Lytrov News: Current Affairs Daily [READ ONLY]

[Lytrovia]

Lytrov News

Daily news, straight from the independent offices of Lytrov News. We are the first independent news company in Lytrovia, proving the country’s transition to democracy.

We guarantee that all our articles are done within 24 hours of the event being announced/happening. Stay tuned for more information!

[Lytrovia]

The President, Stepan Romanovych, has honoured the capital city, Odesa, by presenting it with the Civil Order of Lytrovia, for "outstanding effort to the continued support of government in Lytrovia". The Mayor of the city has served a record four terms, improving infrastructure, dedicating a quarter for embassies and government buildings, and securing funding for the annual cultural fair, with the first one due to start later this year.

"I am pleased to announce that Odesa will be given the Civil Order of Lytrovia. I hope that this will show that the government fully supports urban development in our country." Romanovych told a crowd of reporters and city officials, referring to his 'Shaping Land' policy. Following its motto of 'Build Cities to Build Countries', it has been given 400 million lytrovs to improve, develop and protect urban sites. 17 of them have been announced so far, and they will be given extra funding to modernise.

Lytrov News' headquarters was made by this policy.

The Mayor then gave his remarks, saying that he would double Odesa's contribution to the Shaping Land Policy, from 5 million lytrovs to 10 million lytrovs. The money will then be mixed up in a government bank account, and redistributed to cities, depending on their 'Urbanisation Index', an internal report by the State Analysis Bureau. It is believed that Odesa has a score of 72-75 out of 100, meaning that it will receive the third or fourth most aid.

Sevastopol is currently getting the most, with political scholars and analysts saying that the Crimean port would have a rate of 95, due to its cultural, economic and political influence.


Stepan Romanovych has been popular with the people, and now, analysts believe, he will secure the support of the provinces.


Cities like Sevastopol will get more aid, since it is important and influential in the state. There are talks of it becoming the new capital, and powerful figures in Odesa- especially in the legislature- support this move.

[Lytrovia]

Today, Minister of National Security Mihail Botnari has announced the formation of the Women's Security Corps, under the Policing Directorate, which will recruit women between 20 and 35. Their role, as defined by the Women's Security Corps Act 2021, shall be "to guard and protect the streets of our nation, to patrol all corners of the country, and to serve Lytrovia as any police officer should".

The first 100 recruits have been sent to Kiev Military Academy. It is believed that they were chosen beforehand, by a secretive committee only mentioned in one public paper, as 'COWC'. Botnari and President Romanovych were there to greet the recruits as they paraded on Hurenko Parade Square. The training will last for 6 months, with more recruits being admitted every 3 months.

The Policing Directorate, which the new Women's Security Corps falls under, is the internal intelligence branch responsible for counterterrorism and police intelligence activities. It is in the Ministry of National Security.

[Lytrovia]

What a busy day for the government! And now, it's about to get even busier. A prominent Crimean politician, Adam Kovalenko, has spoken out against the state for "ignoring the Accords of Simferopol", which were the agreements between the Crimean Autonomous Government and the Lytrovian Government, granting Crimea autonomy and more independence. Specifically, Kovalenko has cited Article IV, which gave the Legislature of Crimea powers to make their own laws, enforceable in Crimea, in return for their acknowledgement of state laws. He claims that the government has, in fact, ignored laws set in Sevastopol and continued enforcing their own laws, and bypassing the autonomous government when making decisions relating to Crimea.

A spokeswoman for the state government has said that "We are working extremely hard to improve relations with Crimea, and we will support them in any decision they make in Sevastopol."


Adam Kovalenko is the State Representative for Crimea in the State Government of the People's Republic of Lytrovia, commonly referred to as the Representative of Crimea. He has criticised the government's stance on Crimea.

In an internal poll of Lytrovian citizens, conducted by Lytrov News, 44.9% of people said that they saw no peaceful solution to this, 17.1% of people are hopeful for a better solution, 22.3% believe that the state is wrong and 15.7% say that Crimea is wrong.

[Lytrovia]

In completely unrelated news, today the Kharkiv police raided a house, which was believed to have been storing drugs. The owner, an old man whose name has not been released, has been charged with possession of illegal substances. The Policing Directorate has been called in to aid the investigation.


A picture of the police entering the house, released by the Ministry of National Security to Lytrov News.

[Lytrovia]

Today, the State Foreign Intelligence Unit has been transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from the Ministry of National Security.

The foreign intelligence branch of Lytrovia, commonly referred to as the GOVR in Russian, has served for over 75 years in the People's Republic of Lytrovia. Their agents are considered some of the best in the world, and they are also the most secretive in the world. They have been in the Ministry of National Security ever since its founding, but its director (currently Andrei Kogalniceanu) sends a monthly report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so that it can implement foreign policy accordingly.

President Stepan Romanovych was not able to attend the ceremony, which happened in Odesa Imperial Hall, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs Larysa Zaporozhets and Minister of National Security Mihail Botnari were there, as well as the Director.

There was an exchange of documents- the Memorandum Detailing the Transfer of the State Foreign Intelligence Unit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was handed to Zaporozhets, and the Presidential Order Acknowledging the State Foreign Intelligence Unit as a department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was given to Botnari to be put in the records of the Ministry of National Security. Then the Director gave some brief remarks, both Ministers then gave a press conference, before soldiers of the GOVR paraded outside to their new headquarters in the Foreign Affairs block.


Director Kogalniceanu in 2017.

[Lytrovia]

Adam Kovalenko, the politician who spoke against the government yesterday, has been invited to testify his points before the Council of Ministers. President Romanovych has said that "this will prove that we are open to suggestions on a new way to improve relations with our citizens". Kovalenko has agreed, and he was seen leaving on a helicopter to Odesa thirty minutes ago. He was not alone- he was seen with three other people, who have been identified as officials in the Office of State Representation in Crimea, Mr Kovalenko's office.

Whilst the particulars of the meeting will not be released for security reasons, a report will be released in the coming days. The meeting is scheduled to begin once Kovalenko arrives.

"A lot of people will be awaiting the results of the meeting." an analyst from the University of Odesa tells us. "It will decide whether this administration will survive or collapse in the next election."

The President was sighted leaving the Ministry of Domestic Industry's office ten minutes ago, heading towards the headquarters of the Council of Ministers.


Police outside the Council of Minister's headquarters, Lytrovia Building, after President Romanovych entered to prepare for his meeting.

[Lytrovia]

Romanovych has finally left the building.

After nearly 2 hours of discussion behind closed doors, the President of Lytrovia was seen leaving Lytrovia Building just now. He was followed by Adam Kovalenko and his staff. They looked happier than they were when they entered.

The two men then gave brief remarks, with Romanovych commenting that “the situation in Crimea is nearly over”.

But is it?

We may never know what happened in those two hours. What we do know, however, is enough. Whilst the report is prepared for the public, we can take everything that was said to the public and see what happened.

First, as they entered the building. Kovalenko refused to speak to the press, but gave one sentence outside the front door before he entered. The sentence was: “Gentlemen, I think you will find that this meeting will be pointless. There is nothing to report on.”

What he said as he exited, however, was completely different. He said: “The meeting has not all been wasted. We have gotten somewhere- but either the finish line must be far away or we are taking extremely short steps.”

His statement did not imply that the meeting was a complete success, but, to quote his own words, it “has not all been wasted.” In short, they had made progress.

But what progress?

Well, whilst Kovalenko continues back to Sevastopol, and Romanovych calls a meeting of his party, we can only wait to see what will come up next.

[Lytrovia]

After months of deliberation, the Ministry of Health has approved the domestically-manufactured vaccine for use in the next few weeks.

This decision, announced hours ago by a spokesperson for the Ministry, has been welcomed by those who had lost relatives and friends in the pandemic. In Lytrovia, there have been 1.1 million cases and 395,700 deaths from the virus.

The vaccine is made by a Russian company, Control Technology. Lytrovia has entered a contract with them, to supply the country with 20 million vaccines by the end of the year. To ensure that this target is met, the military have been mobilised for 'logistical support', including transport, security and distribution of the vaccine. Officials from independent scientific organisations- including BioLytrovia, the University of Lytrovia and Medikiev- have been invited to inspect the first packages containing vaccines, which will arrive in the next few days.


A vaccine made by Control Technology. This one was a test product, which was later approved by Lytrovia. The picture was taken in November 2020.

We interviewed the head of BioLytrovia, a company that produces medical equipment as well as scientific supplies to educational institutions. They are valued at 600 million lytrovs.

"This is a crucial phase in the government's plan to ease restrictions before the cultural fair in September." she told us. "Whilst the virus has slowly faded away after March, it has come up again as people take the easing of restrictions to their full advantage. If this continues, we will not see the end of Covid-19 until next year."

The Ministry of Health also announced that Medikiev had made their own vaccine, which will be tested next week for approval by the government. Medikiev declined to comment on their vaccine, citing legal and security reasons, but did confirm that they were hoping to have their vaccine distributed as soon as possible.

"As many vaccines as possible- that is what we need." a spokeswoman told us. "It is not a race to be approved- it is a race to be successful. Together. The more vaccines are rolled out, the more opportunities we have of stopping this virus from spreading."

Data from the Ministry of Health shows that only 15 people died of the virus yesterday, and a total of 71 cases. The average, in the middle of 2020, was 429 deaths and 1,472 cases per day.

[Lytrovia]

Whilst Kovalenko admires his work for defusing the situation, outside, the people are still not satisfied.

They demand more autonomy, criticise the government for not coming to a deal, and a small yet dangerous faction wants Adam Kovalenko overthrown.

The protests started 20 minutes ago, when a group of students from Sevastopol College started chanting independence slogans outside Court House, the building of the Crimean Court of Justice. There, they wanted to sue the government for breaching the Accords of Simferopol. Those agreements gave Crimea more autonomy and its own local government, as well as the office of the Representative of Crimea. The court refused to let the protestors entered, and declared that "should these protests continue, it will be you who will be sued!"

This did not deter protestors, however, from bursting in and ransacking the place. However, they were quickly dealt with by police, and the nearby garrison of the Security Guard- a branch of the military- were called in. In 10 minutes, the protestors had went from having the Court of Justice hostage to being hostages themselves, being taken to Sevastopol Prison.

Minutes later, an order was released by the Court of Justice, issuing the police a warrant to arrest anybody who "disturbed the peace, or disrupted general good order". This also gave the military powers to shut down roads and infrastructure. Hastily signed unanimously by the Court, the enforcement of this warrant is still underway.


Here, soldiers of the Security Guard patrol a bridge in Sevastopol. This image is the first photo to be released showing the continued operation, by the Security Guard and Crimean Police.

[Lytrovia]

Finally, the Security Guard- with help from the Army- have managed to secure the city from the rioters. Police have detained 128 people suspected of leading and inciting riot, but most of them will be released in the next few hours. However, it is not all peaceful- protestors rise up again, with the police unable to detain them all. A report from Sevastopol Prison shows that they have 60% more people than they can hold. A state of emergency has been declared by Kovalenko.

Minister of National Security Boleslaw Lyzlov has called the situation "worrying", and that "the National Police will be deployed to calm down Sevastopol".

It is not just Sevastopol that is up in arms, however. In Simferopol- where the Accords were signed giving Crimea autonomy- over 5,000 citizens took over Central Palace, the building where the Accords were signed. Police there have sent a call for help from everybody who can. The Ministry of the Armed Forces will release a statement soon.

President Romanovych has convened an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers. They have unanimously agreed to delay the release of the report on the meeting yesterday. They also authorised the use of force from the authorities. 100 more troops of the Security Guard have entered Sevastopol, followed by a parachute battalion from the Air Force. Meanwhile, the Crimean Court of Justice has been evacuated to Kiev, leaving judicial powers in the hands of the state, in Odesa. A Presidential Order has been signed, giving Crimea 24 hours to calm down, before it will be declared revolutionary, therefore allowing Odesa to invade it as seen necessary, ignoring human rights regulations. 15,000 soldiers, 110 aircraft and 40 vessels have been amassed to enforce this order. In a poll conducted by the government, 72% of people now believe that an independence war is inevitable.


Released on social media, these soldiers of the Security Guard are preparing to leave their garrison in Mykolaiv, to enter Crimea in the next 24 hours.

We interviewed an official from the Ministry of National Security, to see what she thought of the situation.

"These developments stop any progress being made." she said. "Everybody was waiting to see the report on the meeting, because it would decide whether it was war or peace in the country in the next week. Now, we know that we cannot stop the movement. The people are rising up for no reason- it will not help them. The Presidential Order will add to the tension, but in the end, it will be the state that wins."


Protestors are seen being pushed back by police, in the later stages of the protests, whilst the military takes over.

[Lytrovia]

Following the raid on the house yesterday, the Policing Directorate has released a report on their investigation so far. In it, they issued National Authority documents- essentially arrest warrants issued by the executive branch- for 35 people. They were arrested half an hour ago in Kiev.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced the temporary suspension of the license of a boat. The boat is a yacht, owned by the Feodosia Boating Association, and it was believed that this is connected with the investigation. This was confirmed when the boat was seized by Crimean police, with three crates of drugs- ranging from cocaine to heroin- on board. The names of the people on board have not been released.

In a statement on social media, the Feodosia Boating Association reaffirmed its support for the authorities, "in the continued investigation of some of our members."

The investigation continues.

[Lytrovia]

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance's Economic Analysis Bureau, the economy of Lytrovia has risen in the last few months. This is due to the easing of restrictions after COVID-19, the Ministry of Domestic Industry's new plans for agriculture, as well as the decision to acquire all banks and put them under state control.

"We welcome this data, and we hope this proves that our plans are going well." President Romanovych said in a press conference. "Our economy has risen from 374 billion lytrovs to 401 billion lytrovs, in the space of a few months."

The 2021 budget, released in January, showed that the government was capable and willing of anything financially. They increased their military budget by 30%, infrastructure budget by 25%, and international aid by 6%- whilst saving 1.5 billion lytrovs.

Unemployment rates have decreased, from 11% of the population to 8%. This can be attributed to the National People policy, giving the people 1.9 million new jobs and raising the minimum wage to 9 lytrovs, from 8.65.

But this also shows something else- that democracy is slowly taking over. According to Ostap Fomenko of the University of Mykolaiv, the rise in the economy could only have been possible by transitioning to democracy.

"Before, the economy was at an all-time low- I believe the lowest was 69 billion lytrovs, in 1994. However reluctant this administration is to concede to democracy, it is necessary to improve freedom in order to improve the economy."

We can only wait now, to see what will happen next.


The Ministry of Domestic Industry says that the automobile industry is still the largest, making up 41.9% of the workforce.

[Lytrovia]

The protests across Crimea have generally died down. As a further 3,000 soldiers enter Sevastopol, peace is restored to the capital of the region. But, the government still has consequences to hand out.

Firstly, funding for urban development in Sevastopol is suspended. This is crucial, since the city government had needed those funds for the improvement of road infrastructure- the traffic congestion is at its highest point since 2000. In response, the Sevastopol City Council has scrapped plans for a cruise network across the Black Sea.

Secondly- and most importantly- Adam Kovalenko, the representative of Crimea, has been dismissed from his post, and is due to head back to Odesa tomorrow. His replacement, Artur Havrysh, will need to deal with the growing independence movement, as well as improve relations with the national government if he wants to stay in his post for the full five-year term. A statement by Havrysh's office has called for peace in Crimea. Mr Kovalenko will be given a post in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, not many people believe that this is the end. A student strike in Kerch has delayed the visit of the Minister of Education and Young People there. A group of citizens in Daleke have started a march to Kiev and back, whilst amassing supports to present a petition to Odesa. The Crimean Police have advised that the route they are taking is cleared, and a spokesperson for the Policing Directorate has warned that an arrest warrant has been requested from the Lytrovian Supreme Court, and a squadron of armoured vehicles have been stationed along the path, at the border between Crimea and the rest of the country.


President Romanovych with the new Crimean Representative, Artur Havrysh.

[Lytrovia]

After the Presidential Order expired just now, we have just received a notification from our reporters in Crimea- the invasion has begun.

If you remember from our previous article, the Order gave the province of Crimea 12 hours before it was declared revolutionary. The new Representative- Artur Havrysh- has not been given his post yet, with the government citing logistical reasons. With the assault on Crimea, however, it is unlikely that Mr Havrysh will work in Sevastopol.

Troop movements were reported half an hour ago, and it is likely that those soldiers were preparing to invade.

Two hours ago, a revolutionary government under Yeva Hrebenyuk was formed in Sevastopol. With the police defecting to her side, they continued to rise up, until they had a strong base to work from. They have now raided the Central Armoury of Sevastopol, and the defectors from the police have distributed their weapons. Their forces number at around 10,000, with a few captured ships (and one ship that mutinied) and no aircraft.

The official numbers are classified, but analysts say that 30,000-50,000 is likely. Supported by the Mykolaiv Fleet and the 98th Air Wing in Nova, the military will have the upper hand. However, they are spread out, and 10,000 of that number are in bases in Crimea itself, isolated and surrounded by hostile rebels.

The crisis continues.

[Lytrovia]

As the war drags on in Crimea, the country's primary economical and industrial output is no longer useful.

So, how does the government get enough resources to fill the gap? How can it?

Well, we have an answer.

The Ministry of Domestic Industry plans to form the People's Industrial Brigade, a volunteer force that will be sent to mine more resources, and to work in the factories. This is not easy, considering that 75% of the factories and 60% of the materials are in Crimea, but most of them were recovered before the invasion. Lytrovia will need a larger workforce, and so President Romanovych has ordered for able-bodied men not in the military (there has been no conscription since 1994) to volunteer for a job. The automobile industry is still the largest, and with the economic rise that has happened in the last decade, it will remain so for a long time.

The Ministry of Finance has also found that, since they spent 65% of their Shaping Land development policy on Crimea, they now have a large surplus to fund other cities. Around 250 million lytrovs in surplus, in fact.

Odesa has received another 60 million, Kiev has gotten an additional 35 million, and Mykolaiv now has 20% more than what it used to.

So really, the war is a good thing for those cities forgotten before. But is it good for the country?

[Lytrovia]

The large-scale investigation on the drug trading across Lytrovia has culminated in the arrest of a high-profile drug trader, on his return from a trip to Mexico.

People in Kiev International Airport were surprised to see 30 armed officers from the Policing Directorate enter the airport two hours ago, and block the entrance to one of the terminals. They were wearing helmets, and nobody had their faces shown, which made them even more terrifying.

30 minutes later, as a crowd of people were just leaving after their flight, the police charged into the crowd and seized one of the people. The rest were allowed to go, and most of them hurried out after seeing the scene. The person, whose name has not been released, seemed extremely strong, in his 40s, and resisted the police. However, he was soon dragged, handcuffed, into a truck, before it sped off. The whole scene lasted precisely six minutes and thirty-two seconds.

The Ministry of National Security has announced the end of the investigation, and the unnamed drug trader awaits sentencing in Odesa Prison.

[Lytrovia]

As the Crimean conflict begins to calm down, President Romanovych has declared a lockdown in major cities, including Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kiev.

The Ministry of National Security has said that "We are currently working extremely hard to protect our people, and this will be for the people and the Republic."

It is speculated that this is related to the Crimean crisis. People have already begun protests in Kiev and Odesa against this lockdown. 85% of Lytrovians do not believe the official explanation of "a sudden surge in Covid-19 deaths", when the deaths related to the pandemic has decreased by 12 since yesterday.

More information is yet to be released.


Police officers guard the streets, minutes after the announcement was made to the public and the People's Chamber.