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Ten-year-old Sasha stands in a bomb shelter in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Ten-year-old Sasha stands in a bomb shelter in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

Follow all of the latest developments as they happen.

Final News Summary For September 29

-- We have started a new Ukraine Live Blog. Find it here.

-- Ukraine is marking 75 years since the World War II massacre of 33,771 Jews on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.

-- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stabilize a fragile cease-fire in Ukraine and do all he could to improve what Merkel called a "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Syria.

-- Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a decision by a Moscow-backed Crimean court to ban the Mejlis, the self-governing body of Crimean Tatars in the occupied Ukrainian territory.

* NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv (GMT/UTC +3)

08:54 23.10.2015

Good morning. We'll start the live blog with a short look-ahead from our news desk on the upcoming local elections over the weekend (expect to see a lot on this subject in the coming days):

President Petro Poroshenko faces a test of his unpopular belt-tightening measures when Ukraine votes in local elections October 25.

The polls, which will exclude the pro-Russian separatist east, come during a lull in fighting but as the country suffers a devastating recession that has turned it into Europe's second-poorest country.

Twenty months have passed since the ex-Soviet state toppled a Kremlin-backed leader and turned toward the West.

But Russia's subsequent annexation of Crimea and the Moscow-backed eastern revolt that followed have stripped the nation of its industrial heartland and strategic naval bases, ultimately crippling its economy.

In the wake of these events, the popularity of Poroshenko's government has fallen so sharply that Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's approval ratings are now barely above zero.

The public's frustration at the West's refusal to arm Ukraine and only provide financial help, with tough austerity strings attached, has bolstered the odds of the far right and pro-Russian groups gaining ground, analysts say.

Such an outcome could prompt Poroshenko's loosely-knit coalition to splinter, which would in turn imperil his plans to move further toward the West.

(AFP)

09:58 23.10.2015

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10:16 23.10.2015

The Daily Beast has a very good story on the upcoming local elections in Dnipropetrovsk, where it seems oligarchic politics are still alive and well:

In Ukraine’s history there have never been so many good deeds performed by politicians as there are being performed right now in Dnipropetrovsk, an eastern industrial region that never succumbed to the pro-Russian separatists. There is public transport for 5 cents, a kilogram of potatoes for 14 cents, free water, free summer camp and even free traffic safety school for children. But this is Ukraine, and the acts are anything but altruistic. They come ahead of the most important mayoral elections in the city’s history, due to take place on October 25. The race is already displaying the worst aspects of dirty politics and, some say, threatening to prompt another Ukrainian revolution.

Gone are the days when Dnipropetrovsk was a closed military city in the Soviet Union known for its rocket production. Now it is the capital of Ukraine’s richest region, the key to eastern Ukraine and a prize for the taking. After ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia, his party with its heartland in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine collapsed, leaving the political playing field wide open. Now rival oligarch clans are battling for control, with mayoral candidate Borys Filatov backed by Igor Kolomoisky and Filatov’s rival Oleksandr Vilkul backed by oligarchs who once stood behind Yanukovych. Because of his feud with Kolomoisky, however, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has decided to cast his lot with his avowed enemy, creating an unofficial alliance with Yanukovych’s former party to keep Filatov from office.

When Kolomoisky was appointed governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Region after the Euromaidan revolution, Filatov became head of his administration. He oversaw the building of fortifications and equipping of volunteer battalions, funded by the Dnipropetrovsk business community, credited with stopping the separatists from gaining a foothold in the region as they did in the neighboring Donetsk. Last October, Filatov won a seat in Ukrainian parliament on the ticket for the Dill party, also backed by Kolomoisky. Then in March, after clashes over the oligarch’s control over key oil and gas assets, Poroshenko fired Kolomoisky, ending his reign as governor.

Dnipropetrovsk mayoral candidate Borys (Boris) Filatov (file photo)
Dnipropetrovsk mayoral candidate Borys (Boris) Filatov (file photo)

Now sitting in a luxury restaurant overlooking the Dnieper River, Filatov warns that Dnirpopetrovsk and Ukraine are at risk of falling back into the pre-Maidan status quo. Burly with an intense stare, Filatov cuts the image of a strong man; in fact, he’s a former television anchor and speaks with poise. “This is revenge by the Party of the Regions that has now changed its colors and become Opposition Bloc,” he tells The Daily Beast, referring to Yanukovych’s former party, now under a new name.

Filatov says after Maidan he never expected Vilkul to run for office with his history as a high-ranking Party of the Regions official who was vice prime minister until the collapse of Yanukovych’s government in 2014. Responsible for infrastructure and transport in the region, Filatov and others accuse Vilkul of orchestrating attacks on protestors in Dnipropetrovsk during the revolution by titushki, paid men in track suits usually brought in from the regions to assault protestors.

Filatov’s real ire, however, is for Poroshenko, who he says has chosen to back Vilkul instead of him, allying with the group he came to power opposing instead of with Filatov’s reform agenda.

[...]

Read the entire article here

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