Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (click to enlarge):
And the latest on the transport closures:
Ukraine Suspends Subway Transport, Rail, Air, Bus Links To Stem Virus Spread
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- Ukraine's government has suspended the operations of subways in three major cities, Kyiv -- the capital, and eastern cities of Dnipro and Kharkiv -- as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Transport officials in Kyiv said on March 17 that the underground transportation operations will be stopped later in the day, but did not give exact time.
Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes said that the metro operations in the city will be suspended as of 8.00 p.m. on that day, until April 3.
In Dnipro, an official of the Transportation Department at the city's council said that all public transportation units are working and that any changes in operations will be announced later.
The government announced on March 16 that subway operations will be suspended as of March 17, while all rail, air, and bus transportation between towns and cities, as well as interregional passenger links will be stopped on March 18.
To date, seven coronavirus cases have been registered in Ukraine, including one death in the western region of Zhytomyr.
Latest from our news desk on Venedyktova:
Ukrainian Investigative Director Who Clashed With Activists Approved As Prosecutor-General
KYIV – Lawmakers have approved Iryna Venedyktova, a top investigative official who has clashed with reporters and civil society activists, to be Ukraine’s new prosecutor-general.
The March 17 vote by the Verkhovna Rada was the latest in a series of top-level government personnel changes by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Some of Zelenskiy's moves have worried civil society activists, who fear he is backsliding on reforms and reverting to policies that have hobbled Ukraine for years.
Venedyktova, 41, is the first woman to head Ukraine’s top prosecutorial office.
She’s currently the acting director of State Bureau of Investigations, a corruption-fighting agency that lawmakers voted to revamp in December after the bureau’s then-director was forced out amid questions of conflict of interest.
Earlier this month, Venedyktova sued the newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda for republishing an article by the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a nongovernmental organization, that alleged her husband was influencing personnel policy at the State Bureau.
As prosecutor-general, Venedyktova replaces Ruslan Ryaboshapka, who was nominated to the position by Zelenskiy.
Ryaboshapka was well-regarded by anti-corruption activists for his efforts to streamline and professionalize the scandal-ridden prosecutor-general’s office. He was forced out in a no-confidence vote on March 5.
Venedyktova reportedly clashed with her Ryaboshapka over an investigation the State Bureau was conducting into Zelenskiy’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.
Zelenskiy’s shake-up of the government, which included his sacking of his prime minister, worried not only civil society activists, but also Western financial backers.
Kyiv has been negotiating a long-delayed $5.5 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund, which is seen as crucial to economic stability and investor confidence.
Public trust in Zelenskiy has slid sharply since his landslide election in April 2019. His trust ratings have dropped to around 50 percent last month from 80 percent in September, according to the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center.