Ukraine's Dwindling Army
Ukraine has one of the largest standing army's in Europe. All that changed today. Under advisement of President Yushchenko, parliament voted (367-226) to shrink the size of the army by 40,000, and to transition the army to an entirely contract approach--like in Europe and the USA. The transition to a professional army has been on the table for years now, but today a major step was made toward that reality. Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) also agreed to shorten mandatory army service from 18 months to 12 months during the transition period.
Yesterday parliamentary debated was dominated by the Communists who insist that the goverment sponsor a parade for veterans on May 1. I'm not sure if Yushchenko will change his mind.
Also, transportation authorities announced that the price of train tickets for sleeping compartments will double as of April 1. The notorious plutzcart tickets will be unaffected. Parliament did, though, this week lower import fees on bananas, cell phones, refrigerators, and a host of other items not made in Ukraine. The banana tax dropped from 5% to 3%.
Here's an interesting interview with Lazarenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine who is currently being held in the US. He is accused of stealing billions from the Ukrainian government; the current prime minister worked in his government as did the current president. They were both eventually fired though.
In UEC news, we finally moved the TV to a smaller room to hopefully encourage more use of our rooms. We are also about to start loaning DVDs. If anyone has a donation they would like to make, let us know.
Yesterday parliamentary debated was dominated by the Communists who insist that the goverment sponsor a parade for veterans on May 1. I'm not sure if Yushchenko will change his mind.
Also, transportation authorities announced that the price of train tickets for sleeping compartments will double as of April 1. The notorious plutzcart tickets will be unaffected. Parliament did, though, this week lower import fees on bananas, cell phones, refrigerators, and a host of other items not made in Ukraine. The banana tax dropped from 5% to 3%.
Here's an interesting interview with Lazarenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine who is currently being held in the US. He is accused of stealing billions from the Ukrainian government; the current prime minister worked in his government as did the current president. They were both eventually fired though.
In UEC news, we finally moved the TV to a smaller room to hopefully encourage more use of our rooms. We are also about to start loaning DVDs. If anyone has a donation they would like to make, let us know.
posted by Kyivmission at 6:32 PM
2 Comments:
Well, I guess it's plutzcart for me next time I visit...
I hope Yushchenko does not budge on the elimination of the parade May 1. Getting rid of all the vestigial communist trappings is something that's been needed for a while.
Please let me know when the statue of Lenin on Shevchenko street comes down; I want to come and celebrate.
We'll keep you posted on the Lenin issue. They are still warring about the war parade. Ukrainian nationalists see the Soviet army as treacherous to the Ukrainian cause so Yushchenko and Tymoshenko are under pressure from their radical Lviv friends to get rid of the parade. I kind of like the idea of a big picnic on Kreshatik.
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