What Kyiv's streets showed on the eve of 12 January 2022
A look back at the events reported in Ukraine and its region in the days before 12 January 2022.
What did public life in Kyiv look like in the days leading up to 12 January 2022? The reports from the preceding week show a capital absorbing a mix of civic protest, personal safety concerns and routine public-health measures.
On 9 January 2022, an action called "Say No to Putin" ("Скажи Путіну Ні") took place on Mykhailivska Square in Kyiv. It was a public gathering in the city centre, and it was among the more visible civic events of that week.
Two days earlier, on 7 January 2022, journalist Andriy Kulykov, a co-founder of Hromadske Radio, was attacked on Peremohy Avenue in Kyiv. The incident was not linked to his professional work, as reported at the time.
Health and safety news
On 6 January 2022, Ukraine began administering COVID-19 booster shots to all adults who had received their second dose at least six months earlier. The same day, in Khmelnytskyi, 16 children from Vinnytsia region were poisoned by chlorine inhalation at a water park.
A regional backdrop
Beyond Ukraine's borders, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported on 7 January 2022 that Russian troops deployed to Kazakhstan had kept control of Almaty International Airport and secured key government buildings in Nur-Sultan, including the Ak Orda Presidential Palace.
Taken together, these reports sketch a week in which a street demonstration in Kyiv, an assault on a known media figure, a new stage of the vaccination campaign and a regional security development were all part of the news.
