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What happened on 20 September 2018 in Kyiv and Washington?
Summary
A new Central Election Commission in Ukraine and US sanctions on a Chinese military agency over Russian arms were both announced on the same day.
What did 20 September 2018 change in politics for Ukraine and its neighbourhood? Two separate decisions, one in Kyiv and one in Washington, marked the day.
A late renewal in Kyiv
On 20 September 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine renewed the membership of the Central Election Commission (CEC). The previous membership had been due for renewal four years earlier, so the change came well after its scheduled time.
Sanctions over Russian arms
The same day, the United States State Department imposed sanctions on the Equipment Development Department, an agency within China's military. The measure was taken under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The department was sanctioned for buying Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and S-400 missile system equipment through Rosoboronexport, Russia's main arms export agency.
CAATSA is a US federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia. It works by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. The Senate passed it on 27 July 2017 by 98 votes to 2, after the House had approved it by 419 to 3. President Donald Trump signed it into law on 2 August 2017, although he believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
Two decisions, one date
The two events were unrelated in subject. One concerned the machinery of Ukraine's elections, the other the enforcement of US sanctions tied to Russian weapons sales. Together they show that 20 September 2018 brought a long-delayed institutional update in Kyiv and the application of a 2017 sanctions law to a purchase of Russian arms by China's military.
