Page 12 - UKRRptSept21

After the Russian aggression began then former President Petro Poroshenko upped military spending to 5% of GDP – more than twice Nato’s spending levels – in a rush to modernise Ukraine’s military. Between February and September 2014, Ukraine, mainly on its own, transformed its armed forces from approximately 6,000 combat-ready soldiers to a force capable of nearly re-taking all of Donbas and it also purged its security service ranks of FSB infiltrators. The new military deals between Turkey and Ukraine may prove decisive in Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and are pregnant with the possibility of an offensive drive to retake the territory currently controlled by the Russian-backed separatists in Donbas.
2.3 Politics - misc
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy finally had his first face-to-face meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden on September 1. The two leaders issued a joint statement afterwards laying out their agenda.
Ukraine celebrates its 30th anniversary of independence. On August 24, the country celebrated three decades of independence with a lavish display of national pride, history, culture, and military might in Kyiv before many of the foreign dignitaries who had been present at the Crimea Platform.
US State Department has imposed more sanctions in connection with Nord Stream 2. On Aug. 20 it announced sanctions against 2 more Russian citizens and a Russian vessel involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. President Joe Biden has also signed an Executive Order “on blocking property with respect to certain Russian energy export pipelines.”
Servant of the People lawmaker Oleksandr Trukhin was involved in a car accident in Kyiv on August 23; six people were injured, including two children. But the real scandal arose a few days later, when dozens of Ukrainian media outlets began taking down news stories about the crash. According to the Institute of Mass Information, at least 30 online media outlets deleted their reports about the accident, including UNIAN, TSN, and a number of sports news sites. In addition, the editors-in-chief of other publications reported receiving emails that promised compensation (allegedly starting at $200) if they pulled their articles too. On August 31, Kyiv Police reported that the case had been transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation because the accident involved a Verkhovna Rada lawmaker. Trukhin finally spoke out about the incident on September 1. In conversation with Interfax Ukraine, he confirmed that he was present at the crash and underscored that he’s cooperating with the investigation. “I was really at the scene of the accident. And I didn't plan to hide it — neither then nor now,” he said.
Vitrenko is convinced preserving gas transit via Ukraine can deter aggression. “The primary danger Nord Stream 2 poses is the threat to stop gas transit via Ukraine, which would mean a much higher risk of full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. We therefore view the transit issue and the preservation of physical transit volumes through Ukraine
12 UKRAINE Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com