Latest news with #VerkhovnaRada
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine moves closer to joining EU's roaming zone
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed the Law of Ukraine On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Implementation of the European Union's Legislation on Electronic Communications (Reg. No. 12150). Source: European Pravda, citing the website of Verkhovna Rada Details: The National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCCIR) has reported that with the signing of this law, Ukraine has completed its "homework" on legislative and regulatory approximation to EU roaming law. This creates the necessary conditions for integration into the EU's Digital Single Market in the roaming sector. More details: The next step is to submit the law to the European Commission for an official assessment of its compliance with EU law, NCCIR notes. In case of a positive outcome, the European Commission may initiate a decision on the reciprocal granting of internal market treatment for roaming between the EU and Ukraine, which will effectively mean full accession to the Roam Like At Home policy. Once Ukraine joins this policy, Ukrainians will be able to use roaming services at the price of their home tariff when travelling to EU countries. The tariffs and conditions will not differ depending on the country of destination. Verkhovna Rada adopted Draft Law №12150 in the second reading as part of its efforts to bring Ukraine into the single roaming area with the European Union on 15 April. Millions of Ukrainians in the EU are now able to communicate with their relatives in Ukraine without overpayments thanks to an agreement between operators due to Russia's full-scale invasion and the large number of Ukrainians leaving for Europe. Background: This regime has been in place on a temporary basis since the beginning of the active phase of the war and was last extended in July 2024 for one year. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine and US launch Reconstruction Fund under minerals deal
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, announced the completion of all procedures for the launch of the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Fund. Source: Yulia Svyrydenko on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda Details: Svyrydenko confirmed the final step, a diplomatic note from the United States, which she received on Friday morning from US Chargé d'Affaires Julie S. Davis. "The fund is now officially launched," Svyrydenko said. She noted that the agreement establishes a true partnership based on equality, respect for Ukraine's national interests and joint management with the United States. "The Fund is a symbol of long-term strategic commitment. Together, Ukraine and the United States will invest in the recovery and growth of our country – on terms that protect our sovereignty and empower our future," Svyrydenko wrote. Background: On 8 May, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) voted to ratify the agreement on establishing a joint investment fund between Ukraine and the United States. All 338 MPs voted in favour, with none of them abstaining or voting against ratification. On 13 May, Ukraine signed two commercial agreements with the US International Development Finance Corporation to advance the ratified agreement on the fund's creation. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As ceasefire talks loom, most Ukrainians oppose elections without full peace deal with Russia
The majority of Ukrainians, 71%, do not support holding elections before a full peace deal, even in the case of a ceasefire and security guarantees, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 14. The institute conducted the survey ahead of potential ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in Turkey on May 15 to launch the first direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, though the Kremlin has not revealed whether the Russian leader would attend himself. According to the survey, most of the respondents believe that elections must be held only after a peace agreement and a complete end to the war. Some 25% of Ukrainians say that elections should be held already after a potential ceasefire or even immediately. This figure has increased by 6% since March 2025. In the meantime, the number of respondents who believe that elections should be held only after the war is completely over has decreased from 78% to 71%. Kyiv and its partners have called upon Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on May 12 – a proposal Moscow has ignored. The majority of respondents across all Ukrainian regions spoke out against holding elections before a peace deal, though the western regions had the highest number of opponents. The poll was conducted between May 2 and May 12 among 1,010 citizens over 18 years of age living in the territories controlled by Ukraine. Russian propaganda has widely used the issue of elections in Ukraine to discredit the Ukrainian leadership. Mocow has claimed that Zelensky is no longer a legitimate president, as his first term was originally meant to end on May 20, 2024. Russia's full-scale invasion and the subsequent declaration of martial law in Ukraine meant elections have been impossible to hold, and Zelensky's term has been extended, something constitutional lawyers say is allowed under Ukrainian law. Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed a resolution on Feb. 25 to hold elections after "a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace is secured" in the country. Read also: Zelensky's trust rating rises to 74%, highest since 2023, poll shows We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian Parliament asks Zelenskyy to posthumously award title Hero of Ukraine to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) has asked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to posthumously award the title of Hero of Ukraine to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna. Source: Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Details: The request was supported by 246 Members of Parliament. Viktoriia Roshchyna worked for such media outlets as Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Ukraine, UA:Pershyi, hromadske, News of Donbas, and Radio Liberty. In 2022, she received the Courage in Journalism Award of the International Women's Media Foundation. In March 2022, Russian troops detained Viktoriia in the temporarily occupied city of Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, but she was released at that time. In summer 2022, Roshchyna attempted to enter the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for a reporting assignment. According to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, on 27 July, Viktoriia left Ukraine for Poland and intended to reach the occupied areas in eastern Ukraine via Russia. On 3 August, during her last conversation with her family, she said she had been undergoing checks at the border for several days but did not specify her location. That same day, she went missing. In May 2024, Russia confirmed it had detained Viktoriia. The Russian Ministry of Defence sent a letter to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, confirming her arrest. On 10 October 2024, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War announced that Viktoriia Roshchyna had died in Russian captivity. Andrii Yusov, representative of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, stated that Viktoriia had been on the list for a prisoner exchange and was expected to return home soon. On 11 October, the Prosecutor General's Office reported that, in light of information about her death in Russia, the criminal case initially opened regarding her disappearance had been reclassified. It is now being investigated as a war crime involving intentional murder. Investigators from discovered that Roshchyna had been brutally tortured in Russian captivity. She had stab wounds on her body and had been electrocuted, and staff at the Russian penal colony where she was held hid her away when inspections were carried out. Read more: The Viktoriia Project: the story of the captivity and torture endured by journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and thousands of Ukrainians imprisoned by Russia Read some of Viktoriia Roshchyna's writing for Ukrainska Pravda here. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukrainian Parliament approves amendments to Budget Code to launch minerals deal with US
The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) has supported, as a basis, the draft law amending the Budget Code to implement the agreement on minerals deals between Ukraine and the United States. Source: Yaroslav Zhelezniak, First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy Details: A total of 286 MPs voted in favour of the draft law No. 13256 in the first reading. Amendments to the Budget Code are needed to fill the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, established under a bilateral agreement. Ukraine's contribution to this fund will be formed from 50% of the revenues received after the agreement enters into force from: royalties for the extraction of oil, gas, gas condensate and other minerals from new licences; issuing new special permits for mineral use; selling the state share of production under new production sharing agreements. These funds will be credited to a special fund of the state budget, from where, at the decision of the main spending unit (likely the Ministry of Economy), they will be transferred to the Reconstruction Fund. Roksolana Pidlasa, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee, said that if the agreement were to be in effect from 2019, Ukraine's contribution to the fund could amount to more than UAH 3 billion (approx. US$72.38 million) over five years. Background: On 1 May, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed the minerals deal. "Together with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, I have signed the agreement on the establishment of the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund," Svyrydenko wrote. The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine had published the text of a memorandum with the United States on the completion of a formal agreement on economic partnership and a Reconstruction Investment Fund. The text was published on the website of the Ministry of Economy. It states that the agreement will provide for the creation of an investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction. On 8 May, the Verkhovna Rada voted to ratify the agreement on establishing a joint investment fund between Ukraine and the United States. All 338 MPs voted in favour, with none of them abstaining or voting against ratification. On 12 May, Zelenskyy signed the ratification of the mineral agreement with the United States. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
