19/11/2014 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Problems of temporary displaced persons. Buildup of Russia’s military presence in Ukraine.

19/11/2014 Daily Highlights from "Digest & Analytics" news agency

Topics of the day

Problems of temporary displaced persons. Buildup of Russia’s military presence in Ukraine. Prosecutor General's report on the investigation into the persecution of activists of the Maidan.

Ukraine

• Poroshenko President signed the law "On ensuring the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons", which regulates registration, employment and social assistance for temporary migrants from the war zone in the Donbass. The President instructed the Cabinet to further fine-tune the law and prepare regulations for its implementation.
• The Cabinet approved the draft presidential decree on unilateral demarcation of the border with Russia.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that the government does not intend to conduct any negotiations with the militants.
• CEC officially registered pilot Savchenko as a national deputy, who was captured by militants and is held captive in Russia.
• The coalition agreement is practically reached. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk is ready to sign it in its current form and then have it refined in the course of the work of Parliament.
• Former Ukrainian President Kuchmawho, who conducted Minsk negotiations on behalf of Ukraine, called their continuation futile, because neither Russia nor  militants it controls do not fulfill the agreements reached. He believes that the United States should be involved in the talks.
• Prosecutor General's Office announced suspicion in crimes against Maidan activists to 47 persons and stated that almost all documentation of security agencies for that period was destroyed. Cases of illegal detention and persecution of AutoMaidan activists are under investigation. Foreign media claim that because of inactivity of Ukrainian law enforcement bodies, the EU may cancel the prosecution and seizure of assets of the entourage of former President Yanukovych.
• National Bank continues to gradually strengthen the hryvnia: 15.20 UAH / $ (-6 cop.), 19.02 UAH / € (-5 cop.), 3.22 UAH / 10 RUB.
• National Bank is ready to give stabilization loans to commercial banks against liquid integral property complexes.

Kyiv

• Prime Minister Yatseniuk proposed to dismiss 10% of the Kiev administration officials. Mayor Klitschko demands from the government to finance the budget deficit of Kyiv worth about 1.7 billion USD, of which 700 million are funds for the payment of wages.

War in Ukraine

• The militants have changed tactics and are now less likely to openly attack positions of Ukrainian army, preferring to conduct massive shellings. Debaltseve, Donetsk airport, the area of Volnovakha-Granite, and the "Bahmutka" road are current hot spots. Two soldiers were killed and 13 wounded during the day.
• OSCE monitoring mission claims that hundreds of Russian troops penetrate Ukraine daily just through one crossing point on the border of Russia controlled by the mission. Wounded move in the opposite direction. The UK government’s Minister for European Affairs has called the presence of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine a proven fact. NATO intelligence confirms that there is a stream of Russian troops, tanks, artillery and other weapons of war flowing to the east of Ukraine.
• Sources among the local people say that armored and motorized infantry divisions from Siberia and the Far East are deployed at the border with Ukraine. Conscripts in Russian are converted to contract service and warned about the possibility of participating in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.
• National Bank warns of attempts to destabilize the country's financial system by terrorists DPR and LPR via issuing counterfeit hryvnia and foreign currency.

International

• The Hungarian Government has decided to continue the construction of the gas pipeline "South Stream", despite direct prohibition by the European Commission and the US opposition.
• NATO officials are surprised by Russian demands on guarantees Ukraine would not join the Alliance.
• After talks in Moscow, German Foreign Minister said that the situation in the Donbas is far from de-escalation.
• International financial institutions are skeptical about the prospects of the Russian ruble and predict a further decline in its value against the background of falling energy demand and economic stagnation in Russia.

Trends

• Tension is growing in areas controlled by LPR and DPR militants due to the lack of means for subsistence in the population. According to experts, food riots will not be able to force Russia to fold the project of destabilizing Ukraine by means of “Novorossiya”.