Ukraine’s security council urges parliament to declare state of emergency
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has requested that the Ukrainian parliament declares a state of emergency in the country, the councils’ Secretary Oleksiy Danilov told the press on Feb. 23.
The request would affect all oblasts, save for Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which are already under a military-civilian administration
“(We) talked about a state of emergency, with lively discussions on this subject,” said Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine’s NSDC.
“We have made a decision, according to our laws; Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) should vote for (a state of emergency) within 48 hours.”
According to established procedure, a state of emergency is first proposed by the president and then confirmed by the parliament. The president can unilaterally extend its duration, but for no more than 30 days.
Under Ukrainian law, a state of emergency temporarily limits certain freedoms of the country’s citizens, and endows the government with expanded powers. In particular, the government gains greater control over movement of people around the country, can impose curfews, conduct wide-ranging investigative measures, evacuate citizens, introduce rationing, and commandeer private property.
This request has been made amid a significant escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine in recent days, including intensified shelling against Ukrainian positions in the conflict zone in Ukraine’s Donbas region, the recognition of puppet authorities by the Russian Federation, the invasion of Russian troops into non-government controlled Ukrainian territory, and the authorization of Russian troop deployments abroad by the Russian parliament.
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