Ukraine News. Sunday 23 December. [Ukrainian sources]

SUNDAY HEADLINES:
Putin has to worry: the British minister has threatened Moscow on Ukraine. UNGA passes new resolution on Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukrainian political prisoners. "His sight decreased, he is nearly blind," - lawyer on Kremlin’s Ukrainian prisoner Gryb. Russia will be "checked" in the Kerch Strait: an interesting scenario has been announced. Poroshenko signed a law recognizing veterans of the OUN and UPA combatants. The list of countries that voted against the resolution on violation of human rights in the Crimea has been published.

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The HMS Echo (H87) reconnaissance vessel of the British Royal Navy , which arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday, December 19, should become an alarm signal for Russian President Vladimir Putin and may not be the only ship sent to Ukraine.

This was stated by the British defense minister Gavin Williamson, who visited the Odessa seaport, where the ship was moored, reports Obozrevate .

"What we are talking about is what we say to President Putin... They can not continue to act, ignoring international laws or international norms," ​​he said.

According to him, the presence of HMS Echo testifies to the support of Ukraine by the United Kingdom in confronting Russian aggression. He added that HMS Echo may not become the only ship that its state can throw into the ports of Ukraine.

As reported by the "Apostrophe", NATO made a statement regarding the Kerch crisis and gave Putin the last chance.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Late on Dec. 22, the United Nations General Assembly backed a resolution condemning human rights violations in Russian-occupied Crimea.

As reported by Censor.NET citing TSN news service via UNIAN, some 65 states voted for the resolution, 27 voted against, and 70 abstained. Among those who supported the resolution are the United States, the European Union countries, Turkey, and Japan. The following countries voted against the document: Russia, Belarus, China, India, Serbia, Syria, South Africa, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

"The General Assembly calls on all international organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations to use the phrase 'The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation' when it comes to Crimea in their official documents, communications and publications, including statistics of the Russian Federation," the resolution said.

The document also mentioned Ukrainian political prisoners Oleh Sentsov and Volodymyr Balukh, who were illegally detained in Crimea and convicted by the Russian Federation. The UN General Assembly says it is disturbed by the fact since 2014, the Russian authorities have used torture to obtain fake evidence in politically motivated prosecutions, including with the case of Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov. It also expresses deep concern about the subsequent detentions and arrests of Ukrainian citizens by Russia, including Volodymyr Balukh and Emir-Huseyn Kuku, according to the resolution.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

Ukrainian political prisoner Pavlo Gryb, who is unlawfully held in the Russian prison, is unable to read and cannot even see faces properly.

"His sight has significantly decreased, he is nearly blind. Sometimes he is just unable to read the documents that I give him. It is even hard for him to make out people’s faces," his lawyer Marina Dubrovina said in an interview with Glavcom news outlet, Censor.NET reports.

She said that Pavlo finds it hard to take part in court hearings as he doesn’t see witnesses’ faces properly. According to her, he also cannot remember well what she tells him due to his memory impairment.

"If we compare what his condition was last December, when I started defending him in court, with what we have now, one doesn’t need to be a doctor to understand that the guy’s health has been deteriorating ever since," the lawyer added.

In August 2017, Gryb was abducted from Belarus by the Russian FSB security force and consequently illegally arrested in the Russian Federation. Trumped-up charges have been pressed against the young man under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (an act of terrorism).

Russian investigators accused Gryb of allegedly plotting a terrorist attack at a school assembly in Sochi. Pavlo Gryb is diagnosed with portal hypertension, which requires daily intake of necessary medications and a special diet, the lack of which could become fatal. Russian authorities do not allow access of Ukrainian doctors to examine the political prisoner's health.

On July 23, 2018, the court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, returned the indictment against Gryb to prosecutors after finding that the formal charge against the defendant was based on a clause of the Criminal Code that had not been in place at the time of the alleged crime and extended his arrest until October 22, 2018.

On Oct. 25, Krasnodar Krai's prosecutors sent back the Gryb case to the North Caucasian district military court after correcting what Russian media called a "procedural mistake."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has once again demanded from Russian authorities to release Ukrainian national Pavlo Gryb who had been abducted by the FSB from the territory of Belarus and then arrested in Russia. "The farce in the Pavlo Gryb case continues. Today, Russia illegally extended his arrest until April 2019. We express our protest to the Russian Federation and demand [Gryb's] release," the ministry's press secretary tweeted on Nov. 7.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The West can test the reaction of Russia by sending a HMS Echo navy reconnaissance ship, which arrived in Odessa port on December 19th, to cross the Kerch Strait.

This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Ukraine for Temporary Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Yuriy Grymchak on air of Direct TV Channel, reports Espresso.

"When they say that Russia will not allow the passage of an English ship, I have one remark - and someone tried to go?... And it is interesting if this ship will go in a caravan, how will they react further?" - he said.

According to him, HMS Echo has no weapons. In addition, according to the Deputy Minister, this vessel is not subject to the Montreux Convention on the status of the Black Sea Straits, according to which the period of stay of warships is limited to 21 round the clock.

HMS Echo is designed to conduct reconnaissance operations in support of submarines or landing ships. Can provide information in real time. In addition, it can serve as a platform for managing demining tasks.

The ship was adopted in March 2003. It has a length of 91 meters, a width of 17, and a draft of 5.5 meters. The displacement is about 4000 tons. Speed ​​15 knots. The crew is 72 people. For long-term stay at one point equipped with so-called azimuthal engines. The weapon consists of three six-barrel 7.62 mm machine guns M134 Minigun, two 20 mm anti-aircraft fire-fighting guns "Erlikon" and four large-gauge machine guns.

apostrophe.ua  In Ukrainian/український

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a law extending the list of combatants (UBD) by a number of armies soldiers who fought for the independence of Ukraine in the XX century.

According to Censor.NET, referring to the website of the Verkhovna Rada, December 22, the law was returned with the signature of the President.

Recall, December 6th Parliament voted at first reading and as a whole the bill on amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the status of war veterans, guarantees of their social protection to strengthen social protection of participants in the struggle for the independence of Ukraine in the XX century" and on December 7 parliamentary speaker Andrew Parubius signed him.

The law makes changes in Art. 6 Law on the status of veterans of war, guarantees of their social protection.

Participants in combat operations recognize the soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who participated in hostilities against the Nazi invaders in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine in 1941-1944, who did not commit crimes against peace and humanity, and were rehabilitated.

After the enactment of the adopted changes, the warriors of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Ataman Taras Borovets (Bulba), Polissya Sich, the Ukrainian People's Revolutionary Army (UNPA), and the armed units of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists will be recognized as combatants.

The list also includes soldiers recognized as fighters for Ukraine's independence in the XX century, in accordance with the law on the legal status and honoring the memory of the fighters for the independence of Ukraine in the XX century.

The law will come into force 3 months after publication.

censor.net.ua  In Ukrainian/український

The list of the states that voted against the resolution "Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, Ukraine" was published in the UN General Assembly on December 22.

According to Censor.NET, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations submits the following list:

1. Armenia
2. Belarus
3. Bolivia
4. Burundi
5. Cambodia
6. Chad
7. China
8. Comoros
9. Cuba
10. DPRK
11. Eritrea
12. India
13. Iran
14. Kazakhstan
15. Kyrgyzstan
16. M ' Janma
17. Nicaragua
18. RF
19. Serbia
20. South Africa
21. Sudan
22. Syria
23. Tajikistan
24. Uganda
25. Uzbekistan
26. Venezuela
27. Zimbabwe

As the Tsensor.NET passed , late Saturday, December 22, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolution A / C.3 / 73 / L.48 "Situation of Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine". For the 65 Member States voted against, with 27, 70 delegates abstained.

This is the third UN-initiated UN resolution on human rights in the Crimea over the past three years. The first two were approved by the General Assembly in 2016 and 2017.