26/03/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Air carriers are leaving Ukraine

03/26/2015 Daily Highlights by the "Digests & Analytics - Ukraine" News Agency

Topics of the Day

The conflict between the President and oligarch Kolomoisky is formally over. Air carriers are leaving Ukraine.

Key Events of Ukraine

• The new Head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration is appointed. At a press conference President Poroshenko and former Governor Kolomoysky denied a conflict between them. Kolomoisky’s team is ready to support the new regional management.
• President Poroshenko created the group to return to Ukraine the funds stolen by officials of the former President Yanukovych.
• President Poroshenko promised a defence order to employees of the state strategic missile-making enterprise Pivdenmash who have not been paid for several months.
• The low-cost carrier WizzAir is closing its activity on the Ukrainian market of air carriers because of the collapse in the economy as well as in the airline industry. The Ministry of Infrastructure is trying to dissuade WizzAir from closing business in Ukraine. The Kharkov-Air carrier also stops its flights.
• The Head of the Supreme Administrative Court Nechitailo resigned.
• The criminal case against the mayor of Kharkiv Kernes for kidnapping, abuse and torture of Euromaidan activists has been brought to a trial.
• Utility tariffs for water and sewer will increase from May 1.
• Slavyansk TPP which was severely damaged during the fighting in Slavyansk in the spring 2014 has resumed its operation.
• National Bank has transferred its BTB TV channel to the Ministry of Information Policy. It is planned to establish on its base an international broadcasting channel Ukraine Tomorrow.
• Ukraine signed a loan agreement with Canada to $ 161 million (200 million Canadian dollars) for a period of five years at 1.43% per annum.
• The official rate of hryvnia has slightly changed: 23.50 UAH/USD (+0.06 UAH), 25.82 UAH/EUR (+0,03 UAH) 4.10 UAH/10 RUR (+0.09 UAH). From March 31 the National Bank will introduce a new mechanism for determining the official exchange rate on the basis of the interbank market data on a daily basis at the end of the market session.

Ukraine at War

• During the last day the fighting took place near the Donetsk airport where militants had concentrated the largest armored group reinforced by artillery and MRLS.
• OSCE does not confirm the removal of heavy equipment by militants from the line of contact.
• President Poroshenko said that Ukraine is ready to take tanks back from the dividing line, if Russia provides ceasefire from militants.
• The Governor of the Donetsk region Kikhtenko banned the sale of alcohol to the troops in the war zone.
• Another "convoy" of 140 trucks invaded the Ukraine through the uncontrolled part of the border.
• The leader of the “DPR” Zaharchenko announced the suspension of the exchange of prisoners accusing the Ukrainian side of disrupting the process.
• The State Border Service has reported on the possibility of reducing the cost of the project "The Wall" from 8 to 4 billion UAH (to about $150 million) due to the installation of the fence with alarm not along the border, but only around the checkpoints.

Ukraine and the World

• US accumulated record oil reserves in storage, but its price on world markets continues to grow up against the backdrop of events in Yemen.
• The IMF confirmed that further lending to Ukraine will depend on its steps on the restructuring of the external debt.
• A Moscow court rejected the appeal of the Ukrainian deputy Savchenko’s attorneys against the actions of the investigator. Savchenko continues her hunger strike in a prison.
• Arab countries have agreed to establish a joint army to combat common security threats by way of rapid military interventions.

The Trends

• An administrative detention of the Emergency Situations Ministry officials during a meeting of the Cabinet with violation of the procedure may lead to acquittal. The suspicion was exhibited to the detainees only the next day.
• Experts ambiguously estimate a joint statement made by President Poroshenko and oligarch Kolomoisky about the absence of the conflicts between them. In their view, the conflict is frozen under the pressure from external forces. The Kolomoysky’s resignation after the successful activity leaves him a space for maneuver and his own political project.