Digests & Analytics Ukraine

18-24.08.2014 | Weekly Highlights by “Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

War In Ukraine

• DNR militants celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day by parading Ukrainian hostages and POWs on the streets of Donets'k and trampling on Ukrainian flag.
• Half-empty “humanitarian convoy” from Russia containing more than 200 trucks has broken through the border avoiding inspection by Ukrainian border guards. It did not include International Red Cross personnel as well. Within 24 hours it left Ukrainian territory again avoiding inspection. Media reports have been circulated that on the way back the convoy carried equipment of Ukrainian military plants and bodies of Russian military personnel killed in action on Ukrainian territory.
• Massive shellings of Ukrainian towns in the Russian border zone are continuing. They use heavy artillery and internationally banned cluster bombs.
• Intense fighting with use of tanks and heavy artillery is ongoing in Donets'k region near strategic height of Savur-Mohyla and in the town of Illovays'k.
• Cities and towns under terrorists control are subjected to continuous shelling by militants in order to cause panic among civilians. Dozens of civilians are dying. Civilian infrastructure is getting destroyed.
  Luhansk, which for three weeks has no running water or electricity and there is no garbage pickup, is on the edge of humanitarian catastrophe. Russian “humanitarian help” can not change the situation. Terrorists do not allow Ukrainian humanitarian help accompanied by Red Cross personnel to enter the region.
  Civilians can not leave the fighting zone as the transport communications are cut. Terrorists are using civilians as human shield and shell civilian convoys leaving the area with Grad rockets and firearms.
• SBU and police are catching dozens of saboteurs and subversive groups over all regions of Ukraine. Unfortunately, they can not prevent all terrorist acts.
  Kiev is overwhelmed by a wave of reports of civilian infrastructure mining. Luckily, the reports so far were false alarms but they have significant costs attached.
• Intensified fighting caused significant increase in the number of refugees from the Donbass region. Russia is sending refugees to underpopulated and underdeveloped regions in the North, over the Ural mountains, the Siberia and the Far East.

Politics

• 
  Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day by holding a military parade in Kiev and war ship parade in Odessa.
• German Chancellor A. Merkel has paid an official visit to Ukraine, which didn’t produce any significant advances in the economic or political issues.
• In the context of upcoming parliamentary elections, President Poroshenko held consultations with parliamentary fraction leaders, which by law should precede the dissolution of the parliament. In an interview with main TV channels, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that in the nearest future a clear and and transparent plan for country development will be presented. He also noted that it is already time for negotiations on the future majority coalition in the parliament.
• Heads of states meeting between Ukraine and the “Eurasian three” - Russian, Belarus and Kazakhstan will be held on August 26 in order to discuss implementation of Ukraine association agreement with EU.
• The Minister of Economic Development. P. Sheremeta has submitted his resignation. He will continue his duties until the parliament accepts his resignation.

Economy

• National Bank is attempting to handle a sharp drop in the valuation of the national currency Hryvnya by introducing a requirement to sell 100% of foreign currency income for exporters and also by special measures against banks that destabilize the exchange market. For the period from July 24th, Hryvnya fell by 14% against the dollar. Current exchange rate is UAN 13,37/$1, which constitutes a historical low. The rate drop is related to the slowdown in manufacturing and in the economy in general as a result of war in the East of the country.
  At the same time direct state debt has been reduced by $284 mln. National Bank has reserved more than $3bln for gas delivery payments in the event an agreement with Gasprom is reached.
• Kiev’s gas and water municipal service companies Kievvodokanal and Kievgas have been returned to the collective population ownership by a court.
• Assets of the Vetek, a company belonging to billionaire Kurchenko, have been arrested. The owner is closely connected to the “family” circle of the former President Yanukovich.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk has promised to return to the state the dividends that the company Ukrnafta hasn’t paid for several years, and also to figure out the fate of 606 thousands of tons of “technological oil”, which supposedly “disappeared” from a pipeline.
• President Poroshenko has chosen investment company Rothschild for managing the sale of his business assets. Company “Investment Capital Ukraine” will be responsible for the process from the Ukrainian side. Current chief of the National Bank Gontareva is a former director of the company.
• The government has allocated more than $9bln Hryvna for the needs of military personnel, who are participating in the anti-terrorist operation, and their families.
• Ukrainian Government is expecting a new tranche of the stand-by credit from IMF during the last week of August.