02/02/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - A well-known Ukrainian singer Scriabin died in a traffic accident

02/02/2015 Daily Highlights by "Digests and Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

President Poroshenko decided to create yet another Constitutional Commission. Heavy fighting continued on Debaltseve foothold. A well-known Ukrainian singer Scriabin died in a traffic accident. US and Germany still refuse to supply weapons to Ukraine.

Key Events In Ukraine

• The decree appointing former President Leonid Kuchma as an official representative of Ukraine in the tripartite contact group to settle the conflict in the Donbass appeared on the official website of the President Poroshenko. The uncertain Kuchma status at the negotiations was used as a formal rejection of their continuation by rebel leaders.
• President Poroshenko at a meeting of the National Council of the reforms proposed to revise the terms of judicial reform and begin the process of lustration in the judiciary. He plans to establish a Commission to amend the Constitution before end of the week.
• Ukrainian singer Andriy Kuzmenko ("Skryabin”) died in a traffic accident in the Dnipropetrovsk region. He was known for his criticism of the authorities. Mourning rally in his memory was held in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities.
• Oligarch Firtash company purchased a stake in the Russian TV channel "Inter" and took total control over it.
• Officials of the General Staff wants to introduce a certificates for reservists by the recruiting office which will be required to leave country, as well as to go outside the administrative districts. It is contradicting the Constitution.
• Voting in Parliament to amend the Constitution to abolish parliamentary immunity is scheduled for February 5.
• Ukraine continues to fall in the ranking of "electronic government": during four years from 2010 to 2014 it dropped its position from 54th place to 87. The first place was awarded to South Korea.
• Minister of Economic Development and Trade Abromavicius said that  Russia has ceased to be the most important market for Ukraine by the end of the last year.
• IMF mission continues its work in Ukraine. The mission visited the factory of the leading Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer "Antonov". IMF considers inefficient combining of the owner and controller functions in one entity and is ready to assist Ukraine in the privatization of state-owned enterprises.
• National Bank of Ukraine is abolishing indicative FX rate. On February 5 a single rate based on the FX market value will be used for the calculations. On February 2, the hryvnia exchange rate was recorded as: 16.15 UAH / USD (-0.01 UAH), 18.25 UAH/EUR (-0,03 UAH) 2.34 UAH/10 RUR (-0.01 UAH).

Kyiv Life

• The system of civil defense of the capital declared at a state of high alert. Security will be enhanced at checkpoints at the entrance to the city. Police taskforce is working on the search and arrest of armed criminals and terrorists supply bases in Kiev.
• Kyiv authorities approved the double rise in the price of travel in minibuses.

Ukraine at War

• Heavy fighting continuing in Uglegorsk and Debaltseve and positional battles in the Mariupol area. Commander of the volonteer Chechen battalion Munaev was killed near Debaltseve. Random shelling of residential areas continued in Donetsk, Makiyivka and Gorlivka. Kurakhovo, Mar’inka, Avdiivka, Stanitsa Luhansk’a, Popasna, Schast’ya also were under fire.
• DNR militant leader Zaharchenko announced a "general mobilization" during which he plans to increase the "army of New Russia" by 100 thousand people.
• More than 7 thousand people who discredited the title of police officer were fired from the  Donetsk region police.
• Donetsk police took 163 strategic object under protection.
• 48 containers of military equipment from Canada were handed to Ukrainian army.

Ukraine and the World

• The administration of US President and German Chancellor Merkel stated that they will not supply weapons to Ukraine and continue economic pressure on Russia.
• After the loss of voting rights in PACE Russia will not admit the mission of the Assembly into the country that supposed to negotiate the release of Ukrainian pilots - the deputy of the Ukrainian parliament Savchenko and the annexation of the Crimea.
• Russia conducts large-scale radiation, chemical and biological protection exercises in the North Caucasus, Armenia and the Crimea with the latest machinery.
• NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that the Alliance is watching sharp increase in the supply of ammunition and military equipment from Russia on the territory controlled by the rebels DNR and LNR in the last days.
• Chevron has stopped development of shale gas in Poland. The company has also abandoned the project in Ukraine because of the deteriorating market situation.

Trends

• Shelling of Donets’k, Makiyivka, Gorlivka may be a preparation for move of the "peacekeeping" forces by Russia, reinforced by "militia" mobilization to which was announced by the leader of the DNR militants Zakharchenko.