Ukraine produced 5.2% more electricity in 2021 than in 2020, according to statistics published by the Energy Ministry on Jan. 11. The increase was driven by a 38% increase in hydropower output, a 15% increase from renewables and a 13% increase from nuclear power plants. However, electricity consumption increased
Chief State Sanitary Doctor Ihor Kuzin revealed that the Ministry of Health is considering allowing children over the age of 5 to receive the Covid-19 vaccine starting April. In an interview with BBC Ukraine, Kuzin stated that this decision is being considered as other countries that implemented vaccination for children
Ukrainian consumers felt the impact of high inflation in 2021 as prices on basic goods and utilities kept growing. The annual inflation rate last year grew to 10% for the first time since 2018. The growth of consumer prices also accelerated – from 5% in 2020 to 10% in 2021, according
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry put out a statement on Jan. 10 condemning the violence in Kazakhstan over the past week, surprising many with the communiqué’s cautiousness and lateness. The statement came three days after that made by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and two days after that
U.S. Deputy State Secretary Wendy Sherman held an eight-hour-long security discussion with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Ryabkov, in Geneva on Jan. 10. The talks marked the end of the first day of a week of diplomacy spurred by Russia’s buildup of over 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s
The world's largest cargo aircraft An-225 Mriya operated by Ukraine's legendary Antonov company has endured a technical problem at an airfield in Poland. The incident took place at the Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport on Jan. 10 in the country's southeast, according to Antonov. During a touchdown, the aircraft's right-side landing gear
Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court on Jan. 10 extended pro-Kremlin lawmaker Viktor Medvedchuk’s house arrest in a treason case for two months. In October Medvedchuk, a co-leader of the pro-Kremlin Opposition Platform-For Life party (44 seats in parliament), was charged with treason and financing terrorism and placed under house
Ukraine's Deputy Health Minister Maria Karchevych has announced on Jan. 10 that Ukraine will shorten the validity period of Covid-19 vaccine certificates from a full year to 270 days. Karchevych said in a TV interview that the decision will likely be made "sometime this week" and will follow the same
While the world prepared to mark the second anniversary of the shooting down of flight PS752 above Tehran that killed 176 people on Jan. 8, 2020, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council secretary Oleksiy Danilov told Voice of America that he considered the incident a to be premeditated terrorist
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
The Kazakh authorities on Jan. 8 arrested an influential ally of ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev as an uprising continued in the country. The National Security Committee said that Karim Masimov, the committee’s now-dismissed head, had been arrested on treason charges amid violent protests, one of the aims of which is
Human rights activists have accused the State Security Service (SBU) of launching a crackdown on Kazakh opposition activists in Ukraine. Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a human rights activist at the Open Dialogue Foundation, wrote on Facebook that several men in plainclothes and claiming to be SBU agents visited and beat up Zamanbek
Starting from 2022, Ukraine's Territorial Defense Force will be a standalone branch of the country's armed forces. It's calling on all willing volunteers to join and help to defend their own homes as "weekend warriors" — working their usual civilian jobs but doing occasional drills and exercises in their spare time.
Kazakh government forces appear to have gained the upper hand in their standoff with protesters, but the uprising in the country continued on Jan. 7. According to Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry, 26 armed protesters and 18 government troops had been killed during clashes nationwide since the beginning of the uprising.
Kazakhstan faces an uncertain future as a Russian-led military contingent arrived in the country on Jan. 6 to support embattled president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev amid mass anti-government protests. What started as a demonstration over fuel prices in one city on Jan. 2 rapidly spread nationwide, culminating in large-scale armed clashes over
If Russia relaunches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union will unravel its full capacity of sanctions on the Russian economy and key officials, Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign policy and security, told the Kyiv Independent. "We have to avoid having a war,” Borrell said during
Kyiv’s Pechersk Court issued a ruling on Jan. 6 to seize ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s assets. Poroshenko was charged with treason on Dec. 20. He is accused of being involved in supplying coal to Ukrainian state-owned enterprises from Russian-occupied areas in the Donbas in 2014-2015. Poroshenko has denied wrongdoing
Health Minister Viktor Lyashko announced the approval of booster shots for all fully vaccinated Ukrainian adults. The Ministry of Health has also eased the rules for mixing Covid-19 vaccines for the first, second, and booster doses. Lyashko published the announcement on social media, citing the record-breaking numbers of infections in
The standoff between the Prosecutor General's Office and ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the country's largest steel mill, reached new heights on Jan. 4 when the company's bank accounts were frozen by the state. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the non-cash funds of the steel mill were frozen as part of
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Jan. 10, two days ahead of the scheduled crisis talks between Russia and NATO. After the face-to-face talks with Stoltenberg, Kuleba will take part in a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission. "This is part of
Ukraine expects to get at least three brand new Mark IV patrol boats in 2022, as part of a $600 million deal approved by the U.S. government under the Foreign Military Sale program. "There should be three or more," Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova was quoted
An ignorant shoplifter with bad fashion sense – that’s how the hit Netflix romantic comedy series "Emily in Paris" portrayed a character named Petra, who happens to be a Ukrainian. This creative decision caused outrage in Ukraine. Criticism from social media influencers, public officials and ordinary Ukrainians poured in after
Renowned Ukrainian theater director Eugene Lavrenchuk, 39, was detained in Italy on Dec. 17 based on a Russian extradition request. According to Oleh Nikolenko, Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesperson, a court in Naples chose to keep Lavrenchuk behind bars amid the court's hearing of the extradition request. Lavrenchuk can spend up
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expects to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in January to discuss Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, German newspaper Bild reported on Jan. 3, citing an anonymous source. Scholz said he wants a “fresh start” with Putin
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 31 appointed Oleksiy Sukhachov as the head of the State Investigation Bureau, one of the main law enforcement agencies, for five years. The decision is highly controversial. Sukhachov, a loyalist of the Zelensky administration, was appointed by the president as the acting chief of the
Despite the double threat of a looming Russian invasion and the new variant of Covid-19 virus, Omicron, Kyivans are making the most of the holiday season with the city’s Christmas markets. Like every year, Kyiv's two main Christmas markets are open on Sofiivska Square in the heart of Kyiv
Despite the pandemic production challenges and rollback of government support, Ukrainian cinema continued to make gains this year on the momentum built by the previous management of the State Film Agency. Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to preoccupy the minds of Ukrainian filmmakers but there were also movies that
With only a few days left before the world enters 2022, the Kyiv Independent is looking back at Ukraine's biggest achievements of the past year. Military affairs, some reforms, technology, and sports gave Ukraine reasons to celebrate. The list is based on a survey by the sociological group Rating, published
The second year of the pandemic has been productive for Ukrainian musicians across the board. We heard many new names, especially in rap and electronic music, but established artists also stepped up with plenty of new pop, alternative and indie rock. Besides giving them more time to record, another year
This year has seen a lot of political strife and corruption scandals even by low Ukrainian standards. The Kyiv Independent lists the 10 most prominent events that defined the turbulent politics of 2021: Zelensky’s standoff with oligarchs In November President Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law an “anti-oligarch” bill that
Ukraine, a European nation of 41 million, has been at the mercy of geopolitical forces far more than most similarly sized countries on the continent. The country is currently making global headlines due to Russia’s build-up of 122,000 troops on its borders, seemingly ready to launch an invasion.
Venture funding in Ukrainian startups hit an all-time high in 2021. Startups with Ukrainian founders attracted a record $1.5 billion from local and foreign investors in 2021, according to the Kyiv Independent’s estimates, compared to $577 million last year. The actual number could be even higher as dozens
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