What happened on 6 February 2019, as Ukraine's presidential field grew
A look back at the days around 6 February 2019, when a record number of candidates applied and the INF Treaty began to unravel.
What was the political backdrop in Ukraine on 6 February 2019? In the days before it, the country's presidential race had reached a notable point, and a major arms-control agreement was coming apart abroad.
On 3 February 2019, Ukraine's Central Election Commission finished accepting documents from candidates in the presidential election. In total, 90 people submitted applications, a record number for Ukraine.
Arms control in the background
Beyond Ukraine's borders, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was at the centre of attention. On 1 February 2019, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States was suspending its role in the treaty. The agreement was made in 1987 with the USSR, and by extension its successor state Russia. It banned both countries from possessing or testing nuclear and conventional intermediate-range missiles, as well as their launchers. Mr Pompeo cited Russian non-compliance.
On 2 February 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by suspending Russia's involvement in the treaty. He said Russia would now start developing new missiles, in response to the American decision to withdraw.
Commentators have used the label Cold War II, or Second Cold War, to describe heightened tensions between the United States and NATO on one side and Russia on the other, and the treaty announcements of early February 2019 were filed under that heading in contemporary listings of events.
The two threads, a crowded domestic electoral field in Kyiv and a deteriorating arms-control framework between Washington and Moscow, formed the public backdrop to 6 February 2019.
