Ukraine’s score in Global Peace Index in 2020 improved by 0.22 or 7.6%, to 2.66, which recorded the largest increase in peacefulness globally among 163 countries, according to the Global Peace Index (GPI) report posted by the London-based Institute for Economics and Peace on Thursday.
“Indictors that improved included violent crime, violent demonstrations, political instability and the intensity of internal conflict,” the authors of the report said.
The country rose six places in the GPI to 142 GPI rank between Iran and Israel.
“Although Ukraine had the largest increase in peacefulness, concerns remain about the outbreak of future conflict. Russia massed troops on its border with Ukraine in the early part of 2021… Despite the withdrawal of troops from the border region, tensions are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future,” according to the study.
The worst deterioration was shown by Burkina Faso (0.254) and Belarus (0.183), which took 134th and 117th ranks.
Belarus recorded the largest deterioration in the region and the second largest deterioration globally as Belarus experienced the largest anti-government protests in its history, organised by the opposition in response to President Lukashenko seeking a sixth term in office.
Russia is the least peaceful nation in the region and is one of the least peaceful countries in the world on the 2021 GPI, with an overall rank of 154.
In the past year, 87 countries recorded an improvement in peacefulness, while 73 countries recorded a deterioration, and the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated by 0.07% in the 2021 Global Peace Index – the second lowest indicator of change in 15 years of calculating the index.
“It is still too early to fully gauge the long-term effects of the pandemic on peace. However, the changing economic conditions in many nations increases the likelihood of political instability and violent demonstrations,” the study said. Over 5,000 pandemic related violent events were recorded between January 2020 and April 2021
Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a position it has held since 2008 with GPI of 1.1. It is joined at the top of the index by New Zealand, Denmark, and Portugal.
Afghanistan is the least peaceful country in the world for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Yemen, Syria, and South Sudan.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has requested $58.5 billion for fiscal 2022 to support the activities of the Department of State and its goals, according to a document published by the U.S. Department of State on Friday. “The President’s Budget for FY 2022 requests $58.5 billion for the Department of State and USAID,” the message reads.
It is noted that this is 10% higher than the final budget of the State Department in fiscal 2021.
“These resources will position us to advance the Administration’s foreign policy agenda on behalf of the American people. It also reflects the importance the Administration places on U.S. global leadership and the fact that diplomacy and development are vital tools for advancing U.S. interests,” the U.S. Department of State said.
According to the document, it is proposed to allocate a total of $665.8 million for spending in the European region and Eurasia, which, in particular, will help strengthening the resilience of countries to foreign malevolent influence and promoting Euro-Atlantic integration, confronting the growing challenges from Russia and China.
Thus, $88 million of this amount is planned to be allocated to support the democratization of Georgia, its economic development and the creation of resilience to resisting the malicious influence of the Kremlin. In addition, $255 million will be spent on aid to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to withstand Russian aggression. To counter Russian influence and disinformation in the Western Balkans, according to the document, $106 million is required.
Ukraine has recorded 2,472 new cases of COVID-19, some 7,815 recoveries and 166 related deaths over the past 24 hours, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.
“Ukraine has registered 2,472 new daily cases of the coronavirus infection as of May 4, 2021, including 122 children and 22 medical workers. Also, 1,591 people have been admitted to hospitals. Medics have recorded 166 fatalities and 7,815 recoveries over the past day,” Stepanov said on Facebook on Tuesday morning.
The day before, on May 3, some 2,758 new cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded, on May 2, some 5,094 new cases were recorded, on May 1, some 8,549 new coronavirus infections were reported, on April 30, some 10,072 new cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded.
Since the pandemic began, Ukraine has recorded a total of 2,088,410 cases of COVID-19, including 44,916 deaths and 1,689,630 recoveries.
Over the past day, the largest number of confirmed cases was registered in Donetsk (324), Cherkasy (253), Dnipropetrovsk (220), Kharkiv (191) and Odesa (168) regions.
A total of 756,022 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since the vaccination campaign started in Ukraine, among them 919 people on May 3.
The highest “red” level of epidemiological danger was registered in Kiev and 10 out of 24 regions of Ukraine, as of Sunday, which provides for the most stringent quarantine restrictions.
The table of indicator values on regions with a significant spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 as of April 25 published on the website of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine says.
According to the Ministry of Health, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Kiev, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky, Chernihiv regions are placed in the “red zone”.
The “orange zone” includes 9 regions out of 24: Vinnytsia, Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Rivne, Ternopil and Cherkasy regions.
The “yellow zone” includes five regions: Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Kherson and Chernivtsi. The yellow level of epidemiological danger is basic at the national level.
Over the past two weeks, compared to April 11, Zakarpattia, Odesa and Chernivtsi regions have moved from the “red” to the “yellow” zones, that is, the epidemic situation in them has significantly improved, at the same time, Poltava region has moved from the “orange” to “red” zone – the situationhas become worse there.
The Ukrainian naval forces took part in the initial planning conference for the training of the Turkish Navy Dogu Akdeniz 2021 (Eastern Mediterranean – 2021), which is to be held in the Western Mediterranean at the end of the year, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported.
According to the command of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the participants of the event considered the issues of defining the general concept of training, agreeing on the previous composition of the forces, it is planned to involve. Representatives of the Ukrainian Navy discussed the format of the participation of the Ukrainian side, in particular, the involvement of officers of the Ukrainian Navy in the multinational headquarters of the exercises, as well as the training of officers onboard the Turkish Navy corvettes of the ADA class (MILGEM) during their training.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, an inception planning conference for the aforementioned training took place online.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal instructed to work out ways to enhance tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“Ukrainians are on the list of numerous tourists in Turkey, and the geography of their rest is constantly expanding. Therefore, we must consider the possibility of expanding communication, including organizing additional flights on popular routes at weekends, as well as opening communication with new cities,” the governmental press service said, citing Shmyhal.
The prime minister also said that favorable conditions should be developed to attract tourists from Turkey to Ukraine.
“In addition to large cities, it is worth considering the possibility of developing directions to sanatorium resorts that will be interesting for traveling with the whole family,” he said.
For his part, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Andrii Sybiha said the Ukrainian cities of Kamianets-Podilsky and Khotyn may be interesting for tourists from Turkey.
The meeting participants also discussed the possibility of mutual recognition between Ukraine and Turkey of future health certificates that are being developed in the European Union, which will help significantly increase the flow of tourists between states during a pandemic.
“Following the meeting, Denys Shmyhal instructed the relevant departments to study the issue of the possibility of increasing regular and charter flights between Ukraine and Turkey and consider ways to simplify the system of visiting Ukraine by vaccinated Turkish citizens,” the ministry said.
