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What happened in Ukraine's politics around 11 September 2023?
Summary
A look back at the days before 11 September 2023: a petition over asset declarations, voting in occupied Kherson Oblast and talks on Black Sea grain.
What was shaping the political picture around 11 September 2023? In the days before that date, three separate threads stood out: a public push against asset declaration legislation in Ukraine, Russian-run voting in occupied Kherson Oblast, and diplomacy over Black Sea grain.
A petition on asset declarations
On 8 September 2023, tens of thousands of Ukrainians had signed a petition asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to veto asset declaration legislation. Critics believed the law could prevent officials from being held accountable, because it delayed a requirement to declare their assets publicly. The scale of the petition showed how closely a section of the public was watching the issue of accountability.
Voting in Kherson Oblast
Also on 8 September, Russia said its air defence systems had shot down two Ukrainian drones that were attempting to attack a polling station in Skadovsk, Kherson Oblast, while voting was under way. The report was part of Russia's coverage of its 2023 elections, held in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Talks over grain
On 6 September 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held talks in Sochi, Russia. They discussed reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which would allow grain to pass across the Black Sea again.
The initiative was an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations. It had been signed in Istanbul on 22 July 2022 for 120 days. It came after the February 2022 invasion halted maritime grain shipments from Ukraine, previously a major exporter via the Black Sea. That halt contributed to higher world food prices and the threat of famine in lower-income countries. The agreement set up procedures for exporting grain safely from certain ports, with a joint coordination and inspection centre in Turkey and the UN serving as secretariat.
The picture on 11 September
Taken together, the reports from the days up to 11 September 2023 show domestic pressure over transparency in Kyiv, continued contest over Kherson Oblast, and a diplomatic effort centred on Ankara and Moscow to restore grain shipments.
