OREANDA-NEWS. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal believes, that Russia is imposing it's vaccine against the coronavirus «Sputnik V» to strengthen it's influence in the east of the country and in Eastern Europe. According to the Ukrainian politician, Moscow is seeking to use a domestically produced vaccine as a tool to influence some regions, that are currently not controlled by the Ukrainian government. Shmygal said this in an interview with «Politico».

In Ukraine, 3,409 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection were detected during the day, 163 patients died. According to the Minister of Health of Ukraine Maxim Stepanov, the total number of cases of infection in Ukraine since the beginning of the epidemic was 1,253,055 and 23,934 patients died.

Earlier, The Lancet magazine published the results of the third phase of a clinical trial of the «Sputnik V». The effectiveness of this drug is 91.6%, among vaccinated volunteers older than 60 years — 91.8%. Antibodies to the coronavirus after vaccination with «Sputnik V» were detected in 98% of the vaccinated volunteers.