Kyiv's reshuffle days before 17 March 2018

What did Ukraine's political landscape look like on 17 March 2018? It was a weekend, but the preceding days had brought a cluster of decisions in Kyiv and abroad that shaped the picture.

A new command structure

On 16 March 2018, President Petro Poroshenko appointed Serhii Naiev commander of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The new body had been created to replace the Anti-Terrorist Operation Staff, so the appointment marked a change in how the military's operations were organised.

A change at the central bank

On 15 March 2018, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Valeriia Hontareva as head of the National Bank of Ukraine and appointed Yakiv Smolii in her place. The vote opened a new chapter at the country's central bank.

Support for service members

The same day, Poroshenko signed amendments to the law on the social and legal protection of servicemen and their families. The changes were aimed at removing what was described as social injustice in the right of military personnel to receive cash compensation for renting housing.

Sanctions from Washington

Beyond Ukraine, the United States also acted on 15 March 2018. Under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on 19 Russian nationals, including 12 of those indicted in the Special Counsel investigation. The law had been passed by the Senate on 27 July 2017, 98–2, after the House approved it 419–3, and President Donald Trump signed it on 2 August 2017, though he believed it to be seriously flawed. It imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, and bars US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities.

The picture on 17 March 2018

Taken together, the decisions of 15 and 16 March 2018 touched the armed forces, the central bank, the welfare of soldiers and the sanctions regime facing Russia. For readers following Ukraine and its neighbours, they offer a snapshot of a busy few days in the middle of March.