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Two April 2020 signals: Kyiv's budget, Moscow's missile
Summary
A look back at two developments reported in the days before 17 April 2020, one in Ukraine's parliament and one in orbit.
What was on the political agenda in the days leading up to 17 April 2020? Two reported developments stand out, one domestic and one international.
On 13 April 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted amendments to the 2020 state budget. The changes were needed to fight the coronavirus disease COVID-19 and provided for the budget deficit to rise threefold.
Two days later, on 15 April 2020, United States Space Command reported that Russia had conducted a direct-ascent anti-satellite missile test.
The two items are unrelated, and the reports do not link them. Together they show what was being reported as of 17 April 2020: Ukraine's parliament reworking its public finances around the pandemic, and a separate military announcement from the United States about a Russian missile test.
