04/23/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Protests of "miners" near the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada

Protests of "miners" near tthe Verkhovna Rada

04/23/2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from the Media and Social Networks

• Protests of "miners" near the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.
• The OSCE Mission in the Donbass is not to be expanded.
• The invasion of another convoy from Russia into Ukraine .
• Rumors about the attempted kidnapping of Parliament Deputy Speaker Parubiy.
• Competition to fill the vacancy of the Head of the Tax Service is not yet over.

Key Events of Ukraine

• President Poroshenko signed the law on stronger punishment for the war crimes.
• The program of cooperation with NATO for 2015 with provisions about the exchange of information with the Alliance in crisis situations was adopted
• Competition to fill the vacancy of the Head of the State Fiscal Service has not been completed. Discussion of possible candidates will continue on April 27.
• Foreign Minister Klimkin stated that no changes would be introduces into the text of the Association Agreement and a free trade zone with the EU will fully come into force on January 1, 2016.
• First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Parubiy told about plans to kidnap him and transfer to Russia to conduct of him a show trial.
• NBU Press Service reported that the losses of Ukrainian banks in the first quarter of 2015 amounted to more than UAH 80 billion. Most of the losses account for the banks under the external control of the Deposit Insurance Fund.
• The official rate of hryvnia has not changed: 22.53 UAH/UAH (-0.01 UAH), 24.27 UAH/EUR(+0,06 UAH), 4.37 UAH / 10 RUR (+0.17 UAH).

Kyiv Life

• Mayor of Kiev Klitschko was awarded by Adenauer Foundation for a significant contribution to the strengthening of local self-government.

Ukraine at War

• The militants continue shelling and attacking of Ukrainian positions. Surroundings of Donetsk airport, Shyrokino and Schastye are still remaining the fighting areas. According to official data, within the last 24 hours at least seven Ukrainian soldiers were injured.
• Another convoy of unidentified cargo invaded Ukraine.
• OSCE states that it is meaninglessness to expand the mission in the Donbass until its representatives are allowed into the areas controlled by militants.
• Pentagon refutes the Moscow’s statements on the US military presence in the conflict zone in the Donbass.

Ukraine and the World

• EU leaders at the urgent summit after the death of nearly 700 refugees from Libya off the coast of Italy approved a plan to fight the illegal migration. The Commission admitted that the migration situation in the countries of southern Europe is catastrophic, daily about 500 people are arriving only in Italy by sea from Africa .
• NATO is ready to consider Ukraine's application to join the Alliance and no third party has the right to interfere with this process. Ukraine has not yet submitted an application, but announced its intention to apply in the future.

The Trends

• The appearance of "miners" near the Verkhovna Rada shortly before the May holidays and  their clear support by the former members of the Party of Regions and members of the "Opposition Blok" (with the absence of law enforcement response) are rocking the political situation in the country and playing into Russia’s favour. The management of the DTEK holding company, owned by oligarch Akhmetov, denies its participation in the organization of meetings in Kiev. Due to the miners protests Energy Minister Demchishin interrupted his stay in the US.