Society & Culture

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed a law amending certain legislative acts on compulsory state social insurance. Iryna Herashchenko, an MP from the European Solidarity party, announced this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. “The Verkhovna Rada adopted in its entirety the bill on compulsory state social insurance, No.10017,” she wrote. A total of 264 MPs backed the bill. According to the MP, the main changes to the law provide that: - religious organizations are exempt from paying the mandatory state pension insurance fee; - personal insurance for employees of the nature reserve fund is canceled and replaced by compulsory social…

Russia has launched a large-scale disinformation campaign against Ukraine, aiming to undermine international support for the embattled nation. That’s according to Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, Ukrinform reports. “The operation is coordinated at the highest level in the Kremlin and is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian leadership and sowing distrust (in Ukraine – ed.) across the international media,” reads the report, referring to an article by the Polish outlet Nowiny Polskie. Read also: Russian psyops over past 1.5 years aimed at disrupting mobilization - expert The Kremlin’s main goal is to undermine trust in Ukrainian officials among Western…

The EUR 90 million winter aid package for Ukraine, officially handed over by German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze, will help Ukraine survive this winter. The politician said this in an interview with Ukrinform. “With this equipment, about 2.6 million Ukrainians will receive heat and electricity during this third military winter,” Schulze said and revealed the details of the package: 80 mobile thermal power plants, more than 20 mobile boiler houses, transformers and hybrid generators, as well as lifting platforms for repairing central power lines. She also noted that the combined heat and power plants are the…

The Ukrainian President’s spouse, Olena Zelenska, announced that the next, fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen will be held in Kyiv. She stated this on Telegram following a video conference with participants of the Global Platform of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, where the results of the year's work were summed up, Ukrinform reports. "Next year, we will expand our activities: we are scheduling events on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague and the UN General Assembly. For the next, fifth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, as always, I am awaiting my colleagues…

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted a law on the creation of a unified register of military personnel, which provides for electronic identifiers of the military. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an MP from the Holos faction, announced this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports. A total of 254 MPs voted in favor of the relevant legislative initiative, No.12066, “On Amendments to the Law ‘On Military Duty and Military Service’ on the Establishment and Functioning of the Unified State Register of Military Personnel and Other Laws of Ukraine on Improving the Procedure for Maintaining Military Records.” The law establishes a unified…

Six children have been successfully brought back from temporarily occupied territories in Kherson region. This was announced by Oleksandr Prokudin, Chief of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, via Telegram, Ukrinform reports. “This marks another result of the tireless efforts of the Save Ukraine charitable organization. Among the returned children, there are four boys and two girls,” Prokudin shared. According to Prokudin, the youngest child is nine months old, while the eldest is 17 years old. All the children are currently receiving medical and psychological care. “Since the beginning of 2024, a total of 242 children have been brought back to…

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's Ombudsman for Human Rights, expressed opposition to mobilizing citizens from the age of 18, emphasizing the need for thorough internal work on mobilization. He stated this in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrinform saw. "I am against it. I understand that Ukraine may be lacking mobilization resources. This shortage is seen in the Armed Forces themselves, however, there are already many people involved in countering Russia's armed aggression. In my opinion, there is a need for more effective internal processes. I won't disclose figures I know regarding personnel numbers, but there are positive examples where government decisions…

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is carrying out planned counterintelligence (security) measures in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district, particularly in the government quarter. This was announced by the agency’s press service, as reported by Ukrinform. The SBU is conducting these activities in cooperation with the Department of the State Protection, the National Police, and the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The aim is to ensure counter-sabotage protection of government facilities and to enhance the safety of Kyiv residents and individuals under state protection. With the direct involvement of the Department of the State Protection, law enforcement…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is waiting for an apology from FIFA, which showed a map of Ukraine without Crimea during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. Ukrainian MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi wrote this on social media platform X, Ukrinform reports. “By redrawing international borders in yesterday’s broadcast, you not only acted against international law, but also supported Russian propaganda, war crimes, and the crime of aggression against Ukraine. We fixed the map for you and expect a public apology,” Tykhyi posted. Are you OK, @FIFAcom?By redrawing international borders in yesterday’s broadcast, you not only acted against…

On Friday, June 7, the Ukrainian-Romanian duo Marta Kostyuk - Elena-Gabriela Ruse will play a semifinal match at the Grand Slam series tennis tournament, the French Open (Roland Garros), in Paris. To seal promotion to the doubles final, Kostyuk and Ruse will have to win over the 11th seeded Italian tandem of Sara Errani - Jasmine Paolini, reports Ukrinform. Kostyuk and Ruse will play a Grand Slam semifinal for the second time in their career. Last season, they reached this stage at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Read also: Kalinina loses to world's eighth seed at WTA 1000 tournament in…