07/01/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - President Poroshenko submitted the draft amendments to the Constitution to the Parliament

President Poroshenko submitted the draft amendments to the Constitution to the Parliament

07.01.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• President Poroshenko submitted the draft amendments to the Constitution to the Parliament
• Negotiations of the International Creditors Club and  the Government of Ukraine will continue next week.
• The Head of the Kiev Court of Appeals disappeared.

Key Events In Ukraine

• President Poroshenko presented to the Verkhovna Rada the draft amendments to the Constitution. Acoorrding to him, the main aim of proposals is the powers decentralization.
• On June 16, the Parliament plans to consider the draft law on deprivation of immunity of deputies and judges.
• The President proposed to appoint Gen.Griysak a Head of the Security and Defense Service of Ukraine, he already performs these duties since the dismissal of the former head Nalyvaychenko.
• The Central Election Commission calls on deputies to adopt the law on local elections and by-elections to the Verkhovna Radas as soon as possible, because the absence of such legislation puts the holding of such elections at threat.
• The Head of the Kiev Court of Appeals Chernushenko did not come to work after lifting of his judicial immunity for prosecution. The Prosecutor's Office allegedly knows of his location.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate against the major currencies has not changed:
  

  • 21.01 UAH/USD, 23.32 UAH/EUR (-0,19 UAH) 3.79 UAH/RUR 10 (-0.03 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• In the Donbass, the militants continued shellings with the use of heavy artillery of the surroundings of Donetsk, Mariupol and settlements in the Luhansk region - in the area of Popasna, "Bahmutka" route, Stanitsa Luhanska. During the day, according to the official reports, one  Ukrainian soldier was killed and ten were injured.
• The Verkhovna Rada banned the use of the mobile phones by the combatants in the area of the Anti-Terrorist Operation.

Ukraine and the World

• The US Department of Defense announced a new military strategy. The US Army must be prepared to confront the "revisionist state", such as Russia, that challenge the international norms, and extremist organizations, like the Islamic state.
• The Security Council of the Netherlands, which is investigating the causes of the flight MH-17 Malaysian airlines crash in the Donbass, is going to announce the final conclusions in the first half of October 2015.
• The International Committee of Creditors of Ukraine announced that the agreement on the terms of confidentiality was reached, and this will allow to conduct the negotiations on the Ukrainian debt next week.
• The European Commission confirms its intention to assist in negotiations with international financial institutions to provide the necessary funds for the purchase of additional 7 billion m3 of natural gas (with Russia’s participation in its supplying or only by reverse) to ensure the uninterrupted supplies during the winter season. Energy Minister of Ukraine Demchishin declares Ukraine’s readiness to continue the natural gas talks with Russia to get a reasonable price and clear price calculations formula for the whole winter period.
• Greek Prime Minister Tsipras urged people to vote against the proposals of the Western creditors at the referendum on July 5 . The Creditors Committee postponed the adoption of the  final decision until the announcement of the referendum results.

The Trends

• According to the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, the text of proposed changes to the Constitution, submitted by President Poroshenko, was not discussed in the committees, and the Deputies did not see the final text of the document. There is no such document at the Parliament portal.