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Kernes dies in Berlin; US sanctions Turkey over S-400
Summary
A look back at 17 December 2020, when the death of Kharkiv's mayor was reported alongside the fallout from US sanctions on Turkey.
What did 17 December 2020 show about the region's politics? The day brought a death that left a major Ukrainian city without its mayor, set against a sanctions decision that was still fresh in the news.
A mayor's death
On 17 December 2020, Hennadiy Kernes, the serving mayor of Kharkiv, died in Berlin at the age of 60, from complications caused by COVID-19. The report put the city's leadership in question at a time when the pandemic was still taking a toll on public figures as well as ordinary residents.
Sanctions on a US ally
Three days earlier, on 14 December 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States had imposed sanctions on Turkey over its acquisition of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia. The move was the first time the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) had been used to penalise a US ally.
The law itself targets Iran, North Korea and Russia, and works by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. It was passed by the Senate on 27 July 2017 by 98 votes to 2, after clearing the House 419–3, and was signed on 2 August 2017 by President Donald Trump, who nevertheless believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
A cultural note
On 11 December 2020, the BBC Book of the Year 2020 prize was awarded to Serhiy Serhiyovych (Saigon), Ulana Chuba and Oksana Zabuzhko, a reminder that the week's news from Ukraine was not only about loss.
What the day shows
The three items are separate. Together they mark a week in which Ukraine's second city lost its mayor, Washington applied a Russia-related sanctions law to a partner state for the first time, and Ukrainian authors drew international recognition.
