On November 2, the remaining two high-voltage transmission lines linking the ZNPP to the Ukrainian power system were damaged as a result of russian shelling. The power plant went to full black-out mode, switching its power supply to 20 diesel generators. Ukraine’s Energoatom believes that the russian attack was yet another attempt to reconnect the ZNPP to the russian energy system.
According to VRU Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, this is the official figure, which implies that the real number can be larger; additionally, it does not include those Ukrainians who fled from the war to foreign countries.
On November 2, the UN Security Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected russia’s attempt to establish a commission to investigate its unfounded claims that Ukraine and the United States are carrying out “military biological” activities that violate the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons. russia only got support from China in the vote on its resolution, with the US, UK, and France voting “no” and the 10 other council nations abstaining.
According to Oleksiy Sergeev, Head of the National Police’s Department of Organizational and Analytical Support and Operational Response, 24 of those bodies were children’s. Besides that, the police have found 34 torture chambers and places of illegal detention of Ukrainians in the liberated areas, most of which were in the Kharkiv region. The police officers have documented over 2,000 war crimes in the said areas.
On November 3, Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) completed their in-field verification activities at three locations in Ukraine at the request of the Government of Ukraine, which had been issued in response to russia’s allegations about Ukraine’s undeclared nuclear activities.
On November 1, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly addressed the House of Commons, condemning russian president putin’s weaponizing of grain exports, and warning of repercussions should russia use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “He [putin] should be clear that for the UK and our allies, any use at all of the nuclear weapons would fundamentally change the nature of this conflict”, stated Mr. Cleverly, who also deplored russia’s attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, calling them a form of “vengeance for military failures”.
Tomáš Müller, a member of the Czech Parliament, expressed his support for Ukraine, stressing that the Parliament is doing “everything that is in [its] power to help Ukraine win this war”. Commenting on the recent russian strikes on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, the MP called those acts “a form of genocide and war crimes”.
According to the text of the respective resolution, which Czech MP Marek Ženíšek posted on November 3, russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians, civilian objects, and Ukraine’s critical infrastructure not only constitute acts of terrorism but also meet the criteria of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The MPs also supported the efforts to establish a special tribunal to prosecute russia’s crime of aggression.
The two Senators released a joint statement on November 3, saying they had met with Ukraine’s leadership and toured the headquarters of the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo, which was damaged in an attack by russian forces. Following the US legislators’ visit, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that Mr. Coons and Mr. Portman are “true friends of Ukraine” and thanked them for “leadership support.”
On November 4, a majority of MPs of the National Assembly of Bulgaria voted in favor of a proposal to send the country's first military aid to Ukraine. Bulgaria previously agreed to repair Ukrainian military equipment at its factories but refused to send weapons directly due to opposition from President Rumen Radev and some political parties.
According to him, the state budget will allocate UAH 192.9 million to the Rada TV channel and the newspaper “Holos Ukrainy.” He noted that the final sum would depend on the needs of “Holos Ukrainy,” but the channel may get UAH 150-170 million. In addition, the TV channel is working on its reforming due to the cost limits.
For VRU Secretariat and institutions within the Parliament: UAH 1 277 467 000, The Parliamentary Research Service: UAH 43 620 100, Financial support to the Holos Ukrainy newspaper: UAH 72 947 800. At the same time, the allocations for the TV channel Rada and Holos Ukrainy have been increased and are not reflected in the documents via the link above.
Resolutions:
Draft laws In the first reading:
Laws in the second reading:
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also voted to seize the mandates of MPs, Vasilkivsky and Rabinovich, as those two are no longer Ukrainian citizens.
USAID RADA: Next Generation Program will support the development of the PRS Strategy and will provide expert support for the establishment of the Training Unit and development of the New Members Orientation course for new MPs, the Program will assist the PRS in the exchange experience activities with other PRSs worldwide.
On November 3, the working subgroup on cooperation between the VRU and the Cabinet of Ministers presented the results of its work to Oleksandr Kornienko, VRU First Deputy Speaker, and Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament 2002-2004 and lead of the Needs Assessment Mission to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 2015-2016.
Stanislav Ivasyk, Program's legal advisor presented proposals that included, the adoption of the EU integration draft laws in the first reading under a special fast-track procedure without the introduction of amendments to the draft law to avoid proposals that contradict Ukraine’s EU integration obligations, introduce examination on correspondence with Ukraine’s EU integration obligations of all draft laws before the second reading.
On November 4, USAID RADA: Next Generation Program facilitated the meeting for the VRU Committee on social policy to discuss the research completed by WFD expert on the Conclusion to the draft law "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine regarding settlement of issues of formation of the minimum living wage minimum and creation of prerequisites for its promotion" (No. 3515 of 20.05.2021) prepared for the second reading. Co-author of the draft law Vadym Strunevych, MP, and Daryna Marchak, deputy minister of Ukraine’s Ministry of social policy, participated in the meeting, and the parties would discuss the draft law again.
During the lesson, which was dedicated to elections and referendums as tools of democracy, the participants learned about electoral law, its concepts, types, and principles; electoral systems of Ukraine; electoral process and its stages; election programs and their analysis; concepts and types of referenda; and why the russian occupiers conduct "referendums".
for the VRU staff and MPs. The event will be arranged in cooperation with the EU-funded project Association 4U.
from the series of sessions “Parliaments of the World Stand with Ukraine". The lesson will start at 12 PM Kyiv time and will be available via Zoom.