First coronavirus case identified in Ukraine

A Ukrainian who recently returned home after a vacation in Italy is infected with the novel coronavirus, Deputy Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said at a briefing on March 3.

Ukraine government sources name potential appointees in imminent cabinet shakeup

Dmytro Kuleba, Denys Shmygal and Ihor Umansky are reportedly slotted for top cabinet positions.

Leaked memo from Presidential Office outlines targets for cabinet shuffle

The memo outlines arguments in favor of replacing the prime minister and criticizing Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka and NABU head Artem Sytnyk.

Kolomoisky wins as court blocks Centrenergo charges

The court blocked cabinet plans to replace Centrenergo’s management two days after they were announced by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk on Feb. 26.

5G brand features Kyiv in dystopian advertisement

Joining brands and artists who have made darkly futuristic videos in Kyiv, Three UK’s latest ad shot in the city was released Feb. 26.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

A Ukrainian court ruled today that the state property fund cannot fire executives from the electric and thermal utility Centrengero, hampering efforts to privatize the long-unprofitable company. The decision comes less than a month after the Kyiv commercial court lifted a ban on Centrengero’s privatization, which the government has said it hopes to accomplish in 2020 or 2021.

The Kyiv Post reported on Feb. 29 that the issue has become a point of dispute in government after Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk announced he would replace the head of Centrengero to tackle corruption and accelerate privatization.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly stopped the sacking, and as the Kyiv Post wrote, the decision, “could be linked to the influence of billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky” whose “ferroalloy plant was the main customer of Centrenergo,” purchasing electricity at below-market rates until several months ago.