What followed the Ukraine Air Alliance crash and the weekend protests
A look back at two developments in Ukrainian public life reported in the days before 8 October 2019.
What was happening in Ukrainian public life on 8 October 2019? Two developments from the preceding days framed the moment: a regulatory response to an air crash and street protests over the Donbas.
On 7 October 2019, the Ministry of Transport announced that it had revoked the air operator's certificate of Ukraine Air Alliance, effective from 5 October. The decision followed the crash on 4 October of an Antonov An-12 owned by the airline, which ran out of fuel near Lviv. The ministry took the decision the same day it was announced.
On 6 October 2019, demonstrations were held in dozens of Ukrainian cities and abroad. The protests, held under a slogan rejecting capitulation, were directed against the so-called Steinmeier formula and against the pullback of Ukrainian troops from the line of separation in Donbas.
Together, the two events showed a regulator acting against an airline after a crash and citizens taking to the streets over the conduct of the conflict in the east.
