Home › Politics › Ukraine's pre-election week: rivals step aside, court ruling
Ukraine's pre-election week: rivals step aside, court ruling
Summary
A look back at the political news around 4 March 2019, weeks before Ukraine's presidential vote.
What was shaping Ukrainian politics on 4 March 2019, with a presidential election ahead? Two developments from the preceding days stood out: candidates consolidating behind one rival, and a court ruling on an anti-corruption offence.
On 1 March 2019, presidential candidates Andriy Sadovyi and Dmytro Hnap decided to withdraw from the race in favour of Anatolii Hrytsenko. The move narrowed the field of contenders by two names.
Court strikes down illicit enrichment article
On 26 February 2019, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled that Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code was unconstitutional. The article set out punishment for officials for illicit enrichment. Criminal liability of this kind had been introduced in 2015 at the demand of the EU, as part of visa liberalisation, and of the IMF.
Beyond Ukraine
On the international stage, on 26 February 2019 Russian state television presenter Dmitry Kiselyov listed what he claimed were targets in the United States, including the Pentagon and Camp David. This followed a warning from Vladimir Putin that Russia would deploy nuclear missiles in Europe if the United States deployed intermediate-range missiles there. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied that any target list existed.
A sporting note
On 27 February 2019, Ukraine's national winter Paralympic team finished first overall at the 2019 World Championships in Prince George, Canada. It won 42 medals: nine gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze.
