Lutsk, Ternopil city councils rule to reject COVID-19 red zone restrictions

The city councils of the regional centers of Lutsk and
Ternopil ruled on Aug. 3 to reject a state commission’s decision to include
their regions among its red zones of COVID-19 infection rates, and the
respective requirement to intensify restrictions on public activity. It’s not
understood what principles the commission used to reach its decision,
considering other cities have worse statistics but were not designated as a red
zone, said City Council Head Ihor Polishchuk, as reported by the volynnews.com
news site. The commission’s protocol on the decision is illegal and
demonstrates “legal nihilism,” he said, adding that ceasing public transport –
as well as the closure of eateries, stores and nurseries – will only complicate
the situation. The decision was reached by the State Commission on Ecological
Safety and Emergency Situations.

A similar position was taken by Ternopil City Council
Head (Mayor) Serhiy Nadal, who said the state commission didn’t consult with
anyone at the local level in reaching its decision and “has fully lost contact
with simple people.” Hundreds of local entrepreneurs and residents appealed to
the city council to reject the red zone designation, he said. At the same time,
the city budget has already earmarked UAH 100 mln since the quarantine/lockdown
was imposed in March, UAH 60 mln of which was allocated for bonuses and
salaries of medical personnel, as well as equipment to treat the disease. The
city council voted to reject the red zone restrictions and extend those in
place. “We should stop these dictatorial methods,” Nadal said. Later in the
day, the national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, said it will halt as of
Aug. 3 all passenger service to the cities of Lutsk and Ternopil, affecting 11
trains. 

Cases of the COVID-19 disease reached 1,061 on Aug. 3,
compared to 990 on Aug. 2 and 1,112 on Aug. 1, Health Minister Maksym Stepanov
announced at his morning daily press briefing. An estimated 26 people died,
while 737 recovered on Aug. 3.

Zenon Zawada: Ukraine is
no different than many countries with the COVID-19 pandemic becoming a
political football. For politicians, it’s especially tempting to score
political points on the quarantine/lockdown with local elections scheduled for
Oct. 25. At the same time, their criticisms are valid if it’s true that Kyiv
officials didn’t consult with them, and if the criteria for determining red
zones are inconsistent. Indeed, red zone restrictions can be devastating for a
local economy, so they should be issued with great caution.

The government doesn’t help itself when officials make
contradictory decisions and statements, as has been the case too often
throughout the pandemic. So we expect similar rebellions among Ukrainian cities
for as long as the pandemic continues.

Political observers have raised the concern that
such local rebellions could be exacerbated by the Russians to accelerate
decentralization and federalization processes. We see this as a potential
threat, but not likely. Public opinion in Ukraine remains in favor of
decentralization, but not federalization.