Several hundred small business owners protested in Kyiv yesterday, demanding the authorities ease anti-virus measures to save them from bankruptcy.
Wearing surgical masks, demonstrators briefly blocked traffic outside a government building in the city centre in defiance of rules against public gatherings, an AFP journalist reported.
“One more day of your protection and we will disappear!” read one slogan.
“While we are not working, we have run out of money, we already have nothing to eat,” said restaurateur Andriy Bondarenko at the protest. “They (the government) have no action plan or understanding of the processes.”
Ukraine has confirmed 9,866 coronavirus cases, including 250 deaths, according to official statistics published yesterday.
Authorities in one of Europe’s poorest nations are hesitant to ease lockdown measures, which critics say do unnecessary damage to the economy.
In March, the government ordered all non-essential business to close, with grocery stores and pharmacies permitted to remain open.
Current lockdown measures are due to be lifted in mid-May.
Public transport has been reserved for employees of essential services, including police and hospital staff.
Almost 40% of Ukrainians said they were experiencing financial problems due to the pandemic, and 45% that they had exhausted their savings, according to an independent survey published last week.
Local media reports that Mykola Tyshchenko from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s party was continuing to run a luxury restaurant in Kyiv has fuelled frustrations.
Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a televised government meeting that the lockdown would be lifted gradually when the time was right.
“The fact that we have fewer cases than other countries is thanks to the lockdown. We entered quarantine in a timely way and will quit it in a timely way,” he said. “Those irresponsible calls to end the lockdown ahead of schedule put all Ukrainians at risk.
“We understand what steps we need to take and when.”
He urged “political forces” not to urge Ukrainians to stage protests, warning that easing restrictions too soon could result in a new increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
The government, which last week extended the lockdown until May 11, has said it expects the epidemic to peak early next month.
The government has allocated 6bn hryvnias ($222mn) for payments to the unemployed, and has increased its forecast for the unemployment rate this year to 9.4%
A survey carried out by the Rating research group in early April showed 8% of Ukrainians had lost their jobs during the lockdown, and 29% had taken a vacation.
Protesters argue with riot police during the demonstration in downtown Kyiv.
