01/03/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights -Moscow police detained the Verkhovna Rada deputy Goncharenko

03/01/2015 Daily Highlights by the "Digests & Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the day

Moscow police detained the Verkhovna Rada deputy Goncharenko at the rally in memory of murdered Russian opposition leader Nemtsov. DNR and LNR rebels do not comply with ceasefire regime in Donbass.

Key Events of Ukraine

• President Poroshenko signed the laws on tax exemptions for arms import and on the new principles of regional policy.
• The head of the National Bank Gontareva said that the hryvnia will return to the level 20-22 UAH/$ when Ukraine will receive the next tranche of the IMF credit. The rate of 25-34 UAH/$ is caused by panic and is not based on the existing economic conditions.
• Starting March 1, Russian residents need international passports for travelling to Ukraine. Today, the Ukrainian SBS denied entry to seven Russians, who came without international passports.

Ukraine at War

• Despite declared truce the militants continue to shell positions of the Ukrainian army along the whole line of contact. The most intense clashes took place near Debaltseve, Donetsk and Mariupol. The US Ambassador Pyatt accused President of Russia Putin in disrupting the Minsk Agreement. According to Pyatt, a single telephone call by the Russian president is needed to end the conflict in Donbass.
• The militants released from captivity four Ukrainian soldiers of 128th Brigade.

Ukraine and the World

• During the funeral march in memory of opposition politician Nemtsov the Moscow police detained the Ukrainian MP Goncharenko. The Parliment Speaker Groisman released a statement condemning these actions as they clearly violated the international law on diplomatic immunity. Russian investigative authorities attempted to interrogate Goncharenko on charges of "attempted murder and torture of a citizen of the Russian Federation" in Odessa on May 2, 2014. After the intervention of Ukrainian diplomats Goncharenko was released on bail, however he must appear in court on charges of disobeying the authorities on March 2.
  Russian opposition claims that the reasons for murdering Nemtsov were the materials dealing with the role of Russian leadership in invasion into Ukraine and the proofs of this invasion that he collected and intended to publish. All these incriminating materials were now seized by investigators who conducted a search in his apartment.
• In addition to supplies of Norwegian natural gas, Lithuania will buy liquefied natural gas from the United States to further reduce its gas dependence from Russia.