03/11/2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - President Poroshenko intends to cancel the legislation on special status of Donbass territories

03/11/2014 Daily Highlights from “Digests & Analytics Ukraine” News Agency

President Poroshenko intends to cancel the legislation on special status of Donbass territories. DPR and LPR proclaimed the results of the “elections”, strike forces have been formed on their territories to continue the aggression

Ukraine

• President Poroshenko in the television appeal to Ukrainian public provided his assessment of the last events in Donbass, as well as declared that he’s going to initiate the cancellation of the legislation on special status of selected districts of Donetsk and Luhans’k regions. He expressed his hopes that pro-European coalition will be formed in the Parliament, the government will be rejuvenated, as well as insisted that the state governance to be decentralized.
• Officials, who’ve been recently fired as per the Law on Authorities Purification, are massively appealing to courts, asking their rights to be renewed.
• NBU will not conduct auctions to replenish cash desks of Ukrainian banks  but instead will hold Dutch auctions, lowering the price until the demand appears. Official exchange rate of Ukrainian hryvna fixed at 12.95 UAH/USD, 16.22 UAH/EUR (-10cop), 3.09 UAH/10 RUB (+10cop). National Bank prognosis of the GDP decline improved to 7%, that is fully in line with forecasts of various international financial institutions.
• Ministry of Fuel and Energy estimated that losses of coal mining due to the combat operations reached 12 mln. tons and mentioned possibility to buy coal from the mines, controlled by terrorists.

Kyiv

• As per realtors assessment, one quarter of all office real estate being non rented in the capital and the amount of empty office space is growing, as business activity declines.

War in Ukraine

• DPR and LPR proclaimed results of their “elections”.
• Militants completed formation of four strike groups on the territory of the occupied Donbass, including 30 thousands of Russian troops and “rebels”, as well as hundreds units of technique, artillery and AAD systems. Russian authorities are actively reformatting local gangs, trying to create capable military units under Russian leadership.
• After the silence day of the “elections” active shellfire and attacks of illegal military units renewed on Ukrainian army strongholds across the frontline. Another strike on Donetsk airport was expelled. Terrorists posed the ultimatum to defenders of the 31 block-post in Luhans’k region.
• Another massive fraud of technical parts and compounds have been recently discovered in Kyiv Armored Vehicles Factory, leading to malfunctioning of the technique stored there.
• As per NATO data, Donbass militants are trained by 300 Russian officers.

International

• UN declared position on the “elections” in DPR and LPR, naming them as useless and stressed, that the later will never be recognized. The US National Security Council Speaker, declared that Russia will pay a high price for breaching the Minsk agreements. French President Hollande urged Russian President Putin not to recognize the “elections”.
  Saudi Arabiy sharply decreased the oil price on World trade platforms, as its transport to the US decreased.
• From August 2014 Russia terminated to publish official data on gaz production and exploration.
• Hungary adopted the law allowing to construct the “South Stream” gaz pipeline on state territory. Previously the country have terminated reverse gas supplies to Ukraine.
• EBRD established the fund to support reforms in Ukraine to fight corruption, development of the banking sector and to reinforce the energy security.

Trends

• Experts believe that regions controlled by terrorists and Crimea should be officially recognized as occupied territories, all economic activities should be terminated as per Georgian-Abkhazian example and country should prepare for the continuation of the military actions against terrorist troops, controlled by Russia.