08/10/2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Ukraine increases its military cooperation with the West

08/10/2014 Daily Highlights from “Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

Heating season in Ukraine will be postponed to deliver energy savings. Ukrainian army is the only one that observes the "silence regimen" in the Donbass combat area. Ukraine increases military collaboration with the West.

Ukraine

• President Poroshenko appointed former SSU chief Smishko to lead the newly created Intelligence Committee.
• Ukraine is ready for the unilateral state border demarkation with Russia if Russia continues to block the process - as Foreign Affairs Representative Perebiynis mentioned during a briefing.
• EU Regional Council and Ukraine will create joint working group for implementation of the decentralization reform.
• Official exchange rate of Ukrainian hryvhya slightly changed: 12.95 UAH/USD (-2 cop), 16.32 UAH/EUR (+3 cop), 3.26 UAH/10 RUR (+2 cop).
• Head of the Parliamentary National Security Committee Lytvyn said that committee members voted against submitting legislation on the non-aligned status of Ukraine to the agenda of the Parliament.
• Managers of the oligarch Kolomoysky now lead the Boryspil International Airport.

Kyiv

• Kyivenergo company announced that the heating season in Kyiv will start in the beginning of November in order to deliver natural gas savings, with the limit of consumption for heating beeing decreased by 80%.
• Capital authorities abandoned plans to extend metro to the biggest residential district Troyeshyna and suggest that the city train and the high-speed tram could be alternative solutions.  

War in Ukraine

• Terrorists immediately breached the mutually agreed «silence regimen». According to Donetsk city authorities data, eight civilians were killed and nine wounded as a result of shelling of Popasnaya, Debaltseve. Ukrainian army positions were shelled as well, resulting in 3 killed and 12 wounded military. DPR «authorities» claimed they have not received any announcements about the cease-fire.
• OSCE observers evidenced massive removal of Ukrainian coal from the country by trucks, and increase of the numbers of military dressed people crossing the state border. Report by the UN Department of Human Rights mentions militants moving from Russia to Ukraine evidenced by observers from August 25 - September 5.
• As mentioned by Foreign Affairs Minister Klimkin, "elections", announced by DPR and LPR terrorists in Donbass, will bring the peace process to a dead end.
• OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine will be expanded by 100 observers and its mandate will be extended for another 6 months.
• The purpose of the invitation of the Swedish military experts to Kyiv is acquisition of new technology, joint production and modernization of weapons to NATO standards.
  Foreign Minister Klimkin said that Ukraine and the Alliance are developing a program of mutual compatibility of the armed forces.

International

• 
  Adviser to the US Minister of Defense Scholly said that the United States has already provided nonlethal military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $116 million and is working on a program of delivery of lethal weapons, as well as the modernization of the Ukrainian fleet.
• UK Foreign Affairs Minister and US Secretary of State urged Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop supporting militants according to the Minsk memorandum.
• European Parliament Committee on Foreign Trade was unable to make a decision on the extension of unilateral trade preferences for Ukraine under the fast-track procedure.
• Oil prices on world markets continue to decline amid rising oil reserves in the United States and lower forecasted growth of the world economy.
• Hungary, after Slovakia declared its readiness to supply non-Russian natural gas to Ukraine starting from January 1, 2015.

Trends

• Experts note that the announced program of reforms "Strategy 2020" by President Poroshenko is nothing more than a set of declarations of intent, and its week-long discussion on the Internet is a show in the style of the draft amendments to the Constitution of the ex-president Viktor Yanukovych times.
• Announced by the government natural gas savings mode and home heating fees increase, introduced without taking any energy-saving measures, weatherization of the heating network and residences, or any stimulation of energy savings, strongly impairs the quality of life of the population.