04/20/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - US Vice President Biden promised Ukraine credit guarantees for $1 billion

US Vice President Biden

04/20/2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics frin the Media and Social Networks

• US Vice President Biden promised Ukraine credit guarantees for $1 billion.
• Court released from prison scandalous son of deputy Landik.
• The judge who released Landik might be prosecuted.
• Militants shot up the car of the former director of the state coal enterprise "Shahtarskantratsit".
• Communists restored monument to Lenin in the Zaporozhye region.
• The government is trying to introduce a mandatory registration of mobile subscribers.

Key Events of Ukraine

• Vice President Biden promised Ukraine credit guarantees in the amount of $1 billion and humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced persons and the population affected by the hostilities.
• Energy Minister Demchishin reported that of the 95 operating mines on the territory controlled by Ukraine remain only 35, at that anthracite which is being burned is not mined there, only gas coal and a bit of coal suitable for carbonization are available there. The only station that can burn this coal is Vuhlehirska power station which is already operating at full capacity. Wage arrears to miners in amount of $400 million will be paid out before May. Ukraine stopped paying for electricity supplies from Russia to the occupied part of the Donbass.
• The judge of Svatovskyi court released from prison the son of former Party of Regions MP Landik convicted on the resonant case about beating a woman. Verhovna Rada MP Gerashchenko has promised to bring the judge to responsibility for the unjust decision.
• Hryvnia exchange rate against major currencies significantly decreased: 22.25 UAH/UAH (+1.20 USD), 23.86 UAH/EUR (+1,09 UAH), 4.32 USD / 10RUR (+0.15 UAH).

Kyiv Life

• Standard & Poor's agency lowered the long-term foreign currency credit rating of the capital from "junk" CC rating to default CCC- after the government's announcement about the restructuring of Kiev Eurobonds for the amount of $ 500 million.

Ukraine at War

• Militants keep attacking the positions of the Ukrainian army with heavy equipment. Despite the OSCE mission claims, Shirokine was under fire from heavy mortars. In Avdeeka a local resident was killed, in Peski at least two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and one was wounded. OSCE observers confirmed that Avdiyivka is under the MLRS “Grad” shelling from the territory controlled by the militants.
• Former director of the State Enterprise "Shahterskantratsit" and his wife were killed as a result of shelling of their car by the militants on the occupied territory.
• In Kharkov, there was another terrorist attack - a car was blown up. The city authorities canceled all public events until May 10. Police and Security Service started to work in intense regime.

Ukraine and the World

• OSCE Secretary General Zannier said about a good chance of settling in the Donbass, because the parties removed a lot of weapons. However, there is still a risk of marked  aggravation there. The OSCE Mission reported that a lot of militants armoured vehicles and heavy artillery disappeared from the current location, but the new locations are unknown.
• IMF Managing Director Lagarde stated that Ukraine has demonstrated progress in implementing the reforms recommended by the Fund. This gives the grounds for the provision of the next tranche of the credit.

The Trends

• Many energy facilities and coal mines, located within the occupied territories and close to the conflict zone, can be destroyed in the course of fighting. Ukraine needs to develop alternative energy sources, especially renewables and dramatically reduce network losses to save the power system in the event of the pro-Russian militants offensive in the Donbass.
• The government is trying to push through one of the norms of the "dictatorial" Yanukovych laws on compulsory registration of the mobile subscribers. The mobile services providers point out the unreality of this procedure due to the huge number of prepaid subscribers (about 40 million SIM-cards) and presence of the subscribers in the occupied territory.