21.08.2014 Daily Highlights by “Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

Ukraine

• Military equipment and units, that will participate in the Independence Day parade in Kyiv, will afterwards depart to the combat area in Donbass.

• As claimed by the advisor of the President Poroshenko, parliament could be dismissed on August 27th. Existing parliamentary elections law allows elections through majority districts. This is being considered as an approach to obtain significant number of votes by the Party of Ukrainian Development, a direct heir of the Party of Regions.

• National Bank pushed back the exchange rate of Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH) slightly: 13.11 UAH / 1$ (+11 cop), 17.42 UAH / 1€ (+24 cop), 3.62 UAH / 10 RUR (+4 cop).

• President Poroshenko decided to sell his business via the Rothschild investment company. From Ukrainian side the deal will be conducted by the company “Investment Capital Ukraine”, which's ex-general manager, Gontareva, became the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine.

• Yandex Statistic of social networks in Ukraine: first place by the number of users belongs to “Vkontakte” (more than 27 million users), second - “Odnoklassnik” (around 11 millions), third is Facebook (3.2 millions) and Twitter is being used by 430 thousands of Ukrainians.

• As assessed by the market players, volume of the tourism services in Ukraine shrunk by 30-50%. That is due to the warfare and sharp devaluation of the local currency. Economy tours represent majority of sales on international routes, many charters being cancelled or combined.   

Kyiv

• Kyiv city administration has opened access to all official document archives except some containing personal data. The latter types of documents will be accessible via a written request after sensitive information is taken out. At the same time Kyiv City Administration illegally limited access of citizens to open commission meetings, including the commission on land.

War in Ukraine

• Terrorists shell residential areas of cities under their control. Museum of local lore have been seriously damaged during shelling of Donets’k but stadium of Akhmetov haven’t got hurt. None of the buildings belonging to Akhmetov and Yanukovych family had suffered. Luhans’k balances on the edge of humanitarian catastrophe, being 19 days without water and electricity supply, telephone and mobile networks, as well as continuously shelled by terrorists. Monument on Savur-Mohyla crashed down after the shelling.

• Red Cross representatives receive guarantees of security from the terrorists, controlling Luhans’k region, and are ready to accompany Russian «humanitarian convoy» to Luhans’k. Ukraine insists that both Ukrainian and Russian humanitarian aid reach Luhans’k simultaneously.

• Heavy and protracted fights are ongoing within the limits of the cities of Donbass, the heaviest ones - in Ilovays’k and in close proximity to the strategic height Savur-Mohyla.

• NSDC doesn't foresee reasons to change the format of the operation in Donbass, as facts of massive Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine are absent.

International

• German Chancellor Merkel stressed that Germany will not send troops to Ukraine and Iraq. She said that military instructors could be sent to Iraq. However, she insists that conflict in Ukraine should be resolved via diplomatic means.

• In response to the Russian proposal of the resolution for UN Security Council, which contained a call for cease-fire in Donbass for the period of the humanitarian aid delivery, US Department of State representative stated that the US doesn't foresee any reason to involve the UN in the cease-fire process, as terrorists continue to shell civilians and block delivery of the humanitarian aid.

• Secretary general of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen stressed that the alliance is seriously involved in reinforcement of the joint defense and considers direct Russian invasion in Ukraine as possible.

Trends

• Russia is aiming to get the maximum flow of refugees from eastern Ukraine, aiming to settle them in Siberia, Far East and Northern Territories. A federal program has been developed for the quick grant of citizenship and systematic air transportation of refugees to remote areas, which they can’t afterwards escape lacking necessary funds.