to recover $79 million it claimed to have lost when Ukraine cut the tariffs it pays for green energy, according to a document on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website. Many wind and solar investors were lured
More than 100 workers from the state-owned LvivVugillya coal mines protested unpaid wages by blocking both directions of the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint with Poland, according to the Facebook page of the Independent Trade Union of Miners Chief Mykhailo Volynets. The workers' wage arrears have added up to more than $13.
Danylo Hetmantsev, the head of the parliament's finance and tax committee, wrote on Dec. 3 that Ukrainians have voluntarily declared assets worth $9.25 million (Hr 250 million) under the ongoing tax amnesty. The state budget received $385,000 (Hr 10.4 million) from this sum, according to Hetmantsev. The
