"Cherkasy Will Resist": Mayor Records Video Address to President
The city mayor responded to the president's "fiery greetings."
Cherkasy Mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko recorded a video address to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over pressure on the city authorities due to the decision to ease quarantine. He posted the video on Facebook.
"Mr. President, I thought that when you won, the country would have one law for everyone. Spring will come, and we will start arresting. Not city mayors, but corrupt officials. I thought you would arrest people for button-pressing, I thought you would arrest your comrades over "Velyur" (the restaurant of MP Mykola Tyshchenko, which allegedly operates during quarantine, - ed.). And you know, we are ready to respond, but only after your fellow party members. And now, as in that film about Crimea: Cherkasy will resist. Remember, Cherkasy is a free Cossack city, and if it is necessary to unite Ukraine, we will unite Ukraine. And remember: no one has ever defeated Cherkasy in their life," the mayor said.
As is known, since May 1, a number of non-food stores, beauty salons, markets and fairs, summer café and restaurant terraces, clothing and shoe repair workshops have resumed operations in Cherkasy, and parks and amusement rides in their territories have opened. However, a nationwide easing of quarantine is not expected before May 12.
Health Minister Maksym Stepanov condemned such actions by the local authorities and added that law enforcement would assess them. The assessment was quick: on May 1, police opened criminal proceedings under Article 325 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of sanitary norms and rules). The city mayor was summoned for questioning on May 4.
Also, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Twitter an appeal to the Cherkasy mayor, saying he had "gone too far," and promised a "harsh response." The president, in his address, passed on "fiery greetings" to the city mayor.
Mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko published photos of messages that were allegedly sent to him on behalf of Sergiy Trofimov, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Office. The messages contained a "final warning" and threats of prison. The Presidential Office said it was a prank and that Trofimov had not written to the mayor. The deputy head of the Presidential Office himself also called the information a fake.
Map of coronavirus spread in Ukraine (updated in real time)
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