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Ukraine's week of match-fixing, CIS exit and Donbas fire
Summary
A look back at the reports surrounding 23 May 2018, when a football probe, a diplomatic break and frontline shelling shared the news.
What did Ukraine's news agenda look like on 23 May 2018? Looking back, the days around that date combined a sporting scandal, a formal political decision and continued fighting in the east.
A match-fixing inquiry on a large scale
On 22 May 2018, the National Police of Ukraine reported a large-scale operation in a case of fixed matches in Ukrainian football. Thirty-five clubs were under suspicion. Investigators had documented at least 57 episodes of crime involving more than 328 people. Those figures made the case notable for its breadth, touching a large number of clubs and individuals rather than a single match or team.
Leaving the CIS bodies
On 19 May 2018, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree ending Ukraine's participation in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The decree described the end of participation as final. It sat alongside the continuing conflict with Russia and Russian-led forces, which the reports of the same day made plain.
The front line in Donbas
Also on 19 May 2018, Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said Russian-led militants had mounted 43 attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas over the previous 24 hours. Artillery systems were used, and 120mm and 82mm mortars were fired 10 times. The command reported no casualties among Ukrainian servicemen. According to intelligence data, two militants were killed and three wounded.
Tension beyond the border
On 17 May 2018, Poland detained Yekaterina C., a Russian woman who belonged to a pro-Russian group that sought to stir up tension between Poland and Ukraine, and expelled her.
A sporting counterpoint
Not all of the news was grim. On 20 May 2018, Elina Svitolina won the WTA Premier tournament in Rome, beating world number one Simona Halep, and set a national record for the number of tournaments won.
Taken together, the reports show a country handling several matters at once: cleaning up domestic sport, formalising a break with a post-Soviet institution, defending its positions in the east, and drawing attention abroad through sporting success.
