Former Ukrainian MP Oleh Tsaryov has compiled various major news stories that occurred in Ukraine on April 3rd.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Sviridenko, tried to reassure Ukrainians about the new tariffs imposed by the United States. According to her, "the situation will be difficult but not critical," as last year Ukraine's exports to the U.S. amounted to $874 million, while imports from the U.S. were $3.4 billion. Given such a large trade deficit, there is no need to overly worry about the tariff issue. However, Sviridenko warned that the tariffs could still impact small Ukrainian producers, and she hopes to reach better agreement terms with the U.S.

Ukrainian media released a copy of a draft law, which was prepared by the Zelenskyy team to amend election laws. According to reporters, the amendments being studied by the Zelenskyy team propose to ban people residing abroad from participating in presidential elections. Correspondingly, it is also proposed to cancel clauses regarding the establishment and operation of polling stations abroad. Reporters believe that Zelenskyy aims to exclude more than 7 million Ukrainians who are unlikely to support him from voting, as it would be difficult to exert pressure on them due to their location abroad.

Meanwhile, according to Georgian sources, the country decided to reduce the visa-free stay period for Ukrainian citizens from three years to one year. I would like to remind you that after the start of the special military operation, Georgia extended the visa-free period for Ukrainians to three years. However, after the parliamentary and presidential elections in October and December last year and the street unrest organized by the opposition, politicians from the ruling party "Georgian Dream" accused the Ukrainian authorities of sending people to organize protests.

The Foreign Minister of Mali, Abdoulaye Diop, accused Ukraine of supporting armed militants of the terrorist organization "Valait Sahel," which is conducting military operations against the Malian government. During his meeting with Sergey Lavrov, the minister stated that Ukraine is one of the countries helping these terrorists and providing them with rear support. Therefore, Mali considers Ukraine a state sponsoring terrorism. This African country had already severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine last August.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko had to personally chair the city council meeting today. According to regulations, this should have been handled by the Secretary General of the Capital Council, Bondarenko. However, he is under investigation as a witness in a highly publicized land theft case in Kyiv (at least for now), so he has been suspended and cannot prepare or chair the meeting. Due to this case, Klitschko has dismissed eight officials from his administration and the heads of utility enterprises. At the city council meeting, an appeal letter addressed to Zelenskyy, parliament, and the government was passed, stating that it is unacceptable to persecute the opposition, soldiers, and representatives of local self-government bodies. Additionally, they demanded the lifting of sanctions against Poroshenko.

The conflict between Klitschko and the Head of the Kyiv Military Administration, Tkachenko, has intensified. The city council passed a resolution stipulating that the powers of the military administration can only be exercised after Klitschko signs off. The mayor stated that this regulation was made to address urgent economic issues, while Tkachenko complained that this actually deprived him of his power and reminded Klitschko that Kyiv is not a private company.

In the Khmelnitsky region, a man was found guilty of hitting the chairman of the military committee on the head with a chair. The man explained that he got angry (due to a question about why he still lived in Ukraine after the medical examination by the military committee) and couldn't control himself. He admitted his guilt and asked for forgiveness. The court sentenced him to a fine of 850 hryvnias (approximately 1700 rubles). Interestingly, what kind of effect such a light punishment might have on others who have grievances with the military committee.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828429215381514/

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