Here's another item from our news desk:
Ukrainian Deputies Send Immunity Bill To Constitutional Court In 'Small Victory' For Protesters
KYIV -- Protesters calling for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to enact anticorruption reforms or step down notched a small victory on October 19 as parliament sent a bill on lifting lawmakers' immunity from prosecution to the Constitutional Court for review.
Hundreds of demonstrators aligned with opposition parties cheered the news when it was announced in front of the legislature, where they have been camping out in tents since October 17 to ratchet up pressure on Poroshenko to clamp down on what they see as rampant corruption in government.
Mustafa Nayyem, a reformist deputy and Poroshenko critic, called it "a small victory" for the opposition that is likely to appease the protesters for the time being.
Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the Verkhovna Rada in recent days in a mainly peaceful protest, though minor clashes with police have been reported.
In addition to setting up more than half a dozen tents in front of parliament, they have also managed to bring metal shields into the security area, echoing measures taken by activists in the massive Euromaidan protests that pushed Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February 2014.
Firebrand politician Mikheil Saakashvili and other opposition leaders are seeking the abolition of parliamentary immunity from prosecution and an overhaul of Ukraine's electoral law, as well as the creation of anticorruption courts and legislation on impeachment of the president.
They are also demanding legislation on impeachment procedures that would put pressure on the president and "hold Poroshenko accountable."
Saakashvili, the former Georgian president and governor of Ukraine's Odesa region who has been stripped of both his Georgian and Ukrainian citizenship, called for the demonstration last month after he returned to Ukraine in defiance of Poroshenko's government.
That call was backed by most of Ukraine's opposition parties, which sent prominent lawmakers, veterans of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and others critical of Poroshenko’s pro-Western ruling coalition to the protest.
Many of the protesters are supporters of Semyon Semenchenko, a lawmaker and former commander of a volunteer unit in the war between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people since it began in April 2014, after Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and has increased solidarity among many Ukrainians but added to political tensions in Kyiv.
Saakashvili was previously an ally of Poroshenko, who appointed him governor of Odesa in 2015.
He resigned in November 2016, complaining of rampant corruption and saying reform efforts were being blocked. He has since turned his outspoken rhetoric on Poroshenko and his allies.
Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of Ukrainian citizenship in July, when he was outside the country. Saakashvili lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015, and authorities in Tbilisi have begun criminal proceedings against him.
Saakashvili forced his way back into Ukraine on September 10, defying border guards and vowing to re-enter politics.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service
Not strictly related to the crisis, but here's another Ukraine item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Calls For 'Objective' Probe Into Deadly Traffic Accident In Kharkiv
Ukrainian parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy has called on law enforcement authorities to "immediately and objectively investigate" a deadly traffic accident in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Parubiy on October 19 urged police to "bring a person responsible for [the accident] to justice," a day after a woman reported to be the stepdaughter of a wealthy businessman plowed the car she was driving into a crowd of pedestrians, killing six of them.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that the suspect was arrested.
Five people, including a pregnant woman, remain in hospital with severe wounds, Avakov wrote on Facebook.
Kharkiv regional police spokeswoman Olena Barannyk identified the suspect as 20-year-old Olena Zaytseva, adding that a criminal case involving driving-safety violations was launched.
According to Barannyk, Zaytseva drove into a crowd after the Lexus SUV car she was driving collided on a high speed with another car, whose driver is being questioned as a witness in the case. The identity of that driver was not disclosed.
Local media reports say Zaytseva is a stepdaughter of a successful Kharkiv businessman, Vasyl Zaytsev, and the Lexus was registered to him.
Relatives of wealthy people and officials in Ukraine very often avoid punishment for misdeeds or crimes partly due to widespread corruption.
With reporting by UNIAN, pravda.ua, and 112 Ukraina TV
Top EU court upholds sanctions on Yanukovych:
By RFE/RL
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld sanctions imposed by the European Union on former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr.
The Luxembourg-based court confirmed on October 19 the freezing of their funds for the period from March 2015 until March 2016, upholding a previous ruling by the General Court.
In a statement, the ECJ said that Viktor and Oleksandr Yanukovych had challenged the EU sanctions that were imposed on the grounds that they were the subject of pretrial investigations in Ukraine for offenses linked to the misappropriation of public funds.
But the court said that the Yanukovychs' concerns over the impartiality of the Ukrainian judicial system "are not capable of calling into question the cogency of the charges made against them...or of demonstrating that their particular situation had been affected by the problems in the Ukrainian judicial system."
Moscow-friendly Yanukovych was ousted by mass protests in Kyiv in February 2014 and fled to Russia.
The European Council decided in March 2014 to freeze the funds and economic resources of people who "were responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian state funds or for abuse of office causing a loss to Ukrainian public funds." The measure was subsequently extended every year.
The sanctions target 15 people, including former Prime Ministers Mykola Azarov and Serhiy Arbuzov and the head of Yanukovych's presidential administration, Andriy Klyuyev.
Yanukovych has denied misappropriating Ukraine's public funds.