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What happened on 6 February 2019 in Ukraine's election race
Summary
A look back at the registration deadline for presidential candidates and the arms-control dispute between Washington and Moscow in the days before.
What did the political picture look like on 6 February 2019? Ukraine's presidential race had just reached a milestone, and a dispute over nuclear arms control between Russia and the United States was unfolding in the background.
On 3 February 2019, the Central Election Commission finished accepting documents from candidates for the presidency of Ukraine. In total, 90 people submitted applications, a record number for the country.
The same week, relations between Moscow and Washington were under strain. On 1 February 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was suspending its role in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The agreement, made in 1987 with the USSR and by extension its successor state Russia, bans both countries from possessing or testing nuclear and conventional intermediate-range missiles, as well as their launchers. Pompeo cited Russian non-compliance with the treaty.
On 2 February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by suspending Russia's involvement in the treaty. He said Russia would now begin developing new missiles, in reaction to the American decision to withdraw.
Some commentators have used the term Cold War II to describe such tensions between the United States and Russia, while others have discouraged its use.
