Page 11 - UKRRptJan22

As many as 17 Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad have received either letter bombs or blood-stained envelopes in the first week of December. "This campaign is aimed at sowing fear and intimidating Ukrainian diplomats," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with CNN. Ukraine's Embassy in Spain also receives blood-stained parcel. Similar packages were earlier sent to the Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, and Austria, the consulates general in Naples and Krakow, and the consulate in Brno. Ukraine's ambassador to Vatican says his house was vandalised. Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash, said on December 2 that the entrance to his home in Rome had been smeared by unknown people with what he believed to be animal faeces.
Ukraine and the UAE plan to sign a large-scale economic partnership. On December 5, negotiations between Ukraine and the UAE regarding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) began, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported. The joint statement regarding mutual intent to strengthen bilateral relations was signed today by the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyridenko, and the Minister of Foreign Trade of the UAE, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. Ukraine seeks to become the first European state with which the UAE conclude a CEPA. These negotiations emphasise the importance of Ukraine to the Emirates as a long-term trade and investment partner, noted the Ministry of Economy. In addition to trade in agro-industrial products, the largest share of economic cooperation between Ukraine and the UAE is metallurgy. At the same time, cooperation in infrastructure projects, energy, and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in the fields of innovation, research, development, and technology, are extremely promising.
Ukraine's chief negotiator says Russia must withdraw from Ukraine before starting talks. Lawmaker David Arakhamia, head of the governing Servant of the People faction and Ukraine's chief negotiator with Russia, said Kyiv is ready to provide Russia with security guarantees after it withdraws its troops from Ukraine, pays reparations, brings all war criminals to justice, and voluntarily surrenders nuclear weapons.
On December 1, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine banned the Moscow-backed church in Ukraine. It adopted a resolution “on certain aspects of the activities of religious organisations in Ukraine and the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions).” The document proposes that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduce a bill banning Russian-affiliated religious groups within two months. President Zelensky signed
The US Senate has supported a resolution recognizing the Russian Federation's actions in Ukraine as genocide. The US Senate Committee on International Relations adopted a resolution recognizing the Russians' actions in Ukraine as genocide, the US Senate reported. "Crimes committed against the Ukrainian people during Putin's illegal and unprovoked war violate countless international conventions and can only be described as genocide," said US Senator Ben Cardin. The resolution condemns Russia for genocide
the decree that put this resolution into effect on the
same day. Once the Cabinet of Ministers drafts the bill, it will be considered by
the Verkhovna Rada.
11 UKRAINE Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com