27/01/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia as an aggressor

01/27/2015 Daily Highlights by "Digests and Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

The Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia as an aggressor. Senior military officers engaged in a combat in Donbas may avoid lustration from the armed forces. PACE calls on Russia to free Ukrainian pilot Ms. Savchenko.

Key Events In Ukraine

• The Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution, which calls on the international organizations to recognize the fact of aggression and occupation of the territory of Ukraine by Russia and to take steps necessary to restore internationally recognized borders.
  In the first reading, the Parliament also approved legal steps towards recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk “republics” (DNR and LNR) as terrosrist organizations in the first reading.  The rebel leaders said that if the LNR and DNR were recognized as terrorist organizations, any negotiations to resolve the situation in Donbass would not take place.
• The Rada approved changes to the law "On Purification of Power," according to which the combat officers needed in the area of military operations could be exempted from lustration by the justified request to the President.
• President Poroshenko sent a letter to the Russian President Putin demanding implementation of the Minsk agreements and the release of Verkhovna Rada member pilot Savchenko.
• During the mourning events in the memory of Holocaust victims, President Poroshenko pointed out the role of Ukrainian military in the liberation of Europe from Nazis, and denounced Russia for grossly violating the norms of international law, existing borders, and  the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians in the occupied territories.
• The official FX rate of hryvnia slightly dropped again: 15.90 UAH / USD (+0.09 UAH), 17.88 UAH / EUR (+0,11 UAH) 2.42 UAH / 10 RUR (-0.07 UAH).

Kyiv Life

• The city authorities will double public transport fares starting February 7-8.

Ukraine at war

• Militants shelled Svetlodars'k hospital causing numerous victims among the civilian population. Mortar fire also hit Luhans'k, Happiness, Popasna, Avdiyivka, Dzerzhins'k, Donets'k, Maryinka. Car bomb exploded in a terrorist attack at the checkpoint near Marinka.
• The situation remains extremely difficult in the area of the Debaltseve foothold with DNR rebels amassing high number of armored vehicles and artillery in attempt to encircle several thousand Ukrainian military.
• The Ukrainian rocket artillery strike destroyed Mospino airfield, which could potentially be used by Russian aviation.
• According to the "Flightglobal Insight's World Air Forces in 2015" Annual Report the Ukrainian Air Force is reduced by almost half to 222 combat units due to the annexation of Crimea, combat losses and the poor state of the aircraft.
• The Official statistics of the United Nations reported that more than 5 thousand people have been killed and more then 11.5 thousand have been wounded as a result of hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine and the World

• The EU finance ministers agreed to provide medium-term loans to Ukraine in 2015-2016 in the amount of 1.8 billion euros.
• The PACE adopted a resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and urged Russia to stop financing the terrorism, and to release Ukrainian MP Savchenko and other prisoners. A Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation considers the release of Savchenko from prison without any decision by the Russian court as unacceptable.
• The US President Barack Obama and the German Chancellor Merkel agreed on bringing Russia to account for the escalation of the conflict in the east of Ukraine and to provide strong financial assistance to Ukraine based on successful implementation of reforms in order to ensure economic growth in the country.
• The head of Gazprom and the Turkish Energy Minister at the meeting in Ankara agreed on speedy construction of a new gas pipeline "Turkish flow" through the Black Sea, bypassing Ukraine. The start of the second stage is scheduled for late 2016.

Trends

• The recognition of the DNR and LNR “republics” as terrorist organizations eliminates a possibility to resolve the situation in Donbass through negotiations, and is contrary to the original peace plan proposed by President Poroshenko.