Section: South China Morning Post (China)
Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky takes office as Ukraine’s president, uses opening address to wage war on political establishment
Volodymyr Zelensky, a television comedian turned populist firebrand, took office as Ukraine’s president Monday and immediately signalled he was ready to do battle with the political establishment.Speaking to members of parliament in his inaugural address, Zelensky set them a number of tasks, including approving the removal of top security...
Ukraine’s ruling coalition collapses in blow to president-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy
Ukraine’s ruling parliamentary coalition has collapsed in what represents a setback for the country’s president-elect’s plans to hold early elections.The speaker in the Supreme Rada said on Friday that he has received a notification from lawmakers about the breakdown of the coalition, which was made up of various parties,...
Russia mulls offering fast-tracked passports to all Ukrainians, Vladimir Putin says
President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday Moscow was considering offering all Ukrainian citizens fast-tracked Russian passports, a move likely to anger some politicians in Ukraine, which has been at war with pro-Russian separatists since 2014.Putin made the statement days after signing an order to simplify the procedure for obtaining a Russian...
EU slams Russian ‘attack’ after country makes it easier for Ukraine separatists to obtain passports
The European Union condemned Moscow on Thursday for making it easier for people in separatist areas of east Ukraine to obtain Russian passports, calling it a fresh assault on the war-torn country’s sovereignty.The controversial decree signed by President Vladimir Putin “is another attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty by Russia”, a...
Comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy wins Ukrainian presidential race by landslide in bitter blow for incumbent Petro Poroshenko
Ukraine entered uncharted political waters on Sunday after an exit poll showed a comedian with no political experience and few detailed policies had easily won enough votes to become the next president of a country at war.The apparent landslide victory of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, 41, is a bitter blow for incumbent Petro Poroshenko who tried to rally...
London police fire on car after it rams Ukrainian ambassador’s vehicle
British police fired shots Saturday at a car outside the Ukrainian embassy in London after it rammed other cars parked in front of the embassy.London’s Metropolitan Police said firearms and stun guns were used to stop and detain a suspect who drove a vehicle at a police car when police arrived on the scene.The Ukraine embassy said its...
American senators want stiff sanctions on key industries to discourage Russia from election meddling
US Republican and Democratic senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday seeking to deter Russia from meddling in US elections by threatening stiff sanctions on its banking, energy and defence industries and sovereign debt.Known as the “Deter Act”, the legislation is the latest effort by lawmakers in the United States to ratchet up pressure...
Ukrainians vote in presidential election amid tight security
An armoured police vehicle stands outside a polling station in Mariupol, the easternmost Ukrainian city still under Kiev’s control, as officers patrol the streets.Just a few miles to the east is the frontline in a separatist conflict with Russia-backed rebels that has cost some 13,000 lives since it broke out in 2014 following...
Was the Christchurch shooter part of a white-supremacist network taking cues from al-Qaeda and Islamic State?
In the wake of the New Zealand mosque attacks, links have emerged between the shooter and a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist, white supremacist paramilitary organisation called the Azov Battalion. The shooter’s manifesto alleges that he visited the country during his many travels abroad, and the flak jacket he wore during the assault featured a...
Volodymyr Zelensky: front-runner seeking Ukraine presidency is a comedian who plays one on TV
In the second season of the Ukrainian hit TV show Servant of the People, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky plays a schoolteacher turned presidential candidate who shoots to the top of the polls amid voter disgust with the political establishment.Zelensky is now running for president in real life.With just weeks to go until Ukraine’s March 31...
