Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced his resignation as Ukrainian prime minister on Sunday, April 10th. He said he would later submit formally to the parliament on Tuesday. Mr. Yatsenyuk came into office promising to solve issues of corruption and to instill economic reforms, but recently he has been accused of corruption, even though there are no concrete evidence. His promises about economic reforms are also being questioned due to accused inactivity. However, the current president, Petro Poroshenko, has already asked him to quit in early Feburary, saying that he had lost his support. In addition, his party's approval rates have dropped to 2% according to recent opinion polls. But, Mr. Yatsenyuk said that the president's party have nominated the speaker of the parliament, Volodmyr Groysman, to fill his position.
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| Arseniy Yatsenyuk image source: theguardian |
Voters in the Netherlands rejected a European Union deal to remove trade barriers with Ukraine. It was triggered by an online petition by Eurosceptics, and it invited more than 400,000 signatures, which later resulted in a referendum. The turnout were at 32.2 percent, and it is considered valid if it passes the threshold of 30 percent. The votes in the Netherlands are widely seen as a test of public opinion regarding the EU. However, most 'No' campaigners are said to be unconcerned about the details of the trade, and some see it as a test of public opinion regarding the EU. But nearly two-thirds of people who were able to vote did not participate, so this does not show all the population's position on the issue. Lastly, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko insisted that the result will, "not be a strategic obstacle for Ukraine on the path to Europe". Also, Dmytro Kuleba, a Ukrainian senior foreign ministry officer, said, "Dutch Eurosceptics cannot take Ukraine as hostage to express dissatisfaction about the EU".
Ukraine's desperate attempt to defuse landmines - as more are planted
Ukraine's crisis of defusing landmines in its war-torn east have been proving to be more imperative every day, since former refugees are reclaiming their homes and coming back to work. The country banned landmines in 1997. Despite of that, Russian rebels and its own armed forces have been putting landmines in an estimated 74,000 acres of land. Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) have killed more than 600 soldiers and civilians, and wounded more than 2,000 during the two years of war. Zeljko Lezaja, a land mine expert with the International committee of the Red Cross said, "Mines don't recognize ceasefires, they don't recognize friends or enemies. It costs $3 to produce a mine, but about $1,000 to clear one."
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| The wreckage of a minibus that hit a land mine in February, killing four civilians image source: theguardian |
Where and why us the war going on in Eastern Ukraine?
回覆刪除The war began in February 2014, and it is still ongoing. It began in Ukraine's territory, Crimea, which Russian soldiers (without authorization) seized. This let to conflict, and later into armed conflict between the governments and other separate forces.
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