Viktor Chumak, who had been Deputy Prosecutor General and Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine until January 2, 2020, has been appointed as Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (PGO) reported on its website. As reported, the PGO started its work on January 2, 2020.
The law, which was passed on September 19, 2019, provides for creating a new system of prosecution agencies following the attestation of prosecutors and elimination of military prosecutor’s offices. The prosecutor general is entitled to set up specialized prosecutor’s offices in case of necessity as departments of the PGO, regional and district prosecutor’s offices.
According to the law, the prosecutor general will have two first deputies and an unlimited number of deputies.
The law abolishes military prosecutor’s offices and the position of deputy prosecutor general and chief military prosecutor.
Passenger traffic at Lviv International Airport in 2019 amounted to 2.217 million people, which is 38.8% more than in 2018, the company’s press service said on Facebook.
The number of flights in 2019 reached 18,963 (16,180 international and 2,783 domestic), which is 22.9% more than in 2018.
In December 2019, some 171,600 passengers used the airport services (151,400 on international flights, 20,200 on domestic flights), which is 32.4% more than in December 2018. At the same time, the number of flights last month increased by 10.9%, to 1,423 (1,178 international and 245 domestic).
As reported, Lviv Airport in 2018 increased passenger traffic by 48% compared to 2017, to 1.598 million people.
Lviv International Airport is located 6 km south of the city center.
Azovstal Iron and Steel Works (Mariupol, Donetsk region), which is part of Metinvest Group, in 2019 reduced production of rolled goods, according to recent data, by 3.2% compared to the previous year, to 3.753 million tonnes.
The enterprise told Interfax-Ukraine that steel production decreased by 1.6%, to 4.018 million tonnes, pig iron output by 6.3%, to 3.475 million tonnes.
In December, Azovstal produced 278,000 tonnes of rolled steel, 303,000 tonnes of steel, 316,000 tonnes of cast iron, while in the previous month 244,000 tonnes of rolled metal, 295,000 tonnes of steel, and 252,000 tonnes of cast iron.
As reported, in 2018 Azovstal kept production of rolled goods at the level of the previous year at 3.879 million tonnes, but reduced steel production by 4%, to 4.082 million tonnes, pig iron by 2%, to 3.707 million tonnes.
The enterprise is part of Metinvest Group, the main shareholders of which are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the managing company of Metinvest Group.
Polish Ambassador in Kyiv Bartosz Cichocki and his Israeli counterpart Joel Lion have said that honoring people who “actively propagated ethnic cleansings” is insulting and are expecting the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) and the Lviv Regional Council to join “efforts to seek the truth” in this issue. “We are seriously concerned and saddened that representatives of Ukrainian authorities of various levels, including the Lviv Regional Council and the KCSA, still mark historical events and honor persons who must be condemned once and for all,” the ambassadors said in a joint statement.
They thus are alarmed by the fact on December 24, the Lviv Regional Council issued a resolution, which implies the allocation of public funds in 2020 to honor the memory of one of the leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, which is banned in Russia) Andriy Melnyk, as well as writer and statesman Ivan Lypa and his son and public figure Yuriy Lypa.
“In addition, on January 1, the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) placed a banner with a portrait of Stepan Bandera on its building. Remembering our innocent brothers and sisters killed in 1939-1945 on the occupied Polish territories, which are currently part of Ukraine, we, the ambassadors of Poland and Israel, believe that honoring people, who have actively propagated ethnic purges, is an insult, and leads to the opposite result in the fight against anti-Semitism and in the reconciliation process between our peoples,” the statement reads.
In this connection, the ambassadors are expecting the Lviv Regional Council and the KCSA to join the dialogue seeking the truth.
“On our part, we stand ready to promote better cooperation between various institutions in Israel and Poland, including with Yad Vashem and with the Institute of National Remembrance,” the statement said.
As reported, a procession with torches marking Bandera’s 111th birth anniversary took place in downtown Kyiv in the evening on January 1.
According to media reports, about 1,500 attended the event.
About 2,000 attended the torch march that marked Bandera’s birth anniversary in 2019.
The initial registration of new cars in Ukraine in 2019 increased by 8% compared to 2018, to almost 88,500 units, Ukrautoprom reports.
According to a press release on the association’s website, the market rose, despite the pressure exerted by the sharply increased imports of used cars and the legalization of cars with European registration.
As reported, with reference to data from Ukrautoprom, in 2018 the market of new passenger cars did not exceed the indicator of 2017, amounting to 81,800 units.
The leader in 2019 was the Renault brand with the registration of 14,603 cars (in 2018 it ranked second after Toyota with 8,722 cars), followed by Toyota with 12,570 registered cars (in 2018 it ranked first with 10,082 cars). KIA ranks third with 7,586 vehicles.
The top ten rating of 2019 also included Skoda with 6,231 cars, Nissan with 5,333 cars, Hyundai with 5,099 vehicles, Volkswagen with 4,675 cars, Suzuki with 2,614 cars, Mazda with 2,483 cars, and Peugeot with 2,366 cars.
Ukraine from November 1 to December 31, 2019 reduced reserves of natural gas in underground gas storage facilities (UGS) by 13.1% (by 2.850 billion cubic meters), to 18.934 billion cubic meters (bcm), according to recent data from JSC Ukrtransgaz.
Gas taking from the UGS of Ukraine, in particular, on December 31 amounted to 47.41 million cubic meters with the imports being 15.14 million cubic meters and domestic production standing at 56.97 million cubic meters.
According to the calculations of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, the current volume exceeds the inventory on December 31, 2018 by 36.4%, December 31, 2017 by 28.9%, and December 31, 2016 by 57.9%.
In 2019, the total gas injection into the storage facilities exceeded its taking by 5.05 billion cubic meters, while in 2018 gas taking exceeded its injection by 820 million cubic meters.
As reported, over the past heating season, which lasted from November 6, 2018 to April 4, 2019, gas reserves in the UGS decreased by 8.450 billion cubic meters (from 17.195 billion cubic meters to 8.745 billion cubic meters).
Ukraine entered the 2019/2020 heating season starting on November 1 with the maximum reserves of 21.784 billion cubic meters over the last ten years.
