26/02/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights -Ukraine began to withdraw heavy weapons from the war zone

26/02/2015 Daily Highlights by the "Digests & Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

Ukraine began to withdraw heavy weapons from the war zone. National currency exchange rate continues its fall.

Key Events of Ukraine

• An extraordinary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada is scheduled for March 2. It is planned to consider changes to the budget-2015 and related bills prepared by the government. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk proposed the MPs to consider a draft in advance and vote without excessive debates.
• The Cabinet of Ministers extended state of emergency in the energy sector for another month.
• General Prosecutor's Office raided the Pechersk district court under criminal investigation for unjust decisions taken against activists of the Maidan.
• Naftogaz receives a loan from the National Bank of China in the amount of $3.6 billion under the state guarantees. 60% of the credit will be spent on the purchase of Chinese equipment.
• The National Commission for Energy Regulation announced that starting from March 1, price of natural gas for companies will grow by 56% to 8,900 UAH per 1000m3.
• According to the Ministry of Finance, Ukrainian state debt decreased by $883 million and now amounts to approximately $69 billion. The amount of debt in local currency increased due to the growth of the FX rate.
• NBU has closed 7 commercial banks since the beginning of the year. A temporary administration has been introduced at the state bank "Kiev". The bank will be closed in near future and its assets transferred to another state bank "Ukrgasbank".
• National Bank has sharply reduced the official FX rate of hryvnia, despite the statement made by the president and the head of the NBU Gontareva: 30.01 UAH/USD (+1.96 UAH), 34.05 UAH/EUR (+2,28 UAH) 4.79 UAH/10 RUR (+0.37 UAH). By the end of trading session the quotes raised up to 30,7-32,0 UAH/USD.

Kyiv Life

• Kyiv mayor's office said that the rally against rising prices for utilities and transport was paid up.
• Police cruelly broke up a rally of currency borrowers near the NBU building. Interior Minister Avakov personally arrived at the scene, apologized to the protesters, dismissed the head of the district police department and promised to quickly complete the investigation of the event.

Ukraine at War

• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that "there are no the ideal solutions for the ceasefire in the Donbass." Ukraine began to remove anti-tank artillery from the line of fighting. The OSCE has not recorded a withdrawal of heavy equipment by militants, despite their claims.
• Militants continue shelling Ukrainian positions and are actively redeploying troops and equipment in the war zone. A large group is concentrating in the area of ​​Mariupol Telmanovo, ready to attack.
• Ukrainian deputy Savchenko, which Russian authorities illegally kept in prison, is not going to stop the hunger strike, despite calls from the international community. EU blamed Russia for the state of her health.

Ukraine and the World

• European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Mrs. Mogerini stated that sanctions against Russia will not be lifted in the near future. The EU will monitor the situation in the Donbass and will take appropriate actions based on the results of monitoring.
• Russia and Ukraine have confirmed participation of their delegations in the negotiations on the natural gas problems for EU and Ukraine, to be held in Brussels on March 2.
• The European Commission has filed its fifth lawsuit in the WTO against Russia, which continues to raise import duties on various products.
• The head of the US intelligence believes that the next target of militants and Russian troops attacks will be Mariupol. US arms deliveries to Ukraine may trigger the use of aircraft in combat, therefore, in his opinion, the main method of influence on Russia is economic pressure. Russia formed cyber troops, which are leading virus and computer attacks and active propaganda. It poses a systematic threat, which can cause serious consequences for the US and the West economies.
• Romanian President Johannis criticized the pro-Russian policies of President of Hungary Orbán related to the conflict in Ukraine and he is ready to expand NATO's presence in his country. Norway begins modernization and reformation of its armed forces due to Russian aggression. Germany is considering the possibility of enlarging its tank forces.
• Belarus is ready to supply electricity to Ukraine and Poland.

The Trends

• Experts believe that the panic in the food market is a successful operation of Russian special services. However, retailers are not in a hurry to provide additional volumes of products due to unstable currency market, and are watching the market.
• Due vague NBU policy, Ukrainian banking system gradually loses its functions and public confidence, turning into a payment system and an instrument for currency speculation.