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For Americans, the November 3 presidential election will be the most significant vote in many decades. The election also will have consequences for Ukraine: Whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden sits in the White House at the end of the day on January 20, 2021 will matter greatly for U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Europe.

Since Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, the United States has proven a strong and supportive partner. Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama each saw a stable, independent, democratic Ukrainian state with a robust market economy as in the U.S. interest, including in contributing to a more stable and secure Europe. Washington thus has provided substantial political, economic andparticularly since 2014military support to Kyiv. It has sanctioned Russia for its aggression in Crimea and Donbas and sought to bolster NATO in the face of a growing Kremlin challenge to Western security.

The Trump administration has largely continued these policies. It has provided Kyiv reform and military aid, including lethal military assistance. It has applied additional sanctions on Russia, albeit under pressure from Congress. And it has taken steps to strengthen the U.S. military presence in NATO, at least until recently.

However, it has never been clear that Mr. Trump himself supports these policies. His principal engagement on Ukraine was his attempted extortion of Kyiv to advance his personal political prospects, an effort that led to his impeachment. While his administration has taken a tough line on Russia, Mr. Trump seems incapable of criticizing Vladimir Putin or Russian misdeeds. He apparently thinks that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, ignoring the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence community, the Mueller investigation and the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Trumps disdain for NATO has long been clear, going back to the 1980s. In June, he decided to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Germany, apparently out of pique at Chancellor Merkels refusal to attend a G7 summit at Camp David. Senior Pentagon officials scrambled for weeks to offer military justifications for the drawdown, but those that they provided did not survive serious scrutiny.

If Mr. Trump is re-elected, he will not have to worry about facing the voters in another election campaign. He will cement his control of the Republican Party, leaving Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives less able to block his bad instincts. What accommodations would he make with Mr. Putin? Would he be inclined, as he suggested in 2016, to recognize Russias illegal annexation of Crimea and lift economic sanctions? Would he withdraw the United States from NATO, as many former U.S. officials fear? The Alliances collapse would be a huge gift to Mr. Putin and leave Ukraine in a precarious geopolitical position.

It will be different if Mr. Biden is elected (full transparency: the author fervently hopes for this). The United States would have a president who understands the U.S. interest in a successful Ukraine and who knows the country well from his time as vice president. He would be the kind of friend that Ukraine needs, supportive but also ready to press the Ukrainian leadership to take necessary reform steps. He recognizes the security challenge that Russia presents to Ukraine and the West, and he realizes the importance of a strong trans-Atlantic relationship with a robust NATO at its core. And Mr. Biden might prove a president who could bind some of the differences that so badly divide Americans today. An America more unified at home would be a stronger international actor.

Whether Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden wins the elections will mean very different things for U.S. policies affecting Ukraine. That said, the American electorate will decide the next president largely on domestic issues, such as the Trump administrations handling of COVID19 and the economy. Ukraine has no role to play in this, and Ukrainian officials should continue to do all that they can to avoid their country becoming a political football in the U.S. campaign.

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A consequential election for Ukraine - Brookings Institution

Observers from the International Election Observation Mission of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) actively conducted election monitoring at polling stations in various regions of Ukraine on the day of local elections in Ukraine on October 25, according to a statement posted on the UWC website.

According to the report, despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, UWC and UCCA International Observation Missions were able to delegate short-term observers on election day.

International observers monitored compliance with election procedures stipulated by the Law, namely: polling station operation procedures, the mechanism of informing voters, the voting process, the counting of votes as well as a number of other aspects of the electoral process. International observers also paid attention to compliance with voting safety procedures introduced in response to COVID-19 pandemic as well as the accessibility of polling stations for people with disabilities.

"We consider the interference of other states, particularly, Hungary, in the electoral process of Ukraine to be unacceptable. We also hope that the voting rights of citizens of 18 territorial communities in eastern Ukraine who were unable to participate in the October 25 elections will be restored," said Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Head of the UWC International Election Observation Mission.

"According to preliminary results to date, the voting has taken place with minor, unsystematic violations that will not affect the final results of the vote," he added.

A press conference by UWC and UCCA international election observation missions will take place on October 28, 2020, at 15:00 Kyiv time. The live broadcast will be available on the Ukrainian World Congress Facebook page.

Photo: Ukrinform

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UWC publishes preliminary observations of its mission on election day in Ukraine - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

Only the Opposition Platform - For Life went out to the streets to mark the Day of Ukraine's liberation from the Nazis while the authorities prohibit the term Great Patriotic War. The Chairman of the Political Council of Opposition Platform - For Life party Viktor Medvedchuk said this during his visit to Zakarpattia.

He stressed that today is a truly nationwide holiday.

Dear war veteran, Zakarpattia residents, today is truly a national holiday - the holiday of the 76th anniversary of the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi-German invaders. It was on this day, 76 years ago, that the military operation also called East Carpathian Operation carried out by the 1st and 4th Ukrainian fronts was successfully completed. On October 27, Uzhhorod was liberated, and the Red Army reached the borders of modern Ukraine on October 28. This is truly a holiday. A glory, deep respect for those who died a heroic death, and there were millions of them during the Great Patriotic War, millions, who died liberating Ukraine, Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians and other representatives of the multinational Soviet Union. Millions of military servicemen, those who took the arms and defended, liberated Ukraine, and then, fulfilling their international duty, freed all of Europe, Viktor Medvedchuk said.

The politician expressed surprise that the authorities on this day did not honor the memory of the fallen soldiers and did not honor those who survived.

Behavior of the authorities in recent years is surprising, when this is simply being forgotten, when throughout the country not the authorities but the opposition, the representatives of Opposition Platform - For Life went out to honor the memory of heroes today, the memory of those who forged victory in the enemys rear, memory of the fortunately surviving Veterans and participants in hostilities of the Great Patriotic War, but the government remains silent. What about the national holiday? What about its nationwide meaning? What is the government doing today, when our fellow party members in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in Dnipro, in Kryvyi Rih, in Odesa, in Kyiv lay flowers at the graves, honors those who, fortunately, stayed with us, Viktor Medvedchuk noted.

He added that the current government, like the previous one, is rewriting the real history of the country.

At this time, the government, on one hand, bans the term Great Patriotic War, on the other hand, the other, previous authorities, prohibited the use of St. George ribbons on awards. Today they are trying to rewrite history, today those who once helped and were accomplices of fascism, those who honor this particular category of people are trying to take all the victory and what happened in 1941-45 years as their own merit, the politician summed up.

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Medvedchuk: Only Opposition Platform For Life took to streets to mark Day of Liberation of Ukraine from Nazis, while authorities ban term 'Great...

27 October 2020

Redcliffe Partners

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On 21 October 2020, during the kick-off event of the EU-fundedTwinning Project, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the"AMC") announced that it is preparingthe draft law that will introduce amendments to the Ukrainianmerger filing thresholds. The AMC will submit the draft law to theUkrainian Parliament early this November and expects it to beadopted later this year.

According to the AMC, the proposed merger control reform willprovide that:

Among other things, it is envisaged that the draft law will:

We will follow up with more details once the abovementioneddraft law has been published by the AMC.

As regards the markets that are currently in focus, according tothe AMC these are the markets for oil and gas, pharmaceuticals,consumer goods (especially sunflower oil and chicken), rail freightand seaport operations. The regulator will now be paying much moreattention to digital markets in the future.

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

POPULAR ARTICLES ON: Anti-trust/Competition Law from Ukraine

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New Merger Control Thresholds In Ukraine And Other News From The AMC - Anti-trust/Competition Law - Ukraine - Mondaq News Alerts

SUMMARY

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons decreased at both BCPs compared to the previous week.

OPERATIONAL REMARKS

The OM is currently operating with 22 permanent international Mission members, including the Chief Observer (CO) and one first responder[1]. The Mission is supported administratively by a staff member and the Chief of Fund Administration based in Vienna.

Update on COVID-19 measures

Activities have been impacted by COVID-19 and measures undertaken by the OM to ensure the safety and duty of care of its Mission members and compliance with measures set by the host country authorities. The Mission is continuing to keep the situation under review, in close contact with the OSCE Secretariat and the Chairmanship. Following the host country recommendations, the observers are adhering to social distancing. Due to the preventive measures taken by the central and regional authorities, the OM is faced with certain difficulties, but is still able to continue to fulfil its mandate without any limitations in its observation and reporting activities.

OBSERVATIONS AT THE BORDER CROSSING POINTS

Persons crossing the border

The profile of persons crossing the border can be categorized as follows:

Adults travelling on foot or by car with little or no luggage.

Persons in military-style outfits.

Families (often including elderly persons and/or children) travelling on foot or by car with a significant amount of luggage.

The average number of entries/exits decreased from 7,888 to 7,067 per day at both BCPs compared to last week[2].

During the reporting period, the majority of border crossings were to the Russian Federation, with an average net flow of nine per day for both BCPs. The Donetsk BCP continued to experience much more traffic than the Gukovo BCP.

Responding to the COVID-19 situation, the host country has closed its borders for the majority of foreigners starting from 18 March. Among the exceptions of persons allowed to cross the border (which entered into force on 19 March), are Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons holding passports or identification documents proving permanent residence in certain areas of Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. In addition, reportedly, due to the threat of the spread of COVID-19, starting from 10 April, the organized passenger transport commuting between the non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region of Ukraine and the Russian Federation was temporarily suspended and restored from 25 June.

Persons in military-style outfits

During the reporting period, the number of persons in military-style outfits crossing the border was five, compared to six last week. One person crossed into the Russian Federation while another four persons crossed into Ukraine. These individuals crossed the border on foot.

Families with a significant amount of luggage

The OTs continued to report on families, sometimes with elderly persons and/or children, crossing the border at both BCPs with a significant amount of luggage, or travelling in heavily loaded cars. During this reporting week, no families were observed crossing into the Russian Federation while three families were observed crossing into Ukraine, compared to the previous reporting period when six families were observed crossing to the Russian Federation, while three families crossed into Ukraine.

**Bus connections **

Regular local and long-distance bus connections continued to operate between Ukraine (mostly from/to the Luhansk region) and the Russian Federation. During the reporting period, the OTs observed a decrease in the overall number of buses crossing the border at both BCPs (245 compared to 276 observed during the previous week). There were 128 buses bound for the Russian Federation and 117 bound for Ukraine.

On some occasions, the OTs noticed the bus drivers removing the itinerary signs from the windshields of their buses, while some buses did not display their route at all. The majority of long-distance buses commuting between the Luhansk region and cities in the Russian Federation had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region.

Trucks

During the reporting period, the OTs observed a slight increase in the overall number of trucks crossing the border at both BCPs (885 compared to 871 during the previous reporting week); 576 at the Gukovo BCP and 309 at the Donetsk BCP, 535 of these trucks crossed into the Russian Federation and 350 crossed into Ukraine. Most of the trucks observed by the OTs had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, on a daily basis, the OTs also noted trucks registered in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Lithuania and trucks with "LPR" plates.

The OTs also continued to observe tanker trucks crossing the border in both directions. During the reporting period, the OTs observed a decrease in the overall number of tanker trucks crossing the border at both BCPs (36 compared to 47 during the previous reporting week). These trucks were observed crossing the border at both BCPs. The trucks had the words "Propane" and "Flammable" written across the tanks in either Russian or Ukrainian. The majority of tanker trucks had hazard signs, indicating that they were transporting propane or a mix of propane and butane. All trucks underwent systematic inspection by the Russian Federation officials, which could include an X-ray check. Due to the unfavourable observation position at the Gukovo BCP, the OTs continued to be unable to observe any X-ray checks.

During the reporting period, the X-ray vehicle at the Donetsk BCP was not operating due to the ongoing construction activities; consequently, no X-ray checks were observed by the OTs.

Minivans

The OM continued to observe passenger and cargo minivans[3] crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs. The OTs observed minivans predominantly with Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, the OTs also saw minivans registered in the Russian Federation. During the reporting period, the OTs observed a slight decrease in the overall number of minivans crossing the border at both BCPs (154 compared to 156 observed during the previous week); 79 crossed into the Russian Federation and another 75 into Ukraine.

Trains

The OTs continued to pick up the sound of trains on the railway tracks located approximately 150m south-west of the Gukovo BCP. During the reporting week, the OTs heard trains on 25 occasions; the OTs assessed that 11 trains were travelling to the Russian Federation and the remaining 14 trains were travelling to Ukraine (more details are provided in the sections "trends and figures at a glance" below).

Visual observation was not possible because of the line of trees located between the train tracks and the BCP.

Other observations

The majority of vehicles crossing the border had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region or Russian Federation licence plates. A significant number of vehicles with "LPR" plates were also observed crossing the border in both directions on a daily basis. The OTs also observed vehicles with Georgian and Lithuanian licence plates.

For trends and figures at a glance covering the period from 22 September to 27 October 2020, please see the attachment here.

[1] First responders are OSCE staff or Mission members deployed for a short period of time.

[2] Based on data received from the Regional Representation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

[3] Cargo minivans: light commercial vehicles with a maximum authorized mass of more than 3.5 t and not more than 7.5 t; with or without a trailer with a maximum mass of less than 750 kg (small cargo vehicles which correspond to driving licence C1).

Read more:
Weekly Update from the OSCE Observer Mission at Russian Checkpoints Gukovo and Donetsk based on information as of 27 October 2020 - Ukraine -...