Ukraine and the world
- Foreign Ministers of the European Union have approved the introduction of sanctions against nine people responsible for the organization of the recent “elections” in the temporary occupied of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
- President Petro Poroshenko has signed the Law “On Termination of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on Dec.6, 2018. “The non-renewal of the treaty with Russia should be viewed not as an episode but as part of our strategy for a final break with the colonial past and reorientation towards Europe,” he emphasized.
Russia’s war on Ukraine
- Crimea’s “head” inadvertently acknowledges Russian military used to annex Crimea. The Russia-imposed head of occupied Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, let slip in a Facebook posting that Russian forces were indeed the supposedly unidentified “green men” who carried out the Russian occupation of Crimea in the spring of 2014. His message expressing gratitude to paratroopers and special forces from Pskov was quickly removed from Facebook.
- Russia has reduced traffic through the Kerch Strait to a trickle.The spokesperson for the for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Oleh Slobodian, has said the Russian Federation is still blocking the passage and 104 vessels are waiting in the Kerch Strait area to pass through.
Business
- US Snapchat snaps up startup with Ukrainian founder. U.S. tech company Snap, famous for its messenger Snapchat, has reportedly paid $8 million for startup Teleport founded by 20-year-old Ukrainian Vladislav Urazov. Teleport develops a mobile application that can analyze and alter already taken photographs. It uses artificial intelligence and video technology to analyze and change them.
- Ukraine ranked second in Europe’s e-commerce growth rate. This was reported by Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), an independent advisory body on regulatory policy in Ukraine (funded by the European Union) at a roundtable discussion on Dec. 5. It attests to the country’s significant market potential.
- Electric cars market in Ukraine virtually doubles. Initial registration of electric vehicles (new and used) in Ukraine in January-November 2018 almost doubled compared to the same period of 2017, to 4,812 units. Meanwhile, the share of imported used cars, as in the previous year, was 84%. Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, and Tesla Model S remain the most popular electric cars in Ukraine.
