According to National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, the designation of, along with additional sanctions against, the group and its support network across the world could be expected in the coming week.
The terrorist missile attack took the lives of 46 victims, among whom were 6 children. To date, Ukraine’s police were able to identify only 40 of the murdered people; 6 more fragments of bodies are to be analyzed.
In the annual Common Foreign and Security Policy report adopted on January 18, MEPs called on the EU and its member states to increase their assistance to Ukraine, namely to immediately deploy modern weapons and a next-generation air defense system to the country. Special attention was brought to the Leopard 2 main battle tanks, with the parliamentarians urging to authorize their delivery without further delay. The report also stated the importance of providing Ukraine with political and humanitarian aid.
In a resolution adopted on January 19, MEPs demanded that a tribunal be established to prosecute russian and belarusian political and military leadership. Such a tribunal, MEPs argued, would fill a vacuum in international criminal justice and complement the investigative efforts of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which currently cannot investigate the crime of aggression in Ukraine. The parliamentarians emphasized that the EU preparatory work on the special tribunal should begin immediately and focus on building the arrangements for the court in cooperation with Ukraine.
Speaking on ABC on January 22, the newly elected chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul stated it was crucial that the US announced it is supplying tanks to Ukraine to get other nations to do so. He believes that even the mere announcement by the US could create a domino effect, leading other nations in Europe to send Leopard 2 tanks as well.
According to Reuters, the corresponding announcement might come on January 25. The M1 Abrams tanks are likely to be procured from industry rather than from existing US weapons stocks.
On January 19, in his speech to Ukrainian MPs, President of the European Council Charles Michel reassured Ukraine of the EU’s forthcoming support and welcomed Ukraine’s aspirations towards membership in the EU.
In his interview with Interfax, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that while many politicians are talking about unity, it is getting rarer within the Parliament. “I won't say it doesn't exist because many laws are approved with more than 300 votes in favor. I would like those who talk about the unity to check the meaning of this word in the dictionary and read Ukraine’s history”, he noted. At the same time, VRU Speaker emphasized that a significant consolidation in the Ukrainian parliament took place after the first months at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation.
In his article for Ukrainian Pravda, Mr. Frolov analyzes the measures that will enable Ukraine’s Parliament to become a truly strong, independent, and efficient institution. In particular, he noted that the Verkhovna Rada should:
On January 16, the Program sent the Law Drafting Office (LDO) concept to Ruslan Stefanchuk, VRU Speaker, for further consultations. The Program will arrange additional discussions with VRU staff in February to define the preferable LDO model that the Program will help develop.
On January 16, 18, 20, Program’s partner Agency for Educational Policy Development, in cooperation with the Parliamentary Education Center, conducted a course on "Progressive parliamentary education: a course for teachers." The Program arranged a series of three webinars for more than 80 primary school teachers.
Later in February and March, the course will be conducted for secondary and high school teachers. The course helps teachers form a holistic view of children and youth regarding the theoretical and practical aspects of parliamentary activity to modernize the approach to understanding parliamentarism and civic activity. The course is based on a comprehensive program of parliamentary education, “Our parliament: research, understanding, influence.”
On January 19, the Program held a meeting with Olena Shulyak, MP, to discuss cooperation between the Program and the Committee on state building (in the framework of the model committee initiative. It was agreed to work on public consultations and the Committee's oversight function.
In particular, the Program helped prepare the report of the Committee’s activities for 2022 and the Report on the Committee's legislative work for the period of the 1st – 8th sessions of the VRU’s IX convocation. The prepared materials are designed to make the Committee's work more accessible and open for the civil society in Ukraine.
The expert opinion was provided on the compliance of the Constitution of Ukraine of amendments to certain legislative acts regarding ensuring state sovereignty in martial law conditions. Program’s experts emphasized the shortcomings of the draft law and noted that it contains constitutional defects. In particular, experts provided recommendations on how to avoid contradictions with several articles of Ukraine’s Constitution regarding mandates of MPs of the banned parties.
This week, the Program started to provide communication support to the VRU’s Committee on Law Enforcement.
On January 19, the Program arranged a consultation for communication units of the VRU Secretariat on dealing with the shadow-ban on social media pages, avoiding it for VRU’s accounts, and having the necessary tools and knowledge in case it should happen.
The Program will provide its recommendations regarding the strategic vision and mission of the institution, especially regarding digital tools and platforms for the effective implementation of constitutional powers by the Parliament.
The training will be available via the Zoom link.