04/30/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The Court of Vienna refused to extradite oligarch Firtash to the United States

President Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Klitschko

04/30/2015 Daily Highlights  by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from the Media and Social Networks

• The Court of Vienna refused to extradite oligarch Firtash to the United States.
• Firtash admitted to finance Poroshenko and Klitschko election campaigns.
• Nobody found guilty in the conflict between the “Right Sector” and the Armed Forces.
• Ukrainian deputy Savchenko was returned to Moscow detention center.
• Putin agrees to deploy peacekeeping forces in the Donbass.

Key Events of Ukraine

• The Court of Vienna refused to extradite Ukrainian oligarch Firtash, who is accused of paying bribes for buying the company in India, to the US authorities, motivating the decision by political persecution. US Attorney's Office intends to appeal this decision. Firtash claimed that he financed the election campains of mayor of Kyiv Klitschko and the President Poroshenko. During the trial the financial support of the regime of former President Yanukovich by Firtash was exposed. Firtash is planning to return to Ukraine.
• Finance Minister Yaresko named two candidates for the post of the Head of the State Fiscal Service, which will be submitted for the Prime Minister Yatsenyuk’s approval.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk acknowledged that there are problems with the producing and issuing of foreign biometric passports.
• First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Parubiy stated that the conflict between "the Rght Sector" and the state is resolved. The armed forces were withdrawn from the checkpoints around the RS training base in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
• President Poroshenko signed the law on the natural gas market, which introduces separate control systems over transportation and storage of the natural gas, and should improve the competitive environment in the market, in accordance with the requirements of the third energy package of the EU .
• "Naftogaz" debt  for 2014 rose by more than 4.5 times and amounted USD 85 billion (nearly $ 4 billion).
• The court banned the Communist Party of Ukraine from holding a May Day meeting in the central Kiev. Security Services of Ukraine stated about potential provocative acts during the May Day holidays.
• From May 1 tariffs for postal services increase by nearly 20%.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate rose at the end of the week: 21.13 USD / $ (-0.09 USD) USD 23.70 / € (+0,54 USD) 4.13 USD / 10 rubles (0.06 USD).

Ukraine at War

• MIlitants attacks and shelling of Ukrainian Army positions in the Donbass sharply intensified. Shyrokine, surroundings of the Donetsk airport, Avdiyivka and Schastya remained the fighting flashpoints.
  During the day at least one Ukrainian soldier was killed, seven were wounded.
• The OSCE representatives claim about the objectivity of their reports on the situation in the Donbass, despite the fact that the militants do not allow them to inspect the heavy weapons on the territories under their control.
• The NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Breedlove said that Russia is using "peace and quiet order" in the Donbass for regrouping the troops and preparing the offensive.

Ukraine and the World

• The "Normandy four" leaders during the telephone conversation agreed the beginning of  the political phase of the Minsk agreement implementation.
• The Ukrainian economy demonstrated the most rapid decline over the year in the world, the following in the list are Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Russia and Venezuela.
• The US still consider violations of intellectual property rights in Ukrainea serious, however, it removed the country from the list of the biggest intellectual-property offenders.
• The US Congress prepared a bill to provide Ukraine $ 200 million for the purchase of weapons and training of military.
• President Poroshenko said that Russian President Putin agreed to possibile deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Donbass.
• The European Parliament called on Russia to release the Ukrainian pilot Savchenko. She was returned to the prison after the examination at the hospital with the statement that nothing threatens her health. A spokesman for the Russian President, Peskov said that the Kremlin position on Savchenko had not changed, and she will be under trial "for serious crimes."

The Trends

• Firtash statements at the Vienna Court about the support of Poroshenko and Klitschko election campaigns and direct financing of Yanukovych regime could lead to huge political scandal and investigation of activities of the country’s leadership by the Parliament.