15/01/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Parliament approved a presidental decree on the mobilization in 2015

01/15/2015 Daily Highlights by "Digests and Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

Parliament approved a presidental decree on the mobilization in 2015. Call-up of citizens for military service was renewed. Fierce fighting is continuing in the Donetsk airport . OSCE announced that the militants fired at the Ukrainian army from residential areas. Armenians protest against Russian military presence.

Key Events In Ukraine

• Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Groisman said that the parliament is working on the resolution to recognise the DPR and LPR as terrorist organizations.
• Parliament authorized unpaid leave for employees of enterprises in the zone of conflict in the Donbass until the end of hostilities.
• The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law which renewed a call up for military service and set eligible age up to 27 years. The period of military service extended to 18 months, but persons with higher education will serve 12 months. The Parliament adopted a presidential decree on holding in 2015 three stages of partial mobilization.
  NSDC Secretary Turchynov announced the establishing of military reserve. People from the reserve could be called up to the service on the orders of commanders of military units bypassing the recruitment offices.
• Law on trial in absentia, allowing to convict fugitives wanted internationally and hiding in the occupied territories is adopted by Parliament.
• President Poroshenko signed a law on the tax compromise, enabling businesses to voluntarily pay the corrected obligations under the VAT and income tax within 90 days at 5 percent rate. He also used the veto power to the law on the impossibility of repossession of property from persons who have taken loans in foreign currency .
• The National Council for Radio and Television issued a warning to the TV channel "Inter" as the results of monitoring its broadcasting during New Year's Eve, as well as asiigned inspections of the top five television stations for compliance with the legislation. Representatives of "Inter" announced that the Council had no reason for such warning.
• President Poroshenko appointed former head of the National Bank Kubiv as his representative in the Verkhovna Rada.
• The three largest mobile operator are participating in the tender for the construction of 3G networks. Results will be announced on February, 16.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate does not change: 15.78 UAH / USD (+0.01 UAH),18.58 UAH/EUR, 2,37 UAH / 10 RUR (-0.05 UAH)

War in Ukraine

• Fierce fighting is continuing in the Donetsk airport. Militants and soldiers of the regular Russian army advanced into practically destroyed building of the new terminal but were kicked out as a result of defenders counterattack. The attackers suffered heavy losses. Ukrainian army received reinforcements and holds the airport. Occupants keep airport and it neighborhoods under fire. More than a hundred attacks and shelling of positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements was recorded this day. Power outages began in the Donetsk as a result of those shelling. OSCE observers have recorded that the firing was carried out from positions in residential areas. The Russian army concentrates reserves near Donetsk, Debaltsevo and Schastya and trying to build a regular "army of New Russia". According to the secretary of the NSDC Turchinov, 36 thousand Russian militants are fighting against the Ukrainian army, among them - 7,500 members of the regular forces of the Russian Federation with more than 500 tanks, hundreds of units of artillery, multiple rocket launchers and armored vehicles, 4 missile complex "Tochka-U", air defense systems and other equipment. More than 50 thousand troops are located near the state border with Ukraine and are ready for the invasion.
• According to the OSCE, a meeting of the contact group to resolve the crisis in the Donbass took place in Kyiv without the presence of terrorist "republics" representatives. Participating parties want to see representatives of the DPR and the LNR which are authorized to make decisions at the peace talks
• Analysis of the video proving that a bus with civilians in Volnovakha was destroyed by missiles from the MLRS "Grad" launched from the territory controlled by the rebels is distributed via the Internet.

Ukraine and the World

• The European Parliament adopted a decision on strengthening sanctions against Russia which may be approved at the forthcoming meeting in March. MPs condemn "hybrid" Russian military aggression against Ukraine and said that it presents a potential threat to the EU.
• NATO deploys rapid reaction force in the countries in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Russian Federation.
• As the result of negotiations between the presidents of Ukraine and Kazakhstan it was announced that the meeting of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany to resolve the conflict in the Donbass could be held in Astana (Kazakhstan) in late January.
• US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Merkel discussed the financial assistance and the peaceful settlement in Ukraine. State Department spokesman Harf said that the United States policy doesn’t aimed for confrontation with Russia, but Moscow violates the agreement to settle the conflict in Ukraine.
• German Chancellor believes that Russia dropped out of the "Big Eight" because of the violation of the principles of international law and will not participate in the next summit of G7.
• Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu stated that Ukraine should remain a major transit country for Russian gas, but Turkey's role in the supply of hydrocarbons to Europe should increase, particularly due to supplies from Azerbaijan and Iran.
• Armenian people hold protest actions against the Russian presence in the country as a result of the murder of Armenian family by Russian servicemen. Clashes taking place between protesters and police.

Trends

• Liquidation of the bank owned by the interior minister Avakov declared illegal. The public notes once again that officials continue to combine commercial activities with the public service.
• Another manager of the company "Roshen" appointed Head of State Commission for Regulation of prices of energy supply and utilities. New officer is 24 years old.