03/12/2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The situation in the energy sector of Ukraine becomes critical

03/12/2014 Daily Highlights from "Digest & Analytics" news agency

Topics of the day 

The situation in the energy sector of Ukraine becomes critical. The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada are dividing committees. Fighting in the Donetsk airport, Avdiyivka and Pisky do not cease, despite the declared "truce".

Ukraine

• Deputies approved the appointment of heads of parliamentary committees.
• Concern "Ukroboronprom" contracts for the supply of arms to Pakistan for virtually of all manufactured item types.
• The sharp depreciation of the hryvnia has led to a rise in the cost of foreign currency loans and an increase in government debt in national currency, which exceeded 1 trillion UAH.
• Due to the lack of supply of coal from the mines in the areas controlled by the rebels, stocks in the five major thermal power plant are reduced to several days worth. The newly appointed Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Demchishin announced the beginning of negotiations with Russia on the import of electricity and the need to purchase coal from all suppliers around the world. Ukraine will prepay Russia for 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas within a day.
  Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that the deficit of the "Naftogaz" company is larger than the budget deficit.
• OSCE representative Mijatovic called established in Ukraine “Ministry of the truth” a threat to freedom of speech and noted that the Ministry will not be able to help in the fight against propaganda.
• National Bank continues to weaken the hryvnia: 5.19 UAH / $ (+0.09 USD), 18.86 UAH / € (+0.02 UAH), UAH 2.99 / 10 rubles (-0.07 UAH). Quotes on the interbank market at the end of the day rose to the level of 15.25-15.60 UAH / $. Cash dollars at exchange offices also went up by an average of 0.1 UAH.

Kyiv

• In connection with the difficult situation in the energy sector, rolling blackouts are beginning in Kyiv and the region.

War In Ukraine

• Fierce fighting continues in Donetsk airport, Avdiyivka and Pisky. Meeting of a group of Russian and Ukrainian military on the cease-fire issue "successfully" took place in the Donbas, but rebel shelling of Ukrainian positions from residential areas increased.
• OSCE drone was fired at during monitoring mission near Mariupol from the territory controlled by the DPR. Militants shelled the outskirts of Mariupol, towns of Schastya, Stanitsa Luganska, Debaltseve.
• Guerrilla activity intensified In the rear of Russian troops in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Four officers of the Federal Security Service of Russia were shot in Donetsk. Attacks on small armored columns and separate groups of militants became more frequent.
• Ex-President Kuchma said that the peace talks in "Minsk" format may be resumed next week.

International

• President Obama said that the US and the EU will continue coordinated economic pressure on Russia, which has refused a diplomatic solution to the problem of Donbas and violates the embargo against Iran.
• President of the European Parliament Tusk and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg in a joint statement urged Russia to stop destabilization in Ukraine.
• Presidents of Ukraine and the European Parliament agreed to hold the 17th EU-Ukraine summit in late January - early February in Kiev.
• The European Commission is preparing for the third phase of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. Assistance will be provided simultaneously with the next tranche of IMF loan.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused NATO of provoking the crisis in Europe through NATO enlargement to the east and imposing their own approaches to the world community as the only correct ones.
• Russian leadership has introduced anti-terrorist operation regime in Grozny, where Chechen militants seized one of the buildings in the city center and killed several policemen.
• Belarus President Lukashenko said that the Russian ban of supplies of Belarusian products violates all agreements of the Customs Union.

Trends

• Puppet "governments” of DPR and LPR are unable to cope with the problems of the region in the absence of support from the Russian Federation while plundering the available funds, so they are not planning to introduce their own "currency" and passports.