03/12/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The coalition government of Yatsenyuk reported on the first 100 days of its activity

03/12/2015 Daily Highlights by the “Digests & Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the Day

The coalition government of Yatsenyuk reported on the first 100 days of its activity. NSDC defined borders of militant-controlled areas. Text of the memorandum with the IMF introduced.

Key Events of Ukraine

• The coalition government of Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held a press conference reporting on the results of its activity for the first 100 days.
• President Poroshenko believes that Ukraine fully complies with the Minsk agreement and simultaneously builds up its Armed Forces to repel aggression.
• NSDC officially defines the borders of  the zone of  “special areas of Donbass", which must be governed by self-elected authorities in accordance with the law, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on the results of the first Minsk Agreement.
• President Poroshenko approved the establishment of the War Cabinet as a part of the National Security Council. Parliament needs to immediately review and adopt the changes to the Martial law. A set of measures was designated to establish a treatment and rehabilitation center for servicemen who took part in the hostilities.
• A former head of Zaporizhzhya Regional State Administration, a member of the Party of Regions, Peklushenko, who was accused of repressions against Maidan’s activists, committed a suicide.
• Shell Company ceases work on shale gas exploration in the Kharkiv region because of the lack of economic feasibility.
• The text of the memorandum on economic and social policy between Ukraine and the IMF has been introduced. The concerted state budget deficit for 2015 is shown there in the amount of 139 billion UAH.
• The official FX rate of hryvnia against major currencies has almost not changed: 21.55 UAH/USD, 22.80 UAH/EUR (-0,34 UAH), 3.44 UAH/10 RUR (-0.11 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• The number of attacks on Ukrainian positions by Donbass militants has increased sharply. OSCE records the increase in the number of people in camouflage crossing the Ukrainian-Russian border crossing points which are beyond the Ukrainian control.
• The authorities of the State Border Service have reported on the implementation process of the project "The Wall" at the border with Russia.

Ukraine and the World

• The mandate of the OSCE special monitoring mission in Ukraine has been extended for another 1 year. Russia blocked the inclusion of the item about the steadfast implementation of the Minsk Agreement by all parties of the ceasefire process into the text of the declaration.
• The European Commission has blocked a contract for the construction of the two Hungarian Paks NPP units in order to reduce the dependence on Russian fuel supplies.
• Russia is holding large-scale military exercises in the Crimea and the North Caucasus. They involve about 8,000 people, the latest artillery and missile systems, and the Black Sea Fleet.

The Trends

• According to the public’s estimates, the results of the first 100 days activity of the Cabinet are disappointing; the economic policy of the country is under full external management by Western creditors. VoxUkraine published the rating of the effectiveness of the ministries, the NBU and Naftogaz. Evaluations of the government experts and society coincide generally, however the experts’ valuations are higher. Clearly there are some ministries where reforms are taking place, and which are in contact with the public, explaining their actions. But some ministries (information policy, culture and social policy) have obtained sharply negative valuations.