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Kyiv's mid-March 2018: new command, new central bank chief
Summary
A look back at the personnel and legal changes in Ukraine in the days before 19 March 2018, and a US sanctions step on Russian nationals.
What had changed in Ukraine's military and financial leadership by 19 March 2018? Across the preceding week, the president and parliament reshaped key posts and adjusted protections for servicemen and veterans.
A new military command
On 16 March 2018, President Petro Poroshenko appointed Serhiy Naiev as commander of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces, created to replace the Anti-Terrorist Operation Staff. The appointment placed one named commander at the head of the new body.
A change at the central bank
On 15 March 2018, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed Valeriya Hontareva as head of the National Bank of Ukraine and appointed Yakiv Smolii in her place.
Measures for servicemen and veterans
Two legal steps concerned those who served. On 13 March 2018, parliament passed law No. 7161, amending the law on the rehabilitation of disabled persons to establish a disability group for participants in the Anti-Terrorist Operation. On 15 March 2018, the president signed amendments to the law on the social and legal protection of servicemen and their families, aimed at removing what was described as social injustice in granting military personnel the right to cash compensation for renting housing.
Sanctions from Washington
On 15 March 2018, the Trump administration imposed financial sanctions on 19 Russian nationals under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, including 12 of those indicted in the Special Counsel investigation. The act is a US federal law imposing sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. It was signed into law on 2 August 2017 by President Donald Trump, who nevertheless believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
Taken together
In the days before 19 March 2018, Kyiv combined institutional change, with a new joint military command and new leadership at the central bank, with legislation on benefits for those who had fought in the east. The US sanctions announced on 15 March 2018 ran in parallel.
