On the morning of Dec. 1, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his annual speech to Parliament. Here are the key points from his address: Dialogue with Russia Zelensky’s headline-grabbing statement was that Ukraine “cannot end the war (in the Donbas) without direct dialogue with Russia.” The president said that Ukraine’
Several thousand protesters gathered in central Kyiv on the evening of Dec. 1 to demand President Volodymyr Zelensky’s resignation over what they see as his concessions to the Kremlin. The protesters zeroed in on Zelensky’s statement earlier the same day that he’s not afraid of direct negotiations
The court’s Nov. 30 decision may alleviate concerns by judicial watchdogs and Western experts about the court’s legitimacy. But President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s concerned by the delay and sees it as an attempt to promote discredited judges’ interests. The Constitutional Court has been in crisis for
Parliament voted the bill through in its second reading. The bill had been labelled as “anti-Akhmetov,” as two of its key provisions will hurt the steelmaking and energy business interests of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man. The provisions in question are a new calculation system for iron ore mining
Any aggression from Russia against Ukraine would trigger “serious consequences,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Nov. 30. Blinken told a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Riga that Russia is combining military movements along Ukraine’s border with internal efforts to destabilize the country. NATO Secretary-General
Why is the reform needed? Ukraine’s judiciary remains corrupt, dysfunctional and politicized. Its governing bodies — the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission — are discredited because they have protected tainted judges. The previous High Qualification Commission was disbanded in 2019 by a law introduced by President Volodymyr
Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach quoted anonymous sources in a Nov. 27 podcast, alleging that several guards have been fired for failing to shoot down Ukrainska Pravda’s camera drone flying over the state residence Synohora in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast on Nov. 21. The State Guard Administration denied the accusations and
The State Investigation Bureau has opened a criminal probe over a social media video in which journalist Yuriy Butusov is seen firing a 152mm artillery piece. The bureau wants to check whether Butusov was “mishandling weapons and endangering others” as well as “planning, preparing, launching and waging war,” according to
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of NATO, said that the alliance is not dismissing the possibility of a deeper Russian incursion into Ukraine, due to its history of invading its neighbors. Stoltenberg made the statement in a comment to German publication Welt am Sonntag on Nov. 27, following alarming Western reports about
Zelensky said he had appointed Oksana Hryshchuk and Oleksandr Petryshyn as Constitutional Court judges. They are supposed to replace Constitutional Court chairman Oleksandr Tupytsky and judge Oleksandr Kasminin. Tupytsky has been charged with bribing a witness, and both Tupytsky and Kasminin were later fired by Zelensky as a “threat to
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a press marathon with 32 cherry-picked media on Nov. 26. The President’s Office announced the event on the evening of Nov. 25. There was no usual accreditation process open for everyone: Ukrainian and international media outlets were chosen and invited by the President’s Office.
Civil society groups on Nov. 25 urged President Volodymyr Zelensky not to appoint judges who do not meet ethics and integrity standards. The groups include DEJURE, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, AutoMaidan and others. On Nov. 18, the High Council of Justice, the judiciary’s main governing body, nominated 135 candidates
Ukraine revoked the international passports of five former intelligence operatives who were involved in the botched July 2020 operation to capture Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, RFE/RL reported on Nov. 25. According to a recent Bellingcat investigation, Ukrainian intelligence lured 33 mercenaries to Belarus and planned to intercept them en
President Volodymyr Zelensky again broke his election year promise to not use state residences, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov. 24. Zelensky attended the birthday party of his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, at the presidential residence Synyiohora in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Both reportedly flew there on Nov. 19 and returned to
On Nov. 24, pro-Kremlin lawmaker Vadym Novynsky said that he had paid Odesa Mayor Hennady Trukhanov’s bail of $1.1 million. In October the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine brought organized crime and abuse of power charges against Trukhanov and Vladimir Galanternik, the mayor’s former ally and an
After being given an advance payment to extend a subway line, the Kyivmetrobud contractor allegedly deposited a $58 million portion of the payment to a bank and has made $5.4 million off the interest since 2019. Kyivmetrobud hasn’t publicly addressed the accusations. The city administration is suing the
This very important seat has been vacant since August 2020, when the previous top anti-corruption prosecutor Nazar Kholodnytsky resigned. Attempts to replace him have been repeatedly delayed and sabotaged by officials. The next meeting of the panel choosing the chief anti-corruption prosecutor is scheduled for Nov. 25. Here’s what
The statement came after Russia’s Foreign Ministry published its confidential diplomatic correspondence with France and Germany about the war in eastern Ukraine on Nov. 17. Kuleba said that the move undermined the remnants of trust in Russia, which will make the Donbas peace talks even more complicated. By publishing
The American and his alleged Ukrainian accomplice were arrested and charged with attempted murder, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said at a press briefing on Nov. 18. At the briefing, Agriculture Minister Roman Leshchenko alleged that the duo wanted to kill him over a business conflict from 2018, before he became
If elections were held soon, President Volodymyr Zelensky would have the support of 23.1% of decided voters, while ex-President and European Solidarity party leader Petro Poroshenko would trail with 13.3%, according to a new poll from Rating Group. In the first round of the 2019 election, Zelensky and
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