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quarter of next year to hold a ‘High-Level Strategic Council’ Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said yesterday. Turkey has resisted Russian pressure to stop selling military drones to Ukraine.
Putin talks to Macron, Niinistö as Lukashenko talks up Union. Russian president Vladimir Putin talked with his French and Finnish counterparts on December 14, reuters.com reported. Putin told French president Emmanuel Macron that he wanted immediate talks aimed at stopping further NATO expansion eastward. Macron warned Putin about the consequences of a military push into Ukraine. Putin’s call with Finnish president Sauli Niinistö comes after Niinistö talked to US president Joe Biden on December 13 as well as the announcement by Finland on December 10 that it had signed a deal to purchase 64 F-35 jet fighters. Niinistö emphasised to Putin the need for a diplomatic solution instead of the buildup of Russian troops, which he found to be a ‘grave concern’, yle.fi reported. On December 14, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the unification of Belarus and Russia as an ongoing process not according to a set timetable, but rather according to developments. In an interview with Turkey’s TRT, he said that Russia and Belarus would avoid the mistakes of the EU while relying on their mutual experience under the Soviet Union. This will be “a stronger, more balanced, and more advanced union,” he stated, according to tass.com.
Parliament passes ‘anti-Akhmetov’ tax law that raises iron ore rents, triples carbon tax. Parliament voted the bill through in its second reading. The bill had been labelled as “anti-Akhmetov,” as two of its key provisions will hurt the steelmaking and energy business interests of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man. The provisions in question are a new calculation system for iron ore mining rents based on global market prices, and a tripling of the industrial carbon dioxide emission tax from $0.37 to $1.11 per ton. The bill contains several other tax changes, such as the implementation of an 18% levy on agricultural produce sales above $2,800 a year. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told parliament in September that the new law could raise between $920mn and $1.3bn of extra tax revenue annually. The law’s passing comes at a time of great tension between Akhmetov and the President’s Office, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy alleging in his November 26 press conference that Ukraine’s intelligence services had obtained evidence that Akhmetov was being pulled, possibly without his knowledge, into a Russian-backed coup attempt due to take place on December 1. Akhmetov denied the accusations.
Zelenskiy submitted to the Rada on December 2 a bill that would allow Ukrainians to hold dual citizenship. “An important component of our international policy is the support of world ‘Ukrainianness’” he said. “I know how important the issue of multiple citizenship is for Ukrainians living in the United States, Canada and the EU.” The Ukrainian World Congress estimates that there are 20 million ethnic Ukrainians living outside the country.
Ukraine will receive € 31mn to strengthen its defence. The EU Council has decided to provide € 31mn to Ukraine to improve its defence capabilities under the newly established European Peace Facility. We appreciate this step, which once again demonstrated the strategic nature of EU-Ukraine relations," Dmytro Kuleba said.
UAH 8 bln will be allocated to vaccinated people. UAH 8 bln ($296mn) will be allocated from the state budget for payments to vaccinated against coronavirus this year, instead of UAH 3 bln as previously planned, said Prime
11 UKRAINE Country Report January 2022 www.intellinews.com