Ukraine passes laws allowing govt to withdraw from several agreements with Russia amid war

The Ukrainian government has denounced an agreement on cooperation with Russia in the fishing industry, TASS reported citing a Ukrainian lawmaker. Amidst the ongoing war, the Volodymyr Zelenskyy administration refused to co-operate with Kremlin in various fields, including taxation, science and technology. On Friday, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) passed draft laws withdrawing the country from multiple agreements with the Russian Federation.

"The agreement on cooperation in the sphere of fish industry between the government of Ukraine and the government of the Russian Federation was denounced," Melnichuk blogged on his Telegram channel following a government meeting. Interestingly, only last week, Japan and Russia inked a deal deciding the fate of Tokyo’s fishermen’s quota to catch Russian born salmon and trout fishes. Amidst the spiralling war, the export of seafood from both Russia and Ukraine has been curtailed, primarily impacting the US which is the largest market for them.

As the war between the two ex-Soviet powers nears its ninth week, both sides have exacerbated their attacks. Amidst the death and destruction, the United Nations sought to broker an evacuation of civilians from the hellish ruins of Mariupol. Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, continue to battle Russia’s advances in the south and east where they are aiming to capture the Donbas region. Consisting of Luhansk and Donetsk, the industrial region is controlled by Kremlin-backed Separatists since the Crimean war of 2014. 

Speaking to AP, an Americal official said, "We also assess that because of this slow and uneven progress, again, without perfect knowledge of every aspect of the Russian plan, we do believe and assess that they are behind schedule in what they were trying to accomplish in the Donbas". 

Ukraine calls for de-mining personnel

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrsky called upon the international community to help clear territories of explosives and mines as Russian attacks continued for the 64th day. Calling for personnel and demining equipment, he said that one day of hostilities needs 30 days of clearing, therefore, if Putin’s troops attack continuously for 30 days, it would take a minimum of 1.5 years to get rid of 'active explosives'. Monastyrsky said despite active deployment, there weren’t enough technicians for work and immediate help was required. 

(Image: AP)