24/10/2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Russian President Putin claimed Russian right to intervene into internal affairs of other states

24/10/2014 Daily Highlights from “Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

Early parliamentary elections campaign have finished in Ukraine. Law enforcement agencies are preparing for defending elections against terrorist threats. Russian President Putin claimed Russian right to intervene into internal affairs of other states during the Valday forum in Sochi.

Ukraine

• The last day of the early parliamentary elections campaign was on record for being full of political advertising and TV shows. Saturday will be «the silence day», when any political advertising is be banned.
• According to information from the Justice Minister Petrenko, additional elections should be conducted afterwards in the districts, where normal elections are impossible due to the combat actions.
• The Government allocated extra resources for salaries for the combat actions participants in Donbass.

• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk announced that the Government has prepared the 2015 budget proposal based on the new tax base and that it should be adopted immediately.
• While speaking at a launch event of the new units of the Dnister Hydropower Station, President Poroshenko declared that for the electricity price for consumers to go down, a transparent system of tariffs formation should be put in place, which should lead to lower costs of production.
• NBU keeps the exchange rate stable: 12.95 UAH/USD, 16.40 UAH/EUR (-3 cop), 3.12 UAH/10 RUB (-4 cop).

Kyiv

• Law enforcement agencies are investigating massive financial fraud with the mayor office. Mayor Klitschko asked to be personally informed about key facts of corruption and bribery.

War in Ukraine

• Donetsk has been shelled for the whole day. Major roads have been partially closed for military convoys moving toward the airport and Debaltseve. Ukrainian Army positions near Mariupol, Votnovaha and Smile were shelled as well.
• SSU is capturing spies, subversives and mass riots saboteurs throughout Ukraine, some of them holding Russian citizenship. Ukrainian security services, possessing information on possible terrorist attacks during the early parliamentary elections, implemented strong preventive measures.
• According to data of the Head of Luhansk regional administration, around 150 thousands persons are moving through the conflict line in Donbass. Many of them go to buy food, receive pensions and social security payments, as LPR and DPR terrorists are not paying them out.
• According to official statement of the UN Council of Human Rights, more than 3,800 persons have died in Eastern Ukraine during the conflict. However, the real number of casualties could be way higher.

International

• While speaking to the advisory board of the Valday Club in Sochi, President Putin literally justified future illegal elections, шчицч DPR and LPR terrorists are supposed to conduct, as well as declared that situation in Donbass will go nowhere if somebody considerс to use force. On top of that, he recognized the fact of Russian army participation to Crimea annexation, as well as declared the right of “powerful players” to intervene into the internal affairs of the other states. In his opinion, the Western sanctions will not change Russian foreign policy. Putin conceded that Russia helped former president of Ukraine to escape and provided him with asylum. According to Ukrainian security services, Russia provided Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Azarov with citizenship.
• While speaking at the UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the military conflict and human rights violation in Ukraine, Russian ambassador Churkin said  that Russia is going to solve all problems in Crimea without intervention from Kyiv authorities. The Council participants unambiguously opposed any elections, which terrorist “republics” DPR and LPR are going to conduct.
• Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO Allied Command Operations Philip M. Breedlove said that Russian troops haven’t been withdrawn from Ukrainian territory and moved away from the country border, being in full readiness to strike. Nato Secretary General urged Russia to withdraw all troops from Ukraine before the parliamentary elections.
• Frequent military provocations by Russian armed forces are forcing the US, NATO and Alliance allies to put their military units on alert.
• German Chancellor Merkel during the negotiations with Russian President Putin stressed, that elections in Donetsk should be conducted in accordance to the Ukrainian laws and that the contact group on Ukraine should meet shortly.
• European Council maintained sanctions against Russia, supported political and economic reforms in Ukraine, and expressed hope that natural gas negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the EU are going to be successful.
• Romania doesn’t need the “south stream” Gazprom pipeline, as it plans to export gas from new fields and solely through its own company Transgaz.

Trends

• Experts and journalists are saying that intervention of President Poroshenko in the economic activities of Ukraine contradicts with the principles of the parliamentary-presidential republic, declared in the current constitution.
• Russia seized the right to build new world order and intervene in internal affairs of other sovereign states, that demands from Ukraine to revise its defense doctrine and pushes towards NATO membership.