Prison for a belt, pulling license for a light. How Avakov wants to strengthen power at drivers' expense
In 2020, 168,107 road accidents happened in Ukraine, resulting in over 3,000 people dying. It's more deaths than during hostilities in Donbas, and it's the highest indicator in 3 years. There's a safety catastrophe on Ukrainian roads; no one disputes that. However, it seems that someone at the top of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has decided to take advantage of the situation and use the problem to increase their power.
On February 3, the Verkhovna Rada will consider the scandalous draft law 2695 in the second reading, which will expand the considerable powers of the police, increasing the risk of corruption. What's this draft law about, and why professional lawyers and activists are dissatisfied with it? Read further on Rubryka.
Cunning Avakov
The long-time head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is a very experienced politician, so he knows that the key thing for successfully promoting complex draft laws is to choose the right moment.
So, in July 2020, on the Stolychne highway near Kyiv, there was one more terrible road accident: the drunk driver of the stolen Mercedes Anton Zhelepa flew on an oncoming lane and collided with Hyundai, having wiped out the whole family of two adults and two children.
On the same day, Arsen Avakov reminded of Draft Law 2695, being considered by the Verkhovna Rada, which could allegedly solve the problem. Volodymyr Zelenskyi supported him, after which the issue was practically resolved.
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