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What happened on 31 December 2019 in the region?
Summary
A look back at two developments reported in the days before the year ended, one in a Kyiv court and one from Moscow.
What was the region's news agenda as 2019 closed on 31 December 2019? Two reports from the preceding days stand out.
On 28 December 2019, an appeal court in Kyiv changed the preventive measure for five former Berkut officers from detention in custody to personal obligations. The men, Pavlo Abroskin, Serhiy Zinchenko, Oleksandr Marynchenko, Serhiy Tamtura and Oleh Yanishevsky, had been suspected of killing people during the Revolution of Dignity.
On 27 December 2019, Russia's Ministry of Defence announced the first deployment of the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, calling it a landmark event. President Vladimir Putin said its top speed exceeded Mach 20 and that it put Russia's military ahead of all other nations.
The two reports were unconnected, but both were part of the news record as the year ended: a court ruling in Kyiv on a case from the Revolution of Dignity, and a military announcement from Moscow, both made in the last week of December 2019.
