Excerpts from the most important news on Ukraine
russian chants allegedly heard in video of protesters storming Capitol
08.01.2021
The video of breaking into the US Capitol that has gone viral allegedly contains cheering in russian in the background.“Smeleie,” a male voice yells twice starting from 0:04, which can be translated to English as “Come on, don’t be afraid!”Hearing chants in russian in the crowd of Donald Trump supporters drove many on social networks to suggest a russian role in sparking violent protests.https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1346910919729631238Ukraine and Stellar to develop virtual assets ecosystem
07.01.2021
The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, within which they will work on the development of a strategy for virtual assets in Ukraine.Under the Memorandum, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and SDF will work to develop a modern virtual asset market infrastructure and enhance Ukraine’s status as an innovative digital country in the financial market in Eastern Europe.The memorandum outlines the core focus of the partnership as ...World Bank upgrades forecast for Ukraine’s economic growth in 2021
07.01.2021
The World Bank has upgraded its forecast for the growth of Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021 to 3%, according to January’s Global Economic Prospects.For comparison, in early October, the World Bank assessed the prospects for the recovery of the Ukrainian economy at 1.5%.The estimate of the fall of the Ukrainian economy in 2020 is 5.5%, and the estimate of its growth in 2021 is 3.1%Antonov signs UAH 3bn loan to build three An-178 aircraft for Ukrainian army
07.01.2021
Ukreximbank has opened a credit line to finance a project to build three An-178 aircraft for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, ukrinform.net reported.The financing of the project to build three An-178 aircraft for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, using Ukreximbank’s loan, has started. A respective agreement was signed between the state bank and the Antonov State Enterprise on December 31, 2020.“This project is a landmark event both in view of the first state order of Antonov aircraft in Ukraine’s recent history and ...Ukraine presents ‘The Point of No Return’ – game about war with russia
03.01.2021
A Ukrainian video game ‘The Point of No Return‘ depicts the daily routine of a soldier in the country’s war-torn east, where russian forces fight with Ukrainian government troops for the last six years.The game is focused on educating about war zones and soldiers’ experiences there. The game is developed as the popular RPG (role-playing game), but, according to its developers, it is nothing like a classic war game, Euronews reported.The game is based on the experiences of real characters ...russia says it’s ready to trial Sputnik V in Ukraine, but Ukraine is not interested still
03.01.2021
russia said it is ready to conduct clinical trials of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine combined with a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in Ukraine, the head of russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Reuters reported.Ukraine reiterated that it will use only those vaccines against COVID-19 that have successfully passed the third phase of clinical trials. “Today, there are vaccines against COVID-19 that are approved for use under special procedures (emergency use authorization). Interim clinical trial reports were used for such registration. ...Norwegian company refuses to certify Nord Stream 2
03.01.2021
The Norwegian company Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL), which inspected the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, refused to certify it due to US sanctions, RBC reported.“DNV GL will cease all verification activities of Nord Stream 2 in accordance with the sanctions and as long as those sanctions remain in effect. We are implementing a plan to phase out our support for the verification of the project,” DNV said in a statement.The launch of the gas pipeline is ...Turkey will not recognize annexation of Crimea, ambassador says
03.01.2021
Turkey has not and will not recognize the annexation of Crimea – it has been declared on international and bilateral platforms at all levels. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Turkey to Ukraine Yağmur Ahmet Güldere said this in an exclusive interview with ukrinform.net.“Our official stance on Crimea has been absolutely clear since 2014. We have not recognized the annexation and we will not do it. This was said on international and bilateral platforms at all levels,” the ...Ukrainian-American Firefly Aerospace awarded NASA contract
27.12.2020
Ukrainian-American Firefly announced its selection by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the launch of Mission Two of the Venture Class Launch Service Demonstration 2 (VCLS Demo 2) contract. Mission Two involves launch of two CubeSat constellations to a 550 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit, separated by a minimum of 10 degrees in plane change.“Firefly Black is pleased to have been selected by NASA for this operationally challenging mission. We applaud NASA’s commitment to the nation’s emerging small launch industrial base ...Soviet anti-Santa and story behind it
27.12.2020
New Year is coming and for many post-Soviet countries this holiday has a distinct symbol – gift-giving smiley bearded man in a red fur coat, called Ded Moroz, writes Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group.However, only few people know of his “creator”, who in 1937 reimagined traditional Christmas characters to create a secular Soviet Ded Moroz – high-ranking communist party member Pavel Postyshev.Postyshev was a zealous follower of Stalin and a promoter of mass purges, which he enforced under the guise of ...russia returns stolen Ukrainian icon from occupied territories
25.12.2020
russia returned an 18th-century Orthodox Christian icon to Bosnia and Herzegovina embassy after it became evident that it was illegally smuggled out of war-torn eastern Ukraine.Earlier, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb president Milorad Dodik presented a 300-year-old gilded icon to russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his visit to Sarajevo.After the move, Ukraine’s embassy in Bosnia sent a note demanding an urgent explanation regarding the possession of Ukrainian cultural heritage.Reduction in investment remains key factor behind GDP decline in Ukraine
25.12.2020
A further reduction in investment remains a key factor behind the decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in Ukraine, according to a report released by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).In Q3 2020, real GDP decreased by 3.5% in annual terms. At the same time, amid the recovery in consumer demand and business activity since the easing of quarantine restrictions, real GDP in Q3 grew by 8.5% compared to Q2 in seasonally adjusted terms. The further contraction of investment remains ...
