New head of State Special Communications Service, explosion in Buryatia, and strike on border with Slovakia: highlights

New head of the State Special Communications Service

The Cabinet of Ministers agreed on the appointment of a new head of the State Special Communications Service. It was Yurii Mironenko. Before his appointment, he was the military commander of a UAV strike company.

The government also appointed a new Deputy Minister of Defence, with Vitalii Polovenko taking up the post. Oleksandr Semyryha was appointed deputy head of the State Customs Service.

Expansion of the Russian Army

Russian President Vladimir Putin, by his decree, increased the number of military personnel in the Russian armed forces by 170 thousand to 1,320,000. The country's Ministry of Defense explained this by an “increase in threats” to Russia, in particular from NATO.

Border blockade resumed in Slovakia

The Union of Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) began blocking the movement of trucks in front of the Slovak checkpoint “Vyshne Nemecke”, adjacent to the Ukrainian checkpoint “Uzhhorod”. The duration of this action is currently unknown.

Slovak strikers assure that the transport of humanitarian aid, other important cargo, live animals, fuel, and refrigerated cargo will not be blocked.

Another MP resigns from his seat

MP from the group "Trust" Maksym Yefimov draws up a parliamentary mandate. In 2022, a new parliamentary group “Restoration of Ukraine” was created in parliament from the remnants of MPs mainly from the ex-fraction “Opposition Platform – For Life” and people from the “Trust” group. Yefimov also entered there.

In 2020, Efimov was one of the five MPs with the largest amount of declared money. He was called one of the largest businessmen of Kramatorsk with shares in the Starokramatorsk Machine-Building Plant and the position of president of the Energomashspetsstal plant.

Strike on the Polish border

Ukraine and Poland have developed measures to unblock the border. The strike will continue, but the countries have agreed on changes for the passage of empty trucks and new functions in the Evchera system. Ukrainian authorities have also begun preparations for the evacuation of drivers from blocked checkpoints in Poland.

At the same time, today Ukrainian truck drivers blocked at the Krakovets-Korchova border checkpoint planned to start a hunger strike. They canceled this plan after negotiations with the Polish strikers with the participation of the consul.

Simplification of the military medical examination for wounded soldiers

The government has simplified the passage of the military medical examination (MME) for wounded military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense. Wounded defenders no longer need to personally carry documents to the military unit after the MME decision on leave or unfitness.

Now healthcare institutions will exchange documents with military units and Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centre through an electronic document management system.

Explosion in Buryatia

Another train carrying fuel exploded on the Baikal-Amur Railway in Buryatia. This explosion became the second stage of the SBU special operation to disable the railway line.

Russians also use the Baikal-Amur Railway for military logistics. The first freight train exploded in the Severnomoisky tunnel.

Poroshenko was not released abroad

The fifth president of Ukraine and MP Petro Poroshenko said on the morning of December 1 that he was unable to go on a business trip abroad, despite permission from the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

This business trip was canceled by the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament, Oleksandr Korniienko. He explained that he did this after receiving a letter for internal use, which he could not comment on.

Other important news

• Kyiv plans to encourage recruits to the Armed Forces of Ukraine with payments.
• Russia was not re-elected to the Council of the International Maritime Organization.
• At Headquarters, some proposals were voiced to improve the conditions of mobilization and demobilization.
• In Kyiv, traffic on the Podolsky Bridge, which began to be built 30 years ago, was partially opened.