Page 15 - UKRRptSept21

U.S.-Germany deal allowing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to be completed, sources familiar with the decision tell Axios. Hochstein has been a leading voice against Nord Stream 2, a strategic and financial priority for the Kremlin that will allow Russia to bypass Ukraine and deliver gas directly to the heart of Europe.
Belarus ‘president’ Alexander Lukashenko called Ukraine an “additional threat” in July and vowed to close the 1,084 km land border. “From today, no one from the west or south should set foot in Belarus,” Lukashenko said. “Close every meter of the border.” On July 2, Lukashenko ordered the border closed, but apparently the closing was partial. Next month, Russia and Belarus will hold large-scale crossborder military drills, Belarus' defence ministry said yesterday. Ukraine’s deputy presidential chief of staff, Roman Mashovets, has called these ‘West-2021’ drills “aggressive in nature.”
UBJ, BNKMM
Tense bilateral relations have taken their toll on trade and tourism. In the first half of this year, 115,000 Belarusians entered Ukraine, only 25% the level of the first half of last year, Artem Shevchenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry, told reporters yesterday.
Since Ukraine’s new farm land market started on July 1, 5,552 sales agreements have been approved. The average price is $1,500 per hectare. “Everything is working normally, without conflicts,” Prime Minister Shmygal told the Cabinet yesterday. Until the end of 2023, sales can only between Ukrainian individuals for a maximum of 100 hectares. Starting in 2024 Ukrainian companies can participate, buying up to 10,000 hectares. A national referendum is to decide if foreigners and foreign companies can participate in the market.
More headaches for Igor Kolomoisky. A US court has ordered the oligarch to pay $1.1mn in civil penalties for damage caused to the local environment by the Warren Steel Holdings, one of at least 22 US properties owned by Kolomoisky through shell companies according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The same steel mill caught fire on Aug. 11, while the parties were still waiting on court approval of their consent order The Ohio Fire Marshal’s Office believes arson was involved
2.4 Polls & Sociology
Incumbent President Volodymyr Zelensky, if the presidential elections were held in the near future, would be supported by 27.2% of Ukrainians among those who intend to vote and have made their choice, according to the results of the study "Generation of independence: values and incentives" conducted by the sociological group Rating and presented at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.
Some 14.9% of respondents would vote for fifth President of Ukraine (2014-2019), leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko, 10.5% for leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life party Yuriy Boiko, for leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko – 9.7%, for leader of the Strength and Honor party Ihor
15 UKRAINE Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com