From January 2022, Ukraine will apply a 20% tax on web-based services provided by foreign tech firms. According to the law, passed by parliament in June, foreign tech companies have to pay a 20% value-added tax, or VAT, for digital services they provide to local users. The law targets products
The main building of the Kyiv City State Administration was illuminated with LGBTQ pride colors on the evening of Dec. 10, Human Rights Day. Initiated by two non-profit organizations, Amnesty International and KyivPride, the effort aimed to draw public attention to the pressing issue of homophobic and transphobic crimes in
The Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office has started an investigation into a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate scheme organized by a police officer and a medical worker, according to a Dec. 10 announcement. Law enforcement suspects the Kyiv-based duo of entering false information about vaccination into the Helsi electronic system, which then
President Volodymyr Zelensky leads presidential polls with a share of 23.5% of decided voters, maintaining a 10.1% lead over ex-president and leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko, who got 13.4%. Zelensky's support 2.5 years into his presidency is 6% down from the result he
French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 10 about unblocking the Normandy Format amid Russian troops’ movement surrounding Ukraine since November and fear of a large-scale invasion. The leaders of the Normandy Format countries – Ukraine, France, Germany, and Russia – have not met since
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki denied reports that U.S. President Joe Biden will pressure Ukraine to grant special autonomous status to the Russian-occupied Donbas region in a press briefing on Dec. 9. When asked whether the U.S. will pressure Ukraine to cede land to Russia, Psaki said
Western diplomats urged Ukraine to complete key anti-corruption and judicial reforms in a quick, fair and transparent way at the “Seven Years of Anti-Corruption Reforms” conference in Kyiv on Dec. 9. The event was co-hosted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP)
Two days after a conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Joe Biden held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 9 to discuss possible full-scale military action by Russia against Ukraine as the current tensions show no sign of abating. “Ukraine’s head of state
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Oleksandr Tupytskyi, chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and Andriy Portnov, a former ally of pro-Kremlin Ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, on Dec. 9. Both were accused of engaging in corrupt practices including bribery, illicit influence over reforms and the judiciary, and misappropriation of assets.
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.
The U.S.-produced man-portable anti-tank missile systems, FGM-148 Javelins, have been seen deployed to the war zone of Donbas with Ukrainian combat formations. Following earlier unverified claims by Ukrainian officials, journalists recorded the Ukrainian military operating these weapons as Russia concentrated nearly 100,000 troops near the border and
Living next to Russia causes headaches worse than migraine, according to the meme posted on Ukraine’s official Twitter account on Dec. 7. The joke was published amid the looming threat of a large-scale Russian military action against Ukraine. The meme lists four different types of headaches caused by migraine,
The United Kingdom will provide an additional $1.3 billion (£1 billion) of export loan financing to projects in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced over Twitter on Dec. 8. The money, which will be disbursed through the UK Export Finance agency (UKEF), will be assigned in addition to the $3.
U.S. investment fund Gramercy filed a complaint in a U.S. federal court on Dec. 7 against exiled Ukrainian billionaire Oleh Bakhmatyuk and U.S. businessman Nicholas Piazza for allegedly siphoning $1 billion out of Bakhmatyuk's UkrLandFarming, the largest egg producer in Ukraine. Gramercy, which is a major lender
Lawmaker Viktor Medvedchuk, co-head of the pro-Kremlin 44-member Opposition Platform - For Life faction, failed to declare assets worth over Hr 73 million ($2.7 million), the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) announced on Dec. 8. According to the agency, Medvedchuk did not declare his Kyiv land
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the 2022 annual defense spending bill, which includes $300 million in aid for Ukraine, on Dec. 7. The total budget amount is $770 billion. The Senate is due to vote on the bill later this week. The move comes a day after U.
The Dec. 7 video call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was anticipated as a likely turning point for the looming threat of a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The talks concluded without definitive resolutions or commitments from either side. Biden warned that if Russia
The ambassadors of European Union countries on Dec. 8 adopted sanctions against the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-backed military contractor, Rikard Jozwiak, an editor at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, wrote on Twitter. The sanctions apply to individuals who have fought in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya. Wagner mercenaries have been used
U.S. President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the U.S. and its allies "would respond with strong economic and other measures" against Moscow if it launches a military escalation against Ukraine. The two leaders held a two-hour-long video conference on Dec. 7 to discuss the
The selection of an anti-corruption prosecutor has started to move forward following months of delay. On Dec. 7, the selection panel announced its scores for the written test of two finalists. Oleksandr Klymenko, a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), scored higher than prosecutor Andriy Synyuk. Klymenko scored 18
Russia is bringing more tanks, infantry combat vehicles, and self-propelled artillery to the contact line in the Ukrainian Donbas, the Ministry of Defense announced on Dec. 7. This violates the Minsk agreements that require both sides to move heavy weapons at least 50 kilometers from the line of contact. It
Ukraine has had mixed results with its rule of law reforms in recent weeks. On the one hand, a crucial judicial reform appears to be moving forward after years of delay. On the other hand, the success of that reform is far from guaranteed. Moreover, President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed
The U.S. and its European allies are preparing a set of ‘significant and severe’ sanctions in the event Russia does invade Ukraine, several media outlets including Politico reported on Dec. 6-7. Amidst a buildup of nearly 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders and in occupied territories, U.
A new scam is spreading in Ukraine, taking advantage of the government's promise to pay Hr 1,000 to each person who gets fully vaccinated, Health Minister Viktor Lyashko warned on Dec. 6. The victim is told to visit a link to receive their Hr 1,000. A fake page
Despite earlier considerations, Canada has decided against deploying more military personnel to Ukraine, in a bid to avoid irritating the Kremlin amid an acute security crisis in the region and fears of Russia's possible all-out invasion of Ukraine. As Canada's Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre told the Globe and
Ukraine received the second of seven coal shipments ordered by DTEK Group, Ukraine's largest energy holding, that are meant to sustain the country through the winter. The 230-meter-long cargo vessel loaded with 66,000 tons of U.S. and Colombian coal arrived at the Pivdennyi seaport in southern Odesa Oblast
Two cars belonging to a journalist and his wife were found burned early on Dec. 5 on the outskirts of Uzhgorod, the regional capital of Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. The National Police in Zakarpattia Oblast are investigating the incident as possible arson. The completely destroyed Subaru Forester and a
A dispute between Ukraine and Belarus flared up over the weekend after Belarus’s State Border Service accused a Ukrainian military helicopter of breaching Belarus’ airspace on Dec. 4, which Kyiv denied. The State Border Service of Belarus told state-owned media outlet BELTA that a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter, flying
Tougher Covid-19 quarantine restrictions will go into effect in Ukraine on Dec. 6. The changes will affect regions designated "yellow" — as of Dec. 5, this includes Kharkiv, Ternopil, Kirovohrad, and Chernivtsi oblasts. Most of the country's 24 regions are in the strictest "red" zone although Ukraine has passed the peak
As the crisis over Russia's potential full-scale invasion of Ukraine intensifies, the U. S. President Joe Biden says he is working on making the Russian blitz "difficult" and will not accept the Kremlin's "red lines" regarding Ukraine. "What I am doing is putting together what I believe to be the
Brian Bonner was the leader and the face of the Kyiv Post for 14 years. A U.S. journalist, he first briefly worked at the newspaper in 1999, then returned in 2008 and stayed. He dedicated his life to protecting independent, high-standard journalism. His newsroom was a launchpad for generations
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