Some 128 settlements in eight regions of Ukraine are cut off power due to poor weather conditions, the State Emergencies Service has informed. “Some 128 settlements in eight regions were cut off power on the night of December 25 as a result of poor weather conditions (rain, sometimes sleet and wind gusts), and the operation of the automatic transmission line protection system, namely 46 in Dnipropetrovsk, 43 in Kirovohrad, 16 in Mykolaiv, eight in Chernivtsi, six in Kyiv, five in Cherkasy, two in Zaporizhia and two in Chernihiv region,” the report says.
It is noted that the teams of regional power supply companies are involved in the restoration of power supply. “The movement of transport on roads is provided. Some 2,181 people and 1,600 vehicles were attracted from Ukravtodor to ensure traffic on the roads,” the Emergencies Service said.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that he has signed a decree expanding the list of Ukrainian individuals and business entities subjected to Russian restrictive measures. “The list of Ukrainian individuals and entities, which will be subjected to specific restrictive measures, has been expanded. I signed a relevant decree,” the prime minister said on Twitter. “This was done to protect the interests of the Russian state, Russian companies and citizens,” Medvedev said.
Starting from January 1, 2019, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry will be processing e-visas for nationals of 52 countries using an extended list of purposes for a visit to Ukraine. The department of the ministry’s consular service said in a post on Facebook that the list will include such purposes as business trips, private visits, tourist trips, trips for medical treatment, trips for carrying out activities in culture, science, education, and sports, as well as trips by foreign media journalists visiting Ukraine as part of their job.
The nationals of the following countries are entitled to apply for e-visas to Ukraine: Australia, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Oman, Palau, Peru, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu,
The process of getting e-visas has remained as simple as possible. To obtain an e-visa, one needs to sign up at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s website at https://evisa.mfa.gov.ua/, fill out an application form there, upload a recent photograph and scanned copies of their documents (a passport, an invitation, etc.), and pay a consular fee online with a banking card. The issued e-visas will be sent to the applicants’ email addresses in a PDF format.
In order to be granted entry into Ukraine, foreign visitors will have to print out their granted e-visas and present them along with their valid passports to Ukrainian border guards upon arrival to Ukraine (e-visas are only valid for entry through international checkpoints on the Ukrainian state border).
E-visas are to be issued within nine working days. The consular fee is $85. The e-visas will be issued for a single trip lasting up to 30 days.
Ukraine has recorded 142 cases of the African swine fever (ASF) virus since the beginning of 2018. That is 13% fewer than in the previous year, the State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service has said. According to the service’s press release, the disease was registered among domestic pigs – 93 cases, among wild animals – 37 cases. A dozen cases in dead animals near villages were also detected. “Against the general background of the positive dynamics in reducing the number of cases of ASF, there is concern about the increase in the number of infected animal corpses found on landfills and in forest belts. This year, there were a dozen cases,” the service said.
According to the ministry, as in the past year, most cases of the disease were noted during June-September (67 cases).
Last year, the disease was recorded in all regions of Ukraine, but this year, four regions reported no ASF cases: Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Lviv, and Kharkiv.
“The most positive dynamics in reducing the number of cases were observed in Poltava region (eight cases in 2018, 21 cases in 2017), Luhansk (four in 2018, 10 in 2017) and Vinnytsia (two in 2018, eight in 2017),” the service said.
