Ukraine wants to expel Russia from UN, NABU raids Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration: highlights of the day

Exclusion of Russia from UN and Security Council

On December 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on the UN member states to deprive Russia of the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to expel it from the UN altogether.

The ministry stressed that Russia became a permanent member of the UN Security Council bypassing the procedures of the UN Charter.

"This happened on the basis of an ordinary letter from the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin to the UN Secretary-General, which was sent on December 24, 31 years ago. The current UN Charter does not contain the words 'Russian Federation'. In particular, they are not in Article 23 of the Charter, which lists the permanent members of the UN Security Council," the Foreign Ministry stressed.

NABU conducts searches at Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration

According to journalists of the investigative program Skhemy ("Schemes"), citing sources in law enforcement agencies, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau are conducting searches at the head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko, as well as other defendants in the criminal case related to the "Great Construction".

In their investigations, journalists learned that in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the private company "Budinvest Engineering" has received 1.5 billion hryvnias ($40.6 million) for road repairs in the region since March. This is a record by a large margin compared to the financing of road reconstruction in all other regions of Ukraine.

Former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council to be tried

An indictment against former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Volodymyr Sivkovych for organizing the dispersal of the "Student Maidan" has been sent to court.

Investigators note that Sivkovych is a former employee of the KGB of the USSR and on the instructions of his superiors went to work in the state authorities of Ukraine. Over time, Sivkovych became the Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and was promoted to the rank of Major General by the Independence Day of Ukraine in 2013.

Three months later, with his direct participation, he organized the beating of participants in one of the first youth protests for Ukraine's European integration course.

Women's uniform and underwear in the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Several brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the first batches of women's uniforms and underwear for testing.

According to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov, servicewomen will test two variants of uniforms and underwear.

In January, the Ministry of Defense plans to start introducing a separate type of boots and bulletproof vests for servicewomen.

Still deficit in power system

In the morning of December 26, a significant deficit remained in the energy system of Ukraine. Emergency blackouts were introduced in Kyiv and five regions.

Ukrenergo emphasizes that due to the scale and complexity of the damage, it will take considerable time to restore the equipment and functioning of a number of key facilities. In addition, repeated attacks by the Russian military are possible.

At the same time, the National Bank presented the Power Banking network, which will operate in blackout conditions. The network unites 1,000 branches.

Catastrophic drop in birth rate

A catastrophic drop in the birth rate is predicted in Ukraine in 2023. And by 2030, the population of Ukraine may be reduced to 35 million, said the Director of the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Ella Libanova.