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considering running for a second term​ he said at a press conference to mark first year in office. Zelenskiy said during his campaign that he would only work for one term. “One term won’t be enough to complete the whole list” of tasks, he said yesterday. He added that he wants to be remembered as the president who rebuilt Ukraine’s road network. In a poll conducted this month by the Rating Group, 31% of respondents considered his first year good or excellent, 37% satisfactory and 31% unsatisfactory.
Former head of the State Customs Service Maksym Nefyodov is challenging his dismissal from this post in the Kyiv district administrative court, ​according to the court's media service. Specifically, Nefyodov has asked the court to invalidate and cancel ​April's order of the government about his dismissal​ from the post of head of the State Customs Service, seeking his subsequent reinstatement, news agency Interfax reported on May 21. In addition, Nefyodov asked the court to recover the amount of average salary "for the period of forced absence", based on the size of his average daily payment, in his favour. The Ukrainian government dismissed Nefyodov from the post of Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister and ​appointed him head of the nation's State Customs Service in 2019​.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy indicated in a May 20 press conference that he endorses personally the Prosecutor General Office’s decision to register a criminal case against his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko​, for state treason in alleged political deals he made with then-US Vice President Joe Biden. In response to a question about the prospects for Poroshenko’s prosecution, Zelenskiy said,” Regarding a verdict for Mr. Poroshenko. I am sure that all this is still ahead. You saw yesterday’s scandal. I think they led the state in such a way that they await very many various adventures and various verdicts.” He later added,” I think this isn’t the last alarm bell that Ukrainians and citizens will see” in regards to the audio recordings released the same day that provided the alleged evidence for a criminal case of treason. Zelenskiy’s remarks indicated that the evidence is credible, while Poroshenko alleged afterwards the evidence is fabricated.
Shifting employees to working at home -- either partially or fully -- is being considered by 62% of directors at 105 member companies of the European Business Association​. In a survey completed Thursday most respondents said they were willing to allow up to 50% of the staff to work remotely. To recover to pre-crisis levels of business, 20% of the directors said it would take six months, 39% said one year, and 17% said two year.
With only 80% of the majority Servant of the People Party voting for the anti-Kolomoisky bank law, Zelenskiy attended the Rada session on May 13 and helped cobble together an ad hoc coalition​, drawing votes from two pro-Western parties – former President Poroshenko’s European Solidarity and Svyatoslav Vakarchuk’s Voice. Opposed were pro-Russian parties, Kolomoisky’s faction inside Servant of the People and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymochenko’s Fatherland party.
With the IMF deal on track, one discordant voice popped up on May 14: Mikheil Saakashvili​, Zelenskiy’s new reform advisor. Speaking on Ihor Kolomoisky’s 1+1 TV, he complained of the IMF: “They give us exactly as much money so that we simply pay off our external debts. And because of this, we are forced to bow constantly. I refused the IMF services in Georgia one time. I think Ukraine is strong enough to refuse this.”
17​ UKRAINE Country Report​ June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com