New presidential representative in parliament, investigation of Kyiv police chief: December 20 highlights

A new representative of the president in the parliament

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new representative in the Verkhovna Rada to replace the dismissed Fedir Venislavskyi. The new representative is Halyna Mykhailyuk, a member of the Servant of the People party. She is the deputy head of the Law Enforcement Committee.

Venislavskyi himself said that his dismissal had been discussed with Zelenskyy.

Kyivstar restores 100% of services

Kyivstar mobile operator has restored all services in Ukraine and abroad after a hacker attack on December 12.

The company's president, Oleksandr Komarov, noted that the mobile operator recorded an outflow of customers after the hacker attack, but it was not possible to calculate the number of customers as there are still some problems with internal monitoring and analytics systems.

In addition, he said that Kyivstar and the Security Service of Ukraine have developed new security principles to protect against similar hacker attacks.

Russian advance in the Tavria sector

In the Tavria sector, Russian troops have managed to advance by one and a half to two kilometers in some parts of the frontline in over two months.

However, the spokesman for the Tavria troop grouping, Oleksandr Shtupun, noted that this "cost the Russians a lot." In a little over two months in this sector, the Russian army lost almost 25,000 soldiers in killed and wounded, and Ukrainian troops destroyed about 200 tanks and more than 400 other Russian armored vehicles.

Mikhail Fridman wanted by the SBU

The Security Service of Ukraine is looking for Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman. Earlier, he was charged with involvement in financing the war against Ukraine. The oligarch faces up to eight years in prison with confiscation of property.

The businessman "disappeared" on November 10, 2023 and is hiding from the pre-trial investigation authorities.

Investigation into the new police chief of Kyiv Oblast

The new head of the Kyiv regional police, Anatoliy Shchadylo, was subject to lustration and should have been fired, but now he is working in police positions in violation of the law. This is stated in the investigation of the hromadske "Police Paradise".

In addition, he is accused of ruining a sensational case at his previous place of service: he allegedly hushed up a high-profile case of police collusion with drug traffickers in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

The journalists also found out that Shchadylo's family has four apartments in the capital, parking spaces, land plots near the capital, and even two boats. The policeman also owns 50 acres of land near Kyiv, where he has built a 250-square-meter mansion with a bathhouse, tennis court, and boathouse.

Searches in the Uzhhorod City Council

On the morning of December 20, law enforcement officers came to the Uzhhorod City Council with searches. A law enforcement source told hromadske that the searches were related to a case of embezzlement of public funds during repairs.

The police said that during the searches, officials of the Uzhhorod City Council, including the head of a department and the director of a utility company, as well as an individual contractor, were charged. They are suspected of carrying out repairs with losses of 700,000 hryvnias ($18,607).

Other news

• The state of Colorado excluded Donald Trump from the presidential race in 2024.
• The Verkhovna Rada simplified the import of radar systems for the Armed Forces by exempting them from VAT and customs duties.
• The US Senate will not vote on an aid package for Ukraine until 2024.
• The new MP from the Batkivshchyna party, Mykhailo Sokolov, has been sworn in.
• Ukraine received €150 million in financial aid from the EU.
• The NATO-Ukraine Council sets the date for the first meeting of the Chiefs of Defense.