Over the past two years, the prosecutor’s office has initiated 560 criminal cases on the fact of unlawful acts committed by law enforcement officers. And only six of them were brought an accusation.
Former Interior Minister of Ukraine Anatoliy Mohyliov said this at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Tuesday, noting that no one in the Interior Ministry today is watching the punishment of persons who have committed violation of the law.
“The complete absence of departmental control over violators within the system gives rise to permissiveness and undermines the foundations of the entire state. Remember the murder at the post of a policeman in 2015 – the suspects were detained, they were charged, after which … everyone was released! When persons involved in such a grave crime calmly walk down the street and work, including in government agencies, this is nonsense!” the ex-minister noted.
The ex-head of the Kyiv district police department, Denys Yaroslavsky, in turn, recalled the case with the service center of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kharkiv region. According to him, in November 2020, as part of an ongoing investigation, journalists were able to obtain fake license plates of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, medical certificates of suitability for driving in the name of the head of the Kharkiv region police, Police General Valeriy Sokurenko, a certificate with a photo of SBU Chairman Ivan Bakanov and ex-Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Serhiy Trofimov. Moreover, without the presence of the officials themselves. All this was made in the premises of the regional service center of the Interior Ministry in Kharkiv region. After reviewing the materials, Denys Yaroslavsky on the air in November 2020 transferred the relevant documents, testifying to numerous corruption actions in the system of service centers, to Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko. The latter promised to study and go into the matter.
According to journalist Ihor Lesev, after the broadcast of the materials of the journalistic investigation, a group of companies led by Serhiy Vakulenko (as a part of Vip-Expert LLC, Region-Expert LLC, Transkom-plus LLC) moved from the building of the service center of the Interior Ministry to another office. None of the responsible persons of the service centers or the main department of the National Police in Kharkiv region incurred any responsibility for the production of false medical certificates, fake registration numbers of vehicles and illegal transactions of its purchase and sale. At the same time, only the non-payment of the lease by Vakulenko’s group caused damage exceeding UAH 200,000 to the service centers in Kharkiv.
According to another participant in the press conference, ex-military prosecutor of Ukraine Ihor Serkov, while the suspects in the journalistic investigation have not been announced they are suspected of committing a crime with the election of an appropriate preventive measure, the violations mentioned in the film are abstract.
“If the employees of the service centers and the officials of the main department of the National Police in Kharkiv region associated with them, suspected of corruption and illegal actions, are not punished, there is no guarantee that this scheme will not find its continuation in the very near future. The main principle is lost – the inevitability of punishment of suspects,” Serkov said.
https://uprava.com.ua/
The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Ukraine’s Daily Life plans to create a museum of Crimean Tatar culture, said director of the Crimean House Akhtem Seitablayev.
“I am very grateful that another future step in order for us to know as much as possible about each other, to be able to adequately present the culture of the Crimean Tatars (because culture is perhaps one of the most durable tools for identifying ourselves) will be a museum of Crimean Tatar culture, which we, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ukrainian Institute, the Ministry of Culture, dream of building on the territory of the Pyrohove ethnography museum,” said Seitablayev at the opening of the exhibition “Loyalty to oneself is not a crime” at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
On March, 13 and 14 2021 the largest Maslenitsa celebration in Ukraine will take place in Ancient Kyiv in the Principality of Kyivan Rus («Kyivan Rus Park»). In Ancient Kyiv – a real, live, medieval city, surrounded by the masterpieces of the architecture of Kyivan Rus, the guests will be awaited by: ancient traditions and rites, a bright entertaining program with the solemn meeting of the prince, horse-trick performances, traditional burning of a huge Maslenitsa scarecrow. With the dusk, a bright evening fire program will begin. And, of course, hot pancakes with different fillings, hot drinks and tasty dishes prepared on open fire, horse riding, traditional Slavic funs, gifts on Maslenitsa poles, open master-classes, the ancient «Kolodiy» ritual and the unique «Maslenitsa nativity scene» in the ancient Slavic language.
• The program may change
Ancient Kyiv opens at 10:00, the program starts at 13:30.
The ticket price: a full adult ticket – 250 UAH, for pensioners and students – 150 UAH, for schoolchildren – 100 UAH, for preschool children – for free.
Ancient Kyiv in the «Kyivan Rus Park» is located in Kyiv region, Obukhiv district, the vill. Kopachiv.
Details on the website www.parkkyivrus.com
The Interfax subscribers can save money with the “openbusiness-20” promo code for a 20%-discount for a full price adult ticket to the Principality of Kyivan Rus:
– by previous order by tel.: +38 044 461-99-37, +38 050 385-20-35
– or at the cash desk at the entrance to the «Kyivan Rus Park».
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, to be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), expanding the increase the funding limit to EUR 280 million.
“The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (Ukreximbank) to increase the funding limit of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Support Facility project to EUR 280 million,” the EIB said in a press release on Friday.
“Additional financing, namely a EUR 20 million loan, will be provided via a parallel cross-currency swap in Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) and will be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” the EIB said.
The operation is part of Team Europe’s overall response to the COVID-19 crisis, which aims to support the sustainable social and economic recovery of the region.
“Improved access to affordable finance in local currency is one of our main priorities, especially at a time when SMEs need strong support to overcome the challenges and the liquidity shortfall created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Head of the EIB Resident Representation for Ukraine Jean-Erik de Zagon said.
Chairman of the Management Board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger said that the bank has a clear goal to direct additional financing to meet the specific and urgent needs of Ukrainian companies.
The EIB is an EU institution. It is owned by the EU member states. The EIB provides long-term financing.
The EIB has been operating in Ukraine since 2007. The country accounts for 60% of the bank’s lending activities in the Eastern Partnership countries.
Ukreximbank, the sole owner of which is the state, was established in 1992.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to visit the Lithuanian capital in 2021 to participate in a conference on reforms in Ukraine, said Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine. “We hope that the conference will take place this year. The Ukrainian government and the President’s Office are already working on this. The head of state will be happy to come to Lithuania to discuss progress in Ukrainian reforms and support for Ukraine from European partners,” the President’s Office on Tuesday quoted Zhovkva as saying who gave an interview to the Lithuanian branch of the leading news agency in the Baltic region, Baltic News Service (BNS).
He also noted that currently “preparations are underway for the fourth conference on reforms in Ukraine, which was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
According to Zhovkva, “over the past year and a half, Ukraine has shown significant progress in reforms, in particular, recently the President of the European Council Charles Michel noted the efforts of Volodymyr Zelensky in judicial and banking reforms, as well as in the agro-industrial sector.
“We count on a fair assessment of the process. And we count on help to Ukraine to continue this path of reforms,” Zhovkva stressed.
The Deputy Head of the President’s Office also focused on the process of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
He recalled that Ukraine received the status of a NATO partner with expanded capabilities and is raising the issue of providing an action plan for membership in the Alliance.
“We understand that we have to do our homework, including reforms in the security and military sector of Ukraine. We are working on this,” Zhovkva said.
He also assured that now work is underway to deepen Ukraine’s integration with the European Union.
“Much depends on Ukraine, but not everything. We will work on our ‘homework’, but we really count on the support of Brussels and the EU member states. And here, by the way, the role of Lithuania is very important, because I hope that Lithuania has unanimous support for Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO, “said the deputy head of the President’s Office.
He added that the Republic of Lithuania is not just a strategic partner for Ukraine, but a “strategic friend and brother”, and both countries have great potential for cooperation.
The 28th European Badminton Championship will be held in Ukraine from April 27 to May 2, 2021, the press service of the Badminton Federation of Ukraine reports.
“With the support of the state and our partners, we are ready to hold the European Badminton Championship in Kyiv at the highest level,” said President of the Badminton Federation of Ukraine Oleksiy Dneprov at an open meeting of the governmental organizing committee of the European Badminton Championship.
He stressed that the 2021 European Badminton Championship in Ukraine is a reason for pride in the country and a sign of trust in Ukraine as a reliable partner.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Secretary General of the European Badminton Confederation Jimmy Andersen, the leadership of the organizing committee of the competition and representatives of the Council of the Badminton Federation of Ukraine.
Andersen noted the high level of Ukraine’s readiness for the championship.
So, the 28th European Badminton Championship will be held in Kyiv at the Sports Palace on April 27 – May 2, 2021. This tournament will take place in Ukraine for the first time.
The competition will be broadcast on the Megogo Media Service.
The European Badminton Championship is the most prestigious tournament in Europe, with over 200 top athletes taking part every year.
The championship in Kyiv will be the decisive competition in the selection for the Tokyo Olympics.
The decision to hold the European Badminton Championship in Ukraine was made in August 2019, and the tournament itself was supposed to take place on April 21-26, 2020, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed.
