August 27, 2015

08/26/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The contact group in Minsk agreed to cease fire in the Donbass by September, 1

The contact group in Minsk agreed to cease fire in the Donbass by September, 1
OSCE Representative to the contact group in Minsk Saydik

08.26.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

  • The contact group in Minsk agreed to cease fire in the Donbass by September, 1.
  • The General Prosecutor’s Office demands from Akhmetov’s "Kyivenergo" to return UAH 3 billion  to "Naftogaz".
  • Air in Kiev is smoggy because of the burning peat bogs near the city.

Key Events in Ukraine

  • President Poroshenko enacted the NSDC decision to protect the property interests of Ukraine in connection to the temporary occupation of the territory.
  • Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Galibarenko was appointed an Ambassador to the United Kingdom .
  • Head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Sytnic announced about the completion of the contest for the positions of detectives - the Service recruited 70 people.
  • Minister of Energy Demchishn said that the district heating companies are the main natural gas debtors. The largest electricity debtors are the water service companies and mines.
  • The "Ukrenergo" mangement announced about insufficient reserves of coal at power plants and water in reservoirs, which could cause the rolling blackouts during the winter season. The company's management hopes to avoid the collapse of the power system by importing the electricity from Russia.
  • The World Bank agreed on the allocation of $ 500 million to Ukraine, intented for  measures aimed at economic growth, establishment of transparency in the management systems and reducing of the cost of conducting the business in the country. The allocation of $ 300 million by Japan and $ 24 million by Norway for the same purposes was also agreed upon.
  • Prime Minister Yatsenyuk informed about the record balances in the Treasury bills. He appealed to the Minister of Finance and Head of the NBU with the request to analyze the risks from developments in the global financial markets and to provide possible scenarios of the situation development in Ukraine.
  • After a sharp plummeting of the official hryvnia exchange rate on Tuesday, it fell same fast: 21,643 ₴/$ (-1,20 UAH), 24,43 ₴/€ (-1,60 UAH), 3,09 ₴/10 ₽ (-0 14 UАН). Deputy Minister of Finance Umansky sees no reason for the sharp devaluation of the hryvnia after the devaluation of the CIS currencies, decrease in the commodity prices and foreign exchange indexes.

Ukraine at War

  • In the Donbass the situation escalates again. Militants are shelling the positions of the Ukrainian army using the heavy artillery and MLRS "Grad". The surroundings of Donetsk and Mariupol are remaining the flash points. Popasnay and towns near Artemivsk came under the fire. During the fighting, two soldiers were killed, 10 were wounded. In the ​​fighting area  in Maryinka many civilians were injured.
  • Observers recorded the transfer by militants to the fighting line  of the self-propelled artillery systems "Peon" with the caliber of 203 mm, which can hit a target at a distance of 40 km. Intelligence reports on the increased number of unmarked Russian military in the occupied territories . Another "Putin’s convoy " invaded the territory of Ukraine.
  • In Minsk the next stage of the contact group negotiations on the settlement of the military conflict in the Donbass with the participation of representatives of the unrecognized republics took place. A member of the OSCE Saydik claimed about reaching another ceasefire agreement by September 1.
  • The Heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk military-civilian administrations suggested not to conduct the elections to 174 local councils for security reasons.
  • Justice Minister Petrenko informed about opening in the country of 126 free legal assistance centers for migrants and people affected by the Russian aggression. In these centers It will be possible to formalize the claims to the European Court of Human Rights regarding the compensation for the damage by Russia. According to him, after the adoption of the decision in the first case in favor of the Ukrainian citizens, all other cases will be considered typical and an accelerated procedure will be used  for them.

Ukraine and the World

  • The Press service of the White House announced that President Obama and Chancellor Merkel discussed at a meeting the worsening of the situation in the Donbass, and Germany's role in curbing the migration crisis in Europe. Obama noted the Ukraine's progress in implementing the commitments under the peaceful settlement plan.

The Trends

  • According to some experts, the unification of the three ruling parties - "UDAR", "Poroshenko Blok" and "People’s Front" - into one megaparty can repeat the scenario of 2002, 2007 and 2011, when the union of political forces led to a significant reduction in their overall rating, and subsequent withdrawal from the the political arena. One possible reason of this could be the neutralizing of Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s influence on the situation in the country by the Poroshenko team  with the gradual dissolution of the Yatsenyuk’s party in the general project.

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