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Yesterday, at the conciliatory council meeting between the heads of parliamentary factions, I reminded my colleagues that once again during four years we, the Opposition Bloc party, insist that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the package of laws necessary to implement the Minsk Agreements and fulfil the commitments undertaken by Ukraine on 12 February 2015. Over this time, while the Minsk Agreements are not implemented, thousands of people, both civilians and military, have died in our country, but despite this, not a single step has been taken to establish peace in Donbas. 

The second most important issue for consideration in the Verkhovna Rada, admitting of no delay, is to address urgent economic problems of the population, I believe. We must pass laws that will be improving lives of Ukrainians, will be improving their well-being.

This week I took part in the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland).

The main topic of discussion on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum was globalization in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Its idea was described by the founder of the World Economic Forum, the German economist Klaus Schwab.

Unfortunately, Ukraine came to a halt at the stage of the third industrial revolution, which approximately corresponds to the 70s of the last century in global industry. We are not moving anywhere and we are not developing. Our economy is stagnating and unfortunately, the government’s reports about its growth are nothing more than manipulation of statistics. However, no one in the world will be waiting for us. Investment will come to Ukraine only after we put an end to the war and begin to build a rule-of-law state.

During the Forum, I also attended the Ukrainian Breakfast organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. The topic of discussion about Ukraine was focused on the challenges facing Ukraine and the choices lying ahead with the upcoming presidential elections.

Yesterday, speaking at the debates of the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, I drew the attention of parliamentarians of European states to violations of the basic document of the Council of Europe – the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in Ukraine.

The opposition bloc challenged in courts the closure of polling stations in the Russian Federation as a gross infringement of the electoral rights of Ukrainian citizens living in the Russian Federation, but the Supreme Court decided on the legality of such actions, arguing that three million Ukrainians will be able to vote in neighbouring states: Finland, Kazakhstan and Georgia. I consider this decision politically motivated: the authorities did not allow citizens, who left for work and who were fleeing the war, to go to the polls, because they do not intend to vote for the current president. 

Yesterday, resorting to the most flagrant violations of the Law of Ukraine "On the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine" and to the mass “button punching”, the Verkhovna Rada voted on the so-called “anti-church” law no. 4128-d, discriminating and infringing the rights of the majority of confessions and religious organizations of Ukraine and, above all, of the only canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Onufriy, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

This bill was written at the dictation of the Presidential Administration and the only reason for its appearance is to please the presidential election campaign, under pressure from law enforcement authorities and local authorities to ensure a massive transition of parishes from the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church to an artificially created Orthodox Church of Ukraine.