05/07/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Militants sharply intensified the shellings of Ukrainian army positions in the Donbass

Ukrainian Defence line near Artemivsk

05/07/2015  Daily Highlights  by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from the Media and Social Networks

• Militants sharply intensified the shellings of Ukrainian army positions in Donbass.
• President Poroshenko is asking the UN Secretary General again to deploy the peacekeeping forces.
• Army suffered losses after the shelling with the use of MRLS "Grad" of recently completed defense line.
• Russian spacecraft "Progress" burnt up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Key Events of Ukraine

• President Poroshenko signed a decree on demobilization of persons called up for military service in May and June 2014. The fifth wave of mobilization, which will last until June, started in the country. In 2015, authorities hope to mobilize 200 thousand people.
• The Law on amendments to the Tax Code was signed - certain medications and medical devices, a list of which is determined by the Cabinet, are exempt from the taxes.
• Ministry of Economic Development informed that in accordance with the Association Agreement with the EU nearly third of Ukrainian technical regulation documents out of 29.6 thousand is already adapted to the European standards.
• Energy Minister Demchishin stated that the government will not prolong the emergency measures in the energy sector. Shortly a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on the energy market in the Anti-Terroris Operation area will come into effect, it is aimed at solving the problems with payments in the Donbass and with electricity supply in both directions.
• The debt of "Kyivenergo" to "Naftogaz" makes 13% of all the debts and that was the reason for termination of natural gas supplies before the payments for the consumed natural gas are already fulfilled.
• SBU interrogates the top managers of oligarch Akhmetov companies on the case of the financing of provocative actions under the guise of miners protests in Kiev in April 2015.
• National Bank decreased the hryvnia exchange rate against the major currencies: 20.72 UAH/USD (-0.30 UAH), 23.43 UAH/EUR (-0,18 UAH), 4.11 UAH/10 RUR (-0.09 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• Ukrainian army keeps incurring losses as a result of militant attacks. Near Gorlovka, due to the militants shelling of recently approved by Commission fortifications, at least two soldiers were killed and nine were injured. The situation remains tense near "Bahmutka" route in the Lugansk region and in surroundings of Donetsk and Shyrokine.
• The OSCE documented the facts of shelling of Ukrainian positions with the use of MLRS "Grad" from the Donetsk territory. The militants blocked mission the access to the  checkpoints on the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Lugansk region.
• US Ambassador to Ukraine Payette stated that the pro-Russian militants are intensively preparing to attack and already moved forward to the confrontation line the air-launched ballistic missiles.
• Working subgroup on security in the framework of the Minsk Contact Group will meet in Ukraine on May 19 under coordination of the OSCE.

Ukraine and the World

• US Secretary of State Kerry during the celebration of the Europe Day stated that the EU and the United States support the people of Ukraine in their fight against the Russian aggression.
• PACE President Brasseur thinks that the organization must defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine, despite the desire of some of its members to continue cooperation with Russia.
• Lithuanian President Grybauskaitė called the Russian military aggression the main threat to Europe and urged to ignore the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9.
• Russia agreed with Turkey the future natural gas supplies through the "Turkish stream" pipeline.
• NATO intensified the patrolling of the airspace of the Baltic countries, additional UK fighter aircrafts are placed at the air base in Estonia.
• President Poroshenko during the official visit to Poland, along with other European leaders attended a ceremony to commemorate those killed in World War II.
• German Foreign Minister Steinmeier considers that the beginning of the working sub-groups activities on solving the crisis in the Donbass region will allow to advance to a new phase of implementation of the Minsk agreements.

The Trends

• Despite the escalation of tension in the Donbass, the increased number of dead and wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, the administration of the President of Ukraine keeps claiming that the Minsk agreements can not be considered completely wrecked since Ukraine fulfills them absolutely, while Russia fulfills them only "from time to time".