Page 27 - UKRRptDec23

Intelligence Service suggests that Ukraine is facing a pivotal moment in its democratic journey, with presidential elections slated for 2024. The assessment contends that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is actively working to sideline his primary competitor, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, in anticipation of the upcoming elections. The report's authors express concerns, stating, "In his endeavor to eliminate Klitschko politically, Zelenskiy is displaying authoritarian tendencies." They anticipate that Western nations will likely apply pressure on the president and his inner circle regarding this issue.
Top Ukrainian military aide Major Hennadii Chastiakov was killed in his own home when he detonated a grenade that a colleague had given him for his birthday on November 6. A Ukrainian Interior Ministry representative says all evidence points to the idea that the explosion was an accident, but state investigators have launched a criminal investigation into the incident. Meduza explains what we know so far about the circumstances surrounding Chastiakov’s death.
Zelensky said in his evening address on November 6 that it would be “irresponsible” to hold the next scheduled presidential elections in March 2024, while the country is at war.
5 more riot police officers to be tried for EuroMaidan killings. Five more former Berkut riot police officers are to be tried for shooting protesters during the EuroMaidan revolution, the Prosecutor General's Office Office announced on Nov. 6.
Spy sentenced to 15 years in prison for helping Russian troops navigate route to Kyiv. A Ukrainian man was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Sumy court for his role in helping Russian forces reach Kyiv and working with Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) announced on Nov. 10.
There is corruption in Ukraine, as in other countries, but the state is fighting it, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on November 15. "Currently, the Russian Federation is conducting many information special operations both on the territory of Ukraine and beyond its borders, since we are awaiting a decision from the European Union, since decisions are being prepared through Nato, as well as decisions on bilateral military assistance. This narrative is now actively being fueled, and it manifested itself at all important stages of the development of our country. But this is not an excuse - there is corruption in Ukraine. But the most important message that the state sends to its citizens today is that we are fighting corruption. This is a continuous process," Stefanishyna said in interview with the Estonian publication ERR.
A Kyiv court has placed Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) deputy and former journalist Oleksandr Dubinsky under arrest for two months on suspicion of state treason. According to Ukraine’s Security Service, Dubinsky, using the code name “Buratino,” worked for a covert network set up by Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), carrying out “information-subversion activities favouring Russia” since at least 2019. Ukrainian intelligence reported that the network’s tasks included “destabilising the socio-political situation in Ukraine and discrediting the country in the international arena.”
27 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com