Page 12 - UKRRptJun20

"We hope that by the end of May we will reach signing of the documents and will receive the first tranche of money as it was discussed," news agency Interfax quoted Shmyhal as saying during an hour of questions to the government in Rada. "Today we are on the stage close to signing of the memorandum.”
2.4​ ​Prosecutor General Venediktova accused of corruption by predecessor
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova is returning state prosecutors​ who failed recertification tests, which were organized to improve the fairness of Ukrainian law enforcement and remove those who are beholden to special interests, her predecessor, Ruslan Riaboshapka, alleged in a May 6 blog post on the pravda.com.ua news site. “In this sense, President Zelenskiy in no way differs from President Poroshenko, who in the same way – using the hands of his prosecutor general – didn’t allow for the possibility to conduct reforms in the prosecutor’s office needed for Ukraine in 2015-2016,” he wrote.
Both Zelenskiy and Venediktova “have decided not to worry about legal procedures and simply have begun to appoint ‘the right people’ to positions in the Prosecutor General’s Office without the legally required competitive selection and recertification processes,” he wrote. Moreover, Veneditkova has blocked international members of the administrative commission responsible for approving final appointments, instead appointing those loyal to her, Riaboshapka wrote, without mentioning any names.
In response to the accusations, Venediktova said in a May 8 video announcement that reforms are ongoing, including the recertification process, which will be renewed after the quarantine. She pointed out that more than 600 court complaints have been filed by dismissed prosecutors who failed recertification, and a group of MPs is challenging the constitutionality of the undertaken reforms. They have resulted in more than 30% of prosecutors being dismissed, which “may destabilize the work of a particular prosecutor’s office, but significantly influence the functioning of the law enforcement system as a whole,” she said.
2.5​ ​Naftogaz’s bulldog Vitreneko fired as management shaken up
The business development director of Ukraine gas company​ ​Naftogaz​, Yuriy Vitrenko who doggedly spearheaded the negotiations with Russia’s Gazprom​ that delivered both a new transit gas deal in December and the payment by the Russians of $2.6bn in court settlements, has been fired after clashing with his boss CEO Andriy Kobolev.
Kobolev has nixed his position at the company. Vitrenko will leave in two months time when his job of executive director no longer exists, according to a post on Facebook by Vitrenko on May 13.
"I have just been formally warned that my position will be discharged, and this means that I will be fired from Naftogaz in two months," Vitrenko wrote .
He believes that his dismissal is caused by the fact that "the fight against
12​ UKRAINE Country Report​ June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com