Two announcements from Kyiv and Budapest on 21 August 2020
A look back at a day shaped by a scientist's death and a neighbour's border plans.
What did 21 August 2020 reveal about Ukraine's place in a region still dealing with COVID-19 and the loss of a major public figure?
Two separate developments framed the period. On 19 August, Borys Paton died at the age of 101. He was a prominent Ukrainian scientist and had served as President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine from 1962 to 2020. His death ended a tenure that lasted until the year of his passing.
On 21 August 2020, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on state radio that Hungary would tighten border-crossing rules on 1 September. The stated aim was to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as the number of new infections was rising in neighbouring countries.
The two developments were unrelated in subject. One marked the end of an era at Ukraine's leading scientific institution. The other showed how a neighbouring government was responding to the rising infection numbers around it, with new border rules due ten days later.
