PETRO POROSHENKO

The Ukrainian president may have pledged to reform the country's corrupt system of politics, but the Pandora Papers tell a different story.Driving the news: Ukraine is the country with the highest number of politicians named in the leak of offshore data, which implicates hundreds of people linked to offshore companies — including President Volodymyr Zelensky.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeThough offshore companies are not thems

The country designated 14,000 doses of its first vaccine shipment for the military, especially those fighting Russia-backed separatists in the east. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)KYIV – After receiving its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine, Ukraine found itself in a new struggle against the pandemic — persuading its widely reluctant people to get the shot. The resistance appears to be rooted in longstanding suspicion of vaccines dating back to the Soviet era, amplified by politicians' allegations about low-quality vaccines, corruption scandals and misinformation spread through social media. Those declining included Olena Obyedko, a 26-year-old nurse who works in the hospital's intensive care ward for COVID-19 patients, where people die every week. The country designated 14,000 doses of its first vaccine shipment for the military, especially those fighting Russia-backed separatists in the east.

FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ukrainians are heading to the polls on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020 to cast ballots in local elections seen as a key test for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. During Ukraine's July 2019 parliamentary election, the party came out on top with 43% support. “The local elections will set the stage for an attack on Zelenskiy from all sides,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, the director of Penta Center, an independent think tank. Karasev observed that recent decentralization efforts that gave broad authority to local mayors and councils would make the outcome of Sunday's local elections particularly significant.

Dr. Oleh Hornostayev speaks to a coronavirus patient at a hospital intensive care unit in Stryi, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. Coronavirus infections in Ukraine began surging in late summer, and the ripples are hitting towns in the western part of the country. We are catastrophically short of doctors,” says Stetsik, the chief doctor at the only hospital in the town of 20,000 people. The World Health Organization warns that the number of infections in Ukraine could continue to grow and reach 7,000-9,000 a day. “We may increase the hospital capacity and improve oxygen supply, but we could just be simply short of doctors,” he said.

The leaked recordings of apparent conversations between Joe Biden and Ukraines then-president largely confirm Bidens account of his dealings in Ukraine. The choppy audio, disclosed by a Ukrainian lawmaker whom U.S. officials described Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, as an active Russian agent who has sought to spread online misinformation about Biden. And unlike in 2016, when Russia used bogus social media accounts or bots to wage a misinformation campaign, this time they're being spread by legitimate American social media users. There have been more than 117,000 mentions of Biden and the audio on Twitter since May, according to analysis by Zignal Labs, a social media monitoring firm. YouTube, for example, said the audio recordings don’t violate policy because the tech company has been unable to confirm they were obtained through hacking.

with officials taking aim at Russian interference in the political process even as President Donald Trump expresses doubt about Russian meddling. In the case of the sanctions, officials denounced audio recordings that had been released by the Ukrainian parliamentarian and promoted by Trump on Twitter. The Treasury Department action is the second time in as many months that the administration has called out Derkach by name. Derkach is a graduate of a Russian spy academy who, the Treasury Department says, maintains close ties to Russian intelligence services. Most of the infiltration attempts by Russian, Chinese and Iranian agents were halted by Microsoft security software and the targets notified.

WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Russian-linked Ukrainian lawmaker for interfering in the U.S. presidential election by releasing edited audio recordings designed to denigrate Democrat Joe Biden. Those recordings have been promoted by President Donald Trump. U.S. intelligence officials said in a statement last month that Derkach's disclosure of the recordings, which capture conversations between Biden and Ukraine's then-president, were part of a broader Russian effort to disparage Biden before the Nov. 3 election. Derkach is a graduate of a Russian spy academy who, the Treasury Department says, maintains close ties to Russian intelligence services. Biden was representing the official position of the Obama administration and many Western allies in seeking the removal of the prosecutor who was perceived as soft on corruption.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. The Ukrainian investigation was opened on treason and abuse of office charges, indicating it was mostly directed against former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko rejected the tapes as a fabrication by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. Zelenskiy, who carefully avoided taking sides in the U.S. impeachment inquiry, said his predecessor could be in trouble over the tapes. But on the tape Derkach released, the two men introduced as Vice President Biden and President Poroshenko discuss replacing Shokin as a condition for the loan guarantees, but make no mention of Burisma.

Axios cited a source saying Trump said Perry had asked Trump to make the call to discuss "something about an LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant." An employee employee walks between gas pipes at a facility operated by UkrTransGaz, a unit of NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, in Ukraine, on July 17, 2014. The Trump and Giuliani allies driving the attempt to change the senior management at Naftogaz, however, appear to have had inside knowledge of the U.S. government's plans in Ukraine. Giuliani, Parnas and Baumgardner were there to make a business pitch involving gas deals in the former Soviet bloc to a potential investor. "The people from the company solicited my clients because Igor is in the gas business, and they asked them, and they flew to Washington and they solicited," Dowd said.

Not cooperating with Congress on the impeachment inquiry could make things worse for President Trump. TOP STORIESGrounds for an Obstruction Charge? President Trump, desperate to undermine a fast-moving impeachment probe, could be adding to his troubles. On Tuesday, a police officer shot an 18-year-old point-blank in Hong Kong during protests against Chinas National Day. Martin Bernheimer, music critic for the Los Angeles Times from 1965 to 1996, has died at 83.

Petro Poroshenko, who was Ukraines president until May and dealt with both the Obama and Trump administrations, said in a rare interview with The Times on Tuesday that he never felt pressure from President Trump or his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani to open questionable corruption investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump has acknowledged that he pressed Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to open investigations into Biden and his son Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Trump has promoted unsubstantiated allegations that the former vice president pushed Ukraine to fire its then-top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in an effort to protect Hunter Biden. Asked if Ukraine possesses its own account of the phone call with Trump, Zelensky said it was the same text. He did not elaborate. I understand the President Trump topic is the hottest for you, he told the gathering of Ukrainian and U.S. journalists in the presidential headquarters.

Obama: Russia must respect Ukraine election results President Obama says Russian President Vladimir Putin now has a serious negotiating partner in Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko, and he should seize the moment.

Ukraine’s president-elect promises to end pro-Russian insurgency Ukraine’s new billionaire president-elect Petro Poroshenko proposed new talks with Moscow one day after winning the election in a landslide and promised to end the pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine. There was fierce fighting Monday when insurgents seized the airport in Donetsk. Charlie D’Agata reports.

Exit polls show Poroshenko won Ukraine's presidential election Pamela Falk, CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst, takes a look at who Petro Poroshenko is and what this will mean for Ukraine moving forward.

Petro Poroshenko declares victory in Ukraine's election Billionaire candy tycoon Petro Poroshenko won Sunday's presidential elections in Ukraine. Poroshenko said his first priority is to put an end to the war and chaos caused by pro-Russian separatists in the east. Charlie D'Agata reports.

U.S. involvement in a showdown with Russia? In this week's 60 Minutes Moment of the Week, Billionaire Petro Poroshenko, a financial backer of Ukraine's revolution, says the U.S. should be ready to take action against Russia

Ukraine’s new leadership weighs challenge with Russia Billionaire Petro Poroshenko and retired boxing champion Vitaly Klitschoko are two leading candidates to replace Ukraine's overthrown president. They spoke with CBS News’ Clarissa Ward for Sunday's "60 Minutes," and said they are ready to fight for their country and that they hope to see America take stronger action against Russia.