Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Government on Sept. rescinded its earlier ban on hunting, which was in imposed during August due to the heat wave and threat of wildfires. The Ukrainian government has lifted a ban on the beginning of the hunting season, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, Azarov, while opening a government meeting in Kyiv on Thursday, said that "a temporary ban on the start of the hunting season was one of the preventive measures against wildfires."

"Today there's no need for the ban, so the government lifted it, and the hunters may now go hunting," Azarov said.

He noted that the local authorities, based on the specific circumstances of ensuring fire safety, still had the right to impose certain restrictions.

"We'll give such a right to local administrations," he added.