13/01/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Rocket fired by terrorists in the Donetsk region hit passenger bus killing 11 civilians

13/01/2015 Daily Highlights by "Digests and Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

Rocket fired by terrorists in the Donetsk region hit passenger bus killing 11 civilians. DNR terrorists fiercely attacked the Donetsk airport. Ukraine must repay creditors $11 billion in 2015.

Key Events In Ukraine

• President Poroshenko said in a video message that the deaths of civilians are the sole responsibility of DNR and LNR militants and expressed his condolences to families who lost their relatives. He stated that he would sign a decree on the next wave of mobilization, but remains committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the Donbass.
• Deputies of Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the law on joint-stock companies, which sets a quorum for meetings of the shareholders - 50% + 1 share. A law on the legalization of private homes, agriculture buildings and holiday houses which were built and rebuilt without appropriate permission. The laws on the establishing of public television broadcasting on the basis of state television and to ban the broadcast of Russian movies and television were adopted in the first reading. Laws on establishing of the public television broadcasting on the basis of state broadcasting, as well as a ban on broadcasting of Russian movies and television productions were adopted in the first reading.
• American billionaire Soros discussed with President Poroshenko programs of assistance for Ukraine by international financial institutions. Soros underlined that Ukraine should carry out a program of reforms which Europe should help to finance.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine must repay about $11 billion of foreign debts in 2015.
• According to the Minister of Finance Yaresko Ukraine is negotiating tax and budget reform with the IMF mission. The amount of the next tranche of a stabilization loan has not been discussed.
• Interior Minister Avakov reported the arrest of the means belonging to the "family" of former President Yanukovych in the Ukrainian and foreign accounts in the amount of about $4 billion.
• Natural gas consumption in December 2014 in Ukraine has decreased by 19% compared with the previous year.
• Ukrainian Navy held joint exercises in the Black Sea with the US destroyer "Donald Cook".
• National Bank set the official hryvnia exchange rate: 15.77 UAH / USD (+0.01 UAH), 18.61 UAH / EUR, 2.51 UAH / 10 RUR (-0.29 UAH).

Events in Kyiv

• Kyiv budget will be considered at a meeting of the Kyiv City Council on January 23.
• Kiev authorities intend to liquidate some unprofitable community utility companies after they reported on their financial and business activities to the Budget Commission of Kyivrada.
• Kyiv Metro insists on raising fares based on their statement that  "underfunding" limits the speed of trains.

War in Ukraine

• Donetsk airport is exposed to intense shelling from heavy artillery, tanks and rocket launchers. Navigation tower collapsed as a result of shelling. Six soldiers were wounded. Militant attacks were repulsed, but at night the shelling of the airport continued. MPs demanded the report from the military command about the situation in the combat zone.
• Militants fired MLRS "Grad" on the Donetsk-Mariupil highway near Volnovakha. Missiles destroyed a passenger bus, killing 11 civilians, 12 - were injured. Traffic on the highway suspended. The prosecutor's office opened a criminal investigation. Chairman of the Special Monitoring Commission of the OSCE  Apakan called on the parties of the conflict in the Donbass to "restrain themself". Ukrainian Ambassador to the EU urged Europe to condemn the terrorist attacks in the Donbass.
• OSCE monitoring mission in the Donbass announced the beginning of joint patrols in Donetsk and Makeyevka by DNR militants, OSCE observers, Russian and Ukrainian officers.
• Shelling of the Ukrainian positions and settlements continue along the front line. Child was killed as a result of militants fire in the village of Granitne.

Ukraine and the World

• US State Department spokesman Harf condemned the escalation of the conflict in Donbass by Russia after the shelling of a civilian bus at Volnovaha, increased attacks on the Donetsk airport and a brutal violation of the obligations under the Minsk Protocol.
• The commander of NATO forces in Europe Breedlove said that achieving of the peace in the Donbass is unlikely due to the concentration of Russian troops in Ukraine and military assistance to terrorists.
• The World Bank predicts a fall in the Russian economy in 2015 by 2.5%. Fitch Ratings Agency lowered the ratings of the largest Russian companies to the level of BBB-. According to Bloomberg, the Russian gas exports fell to a decade low.

Trends

• The presence of the Russian military as members of the joint patrols in the area controlled by the DNR militants without the permission of the Verkhovna Rada indicates t abuse of power and treason of officials who allowed these actions.
• Experts also note that the actions of the OSCE mission in this conflict is not consistent with the mandate of the organization.
• The sharp increase in utility tariffs, according to experts, will initiate payments crisis in the public sector and will lead to the collapse of local budgets.
• Public calls for Ukraine "March of Unity", like the French in connection with the deaths of civilians in Volnovakha, but the government is not willing to carry it out.