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National News
- Who Killed Katya Gandziuk? In late July 2018, Kateryna Gandziuk, an outspoken deputy mayor who publicly accused top local officials of profiteering from the illicit wood trade, was attacked with acid. She suffered for three months in a Kyiv hospital before succumbing to her injuries on Nov. 4.
- A top Kherson official has been arrested, suspected of Kateryna Gandziuk’s murder, but later freed on bail. At 3 a.m. on Feb. 15, Vladislav Manger, chairperson of the Kherson Oblast Council and a suspect in the murder of Ukrainian activist Kateryna Gandziuk, was arrested in the courtroom.
- In the presidential election race, Zelenskiy has improved his lead in recent polls as No. 2 spot shifts to President Poroshenko. Six weeks before Ukrainians cast their ballots in the presidential election on March 31, two candidates appear to be pulling ahead of the pack of 44 candidates: Actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Petro Poroshenko.
- Kremlin media pundits and presenters are beating the drums of war. While Russian President Vladimir Putin has “joked” that the borders of Russia don’t end anywhere, a frightening number of his acolytes and supporters on television seem to really believe it, as they ramp up the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and call for Ukraine’s occupation or destruction.
- A disgraced ex-tax chief wants to be president. In 2017, State Fiscal Service head Roman Nasirov gave Ukraine hope for a breakthrough in its fight against corruption — by becoming the highest-ranking official to be charged with corruption while in office. Now, he aims for the highest office instead.
Business and Technology News
- Ukraine’s infrastructure is in search of investors and repair. In its seventh print issue of 2019, the Kyiv Post takes an in-depth look at Ukraine’s infrastructure – planes, trains, ports, rails and roads.
- Ukraine has mapped out its $60 billion infrastructure plan to 2030. The Ukrainian government and the European Union have drawn up a broad and bold strategy to build, upgrade, modernize and repair the country’s transport infrastructure.
- Europe may come to the rescue of Ukraine’s troubled Azov Sea and war-torn east. International financial institutions, mobilized by the European Union, are considering major economic assistance to Ukraine’s war-torn east, with ambitious new infrastructure projects to bolster rebuilding and recovery efforts in the Donbas.
- Ukraine’s biggest investor, the EBRD, has welcomed a new leader in Kyiv. With 67 stakeholder countries, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development currently has nearly $4.3 billion invested in 171 active projects in Ukraine, but has cumulatively invested $14.8 billion in 418 projects.
- The state railways are still trying to get on the right track. Business interests came out in favor of new draft legislation that could help open up the nation’s railroads to private locomotive operators. But some watchdogs have doubts about the true beneficiaries. The legislation aims to replace the monopoly of state giant Ukrzaliznytsia with competing locomotive operators that would pay tariffs to use the state railways, but some aren’t convinced.
- A Turkish construction firm stays put after 15 years. Although originally from Turkey, Emre Karaahmetoglu may know Ukraine better than many Ukrainians. As the regional director for construction company Onur, Karaahmetoglu has been in Ukraine for 15 years and remains happy to have stayed in business.
- The EBRD and BSTDB are investing into solar power projects in Ukraine. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) together with Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) are jointly financing a 57.6-megawatt solar power plant in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv Oblast, both international financial institutions reported on Feb. 14.
Lifestyle News
- One Kyiv hair salon is rated as a cut above average in style, by Kyiv Post lifestyle reporters. In the Ukrainian capital, where most hair salons are either fancy and expensive beauty parlors, or cheap low-quality spots, Gorodskaya Parikmakherskaya occupies a perfect middle ground.
- Vietnamese restaurants in Kyiv are few and far between – but delicious nonetheless. Shrimps wrapped up with mango, bean sprouts and hot fish sauce — Vietnamese cuisine is rightly famous for mixing delicate and contrasting flavors.
- In food delivery services, Uber Eats beats Glovo in speed, but not range. People wearing bright green and yellow backpacks seem to have invaded Kyiv. They are the foot soldiers of two warring food delivery services — Uber Eats and Glovo. A battle between the two started this month as Uber Eats rolled out throughout the city, invading territory occupied by Glovo since its launch in October 2018.
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