07/23/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The "Normandy Four" leaders agreed to President Poroshenko’s proposal on withdrawal of weapons with the caliber up to 100 mm

Negotiations of “Normandy Four” leaders by phone

07.23.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• The "Normandy Four" leaders agreed to President  Poroshenko’s proposal on withdrawal of weapons with the caliber up to 100 mm.
• Putin, threatening to implement the Yugoslav scenario, demands amnesty for militants and direct dialogue with the "Republics".
• Nine Ukrainians died in car accidents in Poland and Russia
• In Kyiv centre "UKRINBANK" branch was shelled from the grenade launcher

Key Events In Ukraine

• President Poroshenko signed a decree on the early implementation  of the 4G technology in Ukraine. According to Head of the National Commission for Communications Regulation  Zhivotovsky, at least eight companies expressed their willingness to participate in the construction of such networks.
• Former Deputy Director of the Department for Control of Production and Financial Services Gavrilova was appointed a Head of the State Financial Inspection.
• Head of the Odessa Regional Administration Saakashvili announced about the dismissal of the Director of Illichivsk port due to suspicion of corruption.
• At the national council of reform meeting Saakashvili proposed to combine all city and regional administrations, law enforcement agencies, fiscal and customs services into the Board of Economic Development.
• The Cabinet of Ministers approved a new transparent investment projects selection procedure under the control of the interdepartmental commission, consisting of representatives of the government and MPs.
• Interior Minister Arsen Avakov informed about the dismissal of the Transcarpahian police leadership and start of the comprehensive check of the regional department.
• The General Prosecutor's Office requires from leader of the Radical Party Lyashko to appear for questioning on charges of offering a bribe for voting in favour of lifting the immunity of deputy Klyuev and intends to arrest the Deputy Head of parliamentary group.
• Three more Russian TV channels are banned in Ukraine  - "Russian illusion", "Weapon" and "House of Cinema".
• Ukraine and the European Investment Bank signed a credit agreement for the restoration of heating and water supply systems of large and medium cities of the country.
• Ukraine and the Creditors' Committee postponed for an indefinite term the start date of the direct negotiations on restructuring of the public debt and agreed to hold further technical discussions.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate remains relatively stable: 22.02 UAH/USD, 24.22 UAH/EUR (+0,22 UAH). 3.84 UAH/RUR 10 (+0.02 UAH).

Kyiv

• City council decided to resume the work of district councils, which will manage the communal property, health care, education, and also propose changes to the General Plan of the Capital’s Development. District council elections are scheduled for March 27, 2016.

Ukraine at War

• Fighting continues in the Donbass, the biggest number of attacks and shellings is recorded in the area of Donetsk, where the militants concentrated military equipment and manpower. According to the official reports, seven Ukrainian soldiers were wounded.
  Militants shelled the checkpoints in Mariynka and Zolote, the militants subversive group attack was repelled near Stanitsa Luhanska, there were no casualties among the Ukrainian military.
• Ukrainian security agencies prevent the delieveries of food supplies and goods to the occupied territory of the Donbass, but the supplies of goods to the Crimea are constantly growing.
• Another Putin’s "convoy"  invaded Ukraine. Nearly four thousand of such "convoys" crossed the Ukrainian border without registration and control.

Ukraine and the World

• The phone negotiations in the "Normandy format" between the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine took place. Russian President Putin demanded to agree with the DPR and LPR terrorists and enact on a permanent basis legislative special status of the occupied regions and the amnesty law, and to determine "the modalities and the procedures for the local elections." According to him, a comprehensive settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is not possible without a direct dialogue with the "representatives of the Donbass".
  It was stated that all four leaders supported the initiative of President Poroshenko on withdrawal of the weapons with the caliber of less than 100 mm from the fighting line and the creation of a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone. The OSCE should observe the implementation of the ceasefire. From August 3 Ukraine should withdraw its troops from Shyrokino.
  The negotiators welcomed the decision to start the restoration of the infrastructure objects, renewal of the rail traffic for coal transportation and the creation of "logistics centers" in the buffer zone, including mobile banking points.
  There was a discussion about the local elections according to the OSCE standards throughout Ukraine, including the occupied regions.
  The parties agreed on the necessity of early negotiations regarding the next package of the natural gas agreements
• Georgia want to get a clear prospect of obtaining the NATO membership.
• Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Brok believes that Russia needs to understand the inevitability of punishment for war crimes in Ukraine. He said that the West is not going to fight with Russia, instead, it will impose the sanctions against it.
• Gazprom said it wants to settle the EU claims on violation of the antimonopoly legislation by mutual agreement.
• German court released on bail banker Timonkin, whom the Ukrainian government suspects of organizing the money laundering in favor of oligarch Kurchenko. In 2014 Timonkin received the Israeli citizenship, so he might require own extradition to Israel.

The Trends

• By-elections to the Verkhovna Rada for the Chernihiv district are going to be the dirtiest since the times  of Yanukovych Presidency. The opposition is accusing the authorities of the effort to try the new election fraud technoligies for the next elections in Chernigov.