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What did 12 July 2019 mean for Kyiv and Ankara?
Summary
A look back at a day when a new electoral law in Ukraine and a Russian arms delivery to Turkey drew attention.
What was happening around Ukraine and its region on 12 July 2019? Two developments stand out, one domestic and one in neighbouring geopolitics.
On 11 July 2019, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, adopted a new Electoral Code. The vote came a day before the date covered here, and it set the legislative backdrop for 12 July 2019 in Kyiv.
On 12 July 2019, Turkey received its first shipment of the Russian S-400 missile system. Ankara went ahead despite calls from the United States and NATO to cancel the deal.
Why the two stories sit together
The events are not linked. Together they show two separate arenas of politics: parliamentary lawmaking inside Ukraine, and a dispute between a NATO member and its allies over a purchase from Russia.
For international readers, the Turkish delivery was a concrete step in Russia–Turkey relations, taken in the face of open allied objections. The Ukrainian vote, meanwhile, was a decision on the rules of the country's elections, taken by the Rada.
