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Soccer Football - Euro 2020 - Group C - Ukraine v North Macedonia - National Arena, Bucharest, Romania - June 17, 2021 Ukraine coach Andriy Shevchenko celebrates after the match Pool via REUTERS/Mihai Barbu

BUCHAREST, June 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine struggled to conquer their nerves against North Macedonia at the European Championship, coach Andriy Shevchenko said after his team's nail-biting 2-1 victory at the National Arena Bucharest on Thursday. read more

Shevchenko's team dominated the first half against the lowest-ranked side at the finals, going into the interval two goals ahead, but went off the boil in the second half, nearly conceding from North Macedonia's first attack. read more

Ukraine's Georgiy Bushchan denied midfielder Arijan Ademi in the 47th minute and that attempt set the tone for a much more competitive game in which North Macedonia pulled a goal back via Ezgjan Alioski, who followed up after his penalty was saved.

"First of all this part of the European Championship is a very different atmosphere. It's very emotional," Shevchenko told reporters. "It's a different kind of tournament. At any second, the balance of the team can change.

"We played a very good first half but they started the second half very well and our mistake caused a penalty that they scored (from).

"Some sort of anxiety, nervousness appeared. We got more chances and we should have scored for the third time... but we also need to praise North Macedonia's character."

Ukraine's Ruslan Malinovskiy missed a late penalty that would have extended their lead and Shevchenko defended his decision to substitute both scorers, Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk, in the 70th minute.

"We changed it completely because we had to protect our goal and we had to press a little bit in front to prevent long passes," the coach added. "We got two fresh players who were pressing quite a lot.

"I think during the game we had enough chances to score more... The main point is that we got the victory."

Ukraine have three points after two games and play Austria on Monday. Netherlands face Austria later on Thursday with both sides on three points after opening victories.

Yarmolenko, who scored Ukraine's first and assisted their second, said their coaches had warned them at halftime that North Macedonia would come out fighting.

"They told us North Macedonia will start attacking because they have nothing to lose," the Ukraine captain said. "They made us nervous. When the score was 2-1 we panicked a little bit.

"We didn't want to lose and it was obvious that everyone was nervous, but it's very good we managed to hold on for victory."

North Macedonia, who lost to Austria in their first game, need the Austrians to beat the Dutch if they are to have any hope of extending their stay at their first major tournament.

Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Ken Ferris

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Ukraine affected by nerves in win over North Macedonia - Shevchenko - Reuters

The Ukrainian parliament has released an updated version of the draft law On Virtual Assets. The revised bill requires exchanges to obtain government authorization, disclose their ownership and implement mandatory KYC procedures. The document has been criticized by regulators in Kyiv but the government wants the legislation passed before the parliaments summer break.

Ukrainian lawmakers have revised the draft law designed to regulate the countrys expanding crypto space. The deputies have introduced a number of amendments since December when it was voted on first reading in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines parliament. The latest version of the document was released this week by the parliamentary Digital Transformation Committee which recommended its adoption.

The bill recognizes a virtual asset as an intangible good that has value and is an object of civil circulation, Forklog reported. Virtual assets can certify property or non-property rights, including rights to claim other objects of civil rights, the publication detailed. The draft also distinguishes between financial instruments and virtual assets backed by currencies.

One of the key regulations concerns cryptocurrency exchanges and exchangers. To operate legally, they will have to be authorized by the Ministry of Digital Transformation. Crypto service providers will be obliged to reveal their ownership structure and monitor financial transactions to prevent money laundering. The permits will be valid for a period of one year. Russian platforms will not be allowed to do business in Ukraine.

Another important aspect is the introduction of mandatory identification and verification procedures. As part of the know-your-customer (KYC) process, individuals will be required to provide IDs, bank accounts and information about their electronic wallets. Companies will also have to share their business registration numbers. Trading platforms that do not currently carry out client verifications will have to update their onboarding procedures to comply with the law.

The authors of the new legislation have tasked the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) with oversight of the laws implementation. NSSMC and NBU representatives have criticized the draft and called for further revisions in correspondence with the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Dmytro Razumkov.

The central bank has pointed out that the bill On Virtual Assets is riddled with significant gaps and conceptual errors that could create legal uncertainty. At the same time, the securities commission has complained that the law does not clearly define the responsibilities of each regulator and has no mechanisms in place to coordinate regulatory activities in the market.

The NSSMC also insisted that the adopted virtual assets classification and regulatory approach do not correspond to the best international practices and the EU legislation. The agency is concerned about the absence of texts dealing with investor protection and crime prevention. The NBU added that while virtual assets are not recognized as legal tender in Ukraine, the law does not explicitly prohibit their exchange for goods and services and does not limit trading with other virtual assets or the national fiat currency in any way. The bank fears this could lead to the emergence of a parallel settlement system outside its control. The Radas legal department called for more amendments to the draft.

The Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alexander Bornyakov, acknowledged that the ministry faces criticism from various government agencies that consider the bill insufficiently perfect. However, he noted that the need to protect the interests of the state is often understood as a need to establish additional restrictions and to unreasonably complicate the business environment. Bornyakov stressed that the interests of the crypto market participants would be his departments main priority and promised his team would do their best to ensure the bill hits the floor of the Rada during its last plenary week ending on July 13.

In the past few years, Ukraine has emerged as a generally crypto-friendly destination. The country was ranked first among over 150 nations in last years edition of the Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.

Whats your opinion about the proposed crypto legislation in Ukraine? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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Revised Bill 'On Virtual Assets' Aims to Regulate Ukraine's Crypto Space This Summer Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

I have followed this international soccer star since many clubs ago, when he was an up and coming Ajax star in the Netherlands. Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during a Euro Cup match this last weekend and his heart stopped. He was being administered CPR on the field in attempts to revive him. Immediately, on Twitter and other social media outlets, there was a huge and positive outpouring of love and well wishes. I have been heavily involved in the soccer community here, but in moments like this it was about all the emotions that can be brought out by just caring for another human being you've never met without realizing the wonderful impact you have on others. Seemingly, Christian Eriksen should be OK, following surgery and rehab, but his career is likely over at the age of 29. In the moment of his collapse, it did seem like the entire world had one purpose, one direction, and that was to heal one man. It may have worked.

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Weekend Round-Up: Cool Cribs, Closed Theaters, And Ukraine. - HODINKEE

KIEV: When Ukraine face North Macedonia at Euro 2020 on Thursday (Jun 16), foreign-based Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ruslan Malinovskyi will be the star names but Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk will form the core of the team.

Manchester City defender Zinchenko and Malinovskyi, a midfielder who plays for Italian side Atalanta, are supported by ten players from Dynamo, the reigning Ukrainian champions.

Head coach Andriy Shevchenko also selected seven players from the domestic league runners-up Shakhtar.

Goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan, one of five Dynamo players in the starting line-up against the Netherlands on Sunday, made several impressive saves in the first half but could not stop the Dutch taking a 3-2 victory in a thrilling match thanks to Denzel Dumfries' winner in the 85th minute.

Ukraine must now take points in the remaining Group C matches against North Macedonia and Austria if they are to make it beyond the group stage of a European Championship for the first time ever.

Ukraine's preparations for the tournament were overshadowed by a row about their shirt -- they angered Russia after unveiling kits featuring patriotic slogans and showing the outline of Ukraine including Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Another problem was the injury of Dynamo Kiev right winger and rising star Viktor Tsygankov, who has made 26 international appearances and scored six goals for Ukraine.

His position on the pitch in the Netherlands encounter was taken by former Dynamo player Andriy Yarmolenko. The midfielder now with West Ham curled in a brilliant goal in the 75th minute to bring Ukraine back into the game in Amsterdam.

- Rivals and teammates -

Players like Dynamo forward Artem Besedin and Shakhtar centre-back Sergiy Kryvtsov are fierce rivals when playing for their clubs but they put that rivalry aside when playing for their country.

In April, Mircea Lucescu, the Romanian former coach of Shakhtar, guided Dynamo to the Ukrainian league title in his first season as coach of the club from the capital.

It was Dynamo's first title for five years and 16th overall.

However, Dynamo's decision last summer to hire the 75-year-old Romanian sparked uproar from fans because of his lengthy tenure in Donetsk where he won a host of domestic honours and the 2009 UEFA Cup, now known as the Europa League.

Lucescu was unsettled by the reaction and even announced his intention to walk away just two days after signing his contract, but stayed in the end.

In another incident illustrating the confrontation between domestic opponents who then put that animosity aside for the sake of the national side, in 2016 Yarmolenko, then with Dynamo, was involved in a mass brawl against Shakhtar which soured relations with Ukraine teammate Taras Stepanenko.

As fists flew, Yarmolenko kicked Stepanenko after the Shakhtar midfielder celebrated a goal during his team's 3-0 win against Dynamo.

Yarmolenko was suspended for three matches and fined 50,000-hryvnia ($2,000) over the incident.

Stepanenko told Ukrainian television afterwards that his friendship with Yarmolenko was "over" -- but he said he would put the incident aside for the sake of the national team.

Both players are in the squad again and with no conflicts on the horizon now, Shevchenko said before the tournament that be believed club rivalries would be safely left behind.

"Players should understand that being in such a tournament is a huge experience," he said.

"Small details that many do not pay attention to can play a very large role."

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Football: Ukraine's Euro 2020 challenge built on twin pillars of Dynamo and Shakhtar - CNA

U.S. officials have long been fond of portraying Ukraine as a plucky democracy fending off the menace of aggression from an authoritarian Russia. Washingtons idealized image has never truly corresponded with the murkier reality, but the gap has now become a chasm. Several actions that President Volodymyr Zelenskys government has taken in recent months are alarmingly authoritarian. Treating Ukraine as a useful (much less, an essential) U.S. security partner cannot be justified on the basis of realist calculations and is needlessly provocative toward Russia. Trying to portray Ukraine as a model democracy deserving U.S. protection on moral grounds is even more far-fetched. Indeed, attempting to do so reflects either willful blindness or the worst sort of cynicism.

There has been a fraudulent element to Washingtons policy ever since Barack Obamas administration backed Ukraines so-called Maidan Revolution in 2014. Administration officials, most notably Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, encouraged and aided demonstrators who sought to overthrow the duly elected, but pro-Russia, government. U.S. leaders insisted that the revolution was a spontaneous, pro-democracy uprising by Ukrainians opposed to President Viktor Yanukovychs corrupt rule, even though Washingtons fingerprints were all over the campaign.

The administration and its allies in the Western news media conveniently ignored other ugly aspects of the democratic revolution. Although there were genuine democrats in the demonstrations, there were also armed ultranationalist and even outright fascist elements, such as Svoboda and Right Sector, which played crucial roles. After the revolution, those factions continued to be a troubling presence in the new, democratic Ukraine. The neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, for example, was an integral part of President Petro Poroshenkos military and security apparatus.

Ultranationalist and anti-Semitic incidents by extremist groups on the streets of Kiev and other cities became far too common in the years following the Maidan Revolution. The Poroshenko governments own policies also exhibited an increasingly authoritarian aspect. Ukrainian officials harassed political dissidents, adopted censorship measures, and barred foreign journalists they regarded as critics of the government and its policies.

As bad as the situation was under Poroshenko, however, it has grown even worse under his successor, Zelensky. In early February 2021, the Ukrainian government closed several pro-Russia, independent media outlets, and did so on the basis of utterly vague, open-ended standards. On May 13, 2021, a Ukrainian court ordered prominent pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, a political ally of the owner of those television stations, to be put under house arrest while he faced allegations of treason. Medvedchuk, leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life political party, is one of Zelenskys most outspoken critics. Prosecutors had earlier accused him of engaging in subversive activities against Ukraine, including in the economic sphere,"

Medvedchuk is hardly the only target of an increasingly ugly political crackdown. In mid-April, Ukraines state security service detained 60 demonstrators in the city of Kharkiv who sought to protest actions by the local city council. The authorities did not accuse the protestors of engaging in violence; indeed, there was no evidence of such behavior. Instead, the state security service alleged that pro-Russian political forces had sent the demonstrators to stage protests as a way to "justify possible acts of Russian aggression against Ukraine." One could include almost any political activity under the rubric of such a vague, emotionally charged allegation.

The Maidan Revolution alumni now seem to be trying to devour even some of their own members. In mid-May, Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko charged agents of the SBU, Ukraines state security agency, had come to his apartment in what he denounced as a continuing attempt by his political rival, Zelensky, to put pressure on him. Earlier in May, the SBU, the state prosecutor's office, and police carried out large-scale searches of various units of the Kiev city government, accusing the local authorities of misappropriation of budget funds and tax evasion, among other offenses. Although Klitschko was one of the original leaders of the Maidan demonstrations, Zelensky apparently now regards him as an annoying rival, since the Kiev mayor was a close ally of former president Poroshenko.

Such actions are hard to square with the U.S. foreign policy blobs portrayal of Ukraine as a vibrant, tolerant democracy. Typical of the idealized image was the version offered by William Taylor during House impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump. Taylor had served as interim U.S. ambassador to Kiev, and he clearly was fond of both the Maidan Revolution and the government it birthed. According to Taylor, Ukrainian leaders sought to create an inclusive, democratic nationalism, not unlike what we in America, in our best moments, feel about our country.

The real Ukraine far more closely resembles the illiberal, pseudo-democratic systems that we have seen emerge in Russia, Hungary, Turkey, and other countries than it does the United States. It is reckless to treat Ukraine as a U.S. ally on strategic grounds, and it is morally offensive to do so on the basis of alleged democratic solidarity. The Biden administration should jettison this increasingly odious client state as soon as possible.

Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in security studies at the Cato Institute and a contributing editor at the National Interest, is the author of 12 books and more than 900 articles on international affairs.

Image: Reuters

Originally posted here:
Ukraine's Accelerating Slide into Authoritarianism - The National Interest