07/29/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Russia blocked the establishment of an international tribunal by the UN Security Council to investigate the MH-17 flight accident

U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin vetoes U.N.Security Council Proposa;

07.29.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine News Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Russia blocked the establishment of an international tribunal by the UN Security Council to investigate the MH-17 flight accident.
• The IMF is ready to continue the financing of Ukraine in case the moratorium on debt payments is introduced.
• The possibility of creating of joint patrols of Ukrainian law enforcers and militants in Shyrokino was rejected.
• Clashes between police and amber miners in Rivne region.
• Former Prime Minister Azarov announced about the creation in Moscow of a "government in exile".

Key Events in Ukraine

• General Prosecutor Shokin, during the meeting with the representatives of the US Embassy, announced that he is ready to appoint one of the initiators of the criminal cases against senior officials of the Prosecutor's Office, investigator Kasko, a Head of the Department for investigation of the corruption-related crimes, committed by the senior officials.
  The newly appointed First Deputy General Prosecutor Sevruk said that he does not fall within the Law on Lustration. He claims that the judges of the Constitutional Court in respect of which an investigation is ongoing regarding the usurpation of the power by former President Yanukovych, can continue to perform their functions, considering the constitutional submissions, until the charges  are filed against them.
  The investigators refused to question Yanukovych in the video conference mode.
• The former owner of the "Vesti" media holding  Guzhva announced about the sale of his share in the company. Former Press Secretary to the Minister of Revenues and Duties Semchenko was appointed a new Head of the holding company .
• The official hryvnia rate against the major currencies was slightly decreased by the National Bank: 22.07 UAH/USD (+0.03 UAH), 24.35 UAH/EUR (+0,05 UAH), 3.69 UAH/RUR 10 (+0.03 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• The observers in the Donbass report that, despite the statements about the withdrawal of the militants machinery, it is still located in close proximity to the fighting line. The shellings and attacks on the settlements and Ukrainian army positions with the use of the heavy artillery, tanks and missile systems do not stop, and at night, when the OSCE observers do not work, they noticeably intensify.
  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the shelling of the OSCE mission in the Donbass is the pressure on the observers and it is aimed at restricting of the exercise of their functions.
• Professional soldier of the Russian Army Starkov, detained at the checkpoint  near Donetsk, was arrested for the time of the investigation and placed to the predetention centre . He gives confessionary statements, in particular, about the fact that the activities of militants are supervises by more than 2 thousand Russian officers. Starkov urges the compatriots not to fight against Ukraine.
• The General Staff said that the statement of the Deputy Head of the Main Command Center of the General Staff Rozmazin about possible creation of the joint patrols of the militants and Ukrainian police in Shyrokino, which blown the Ukrainian part of the Internet, was just one of the options, discussed by the working group in Minsk.

Ukraine and the World

• The UN Security Council was unable to adopt a resolution to establish an international tribunal to investigate the MH-17  flight crash in the sky over the Donbass, since Russia vetoed it. The initiators of the resolution condemned the Russia's position. During the discussion, the representative of the Russian Federation Churkin tripped that "impunity will come regarding those who shot down the plane, and those who sent it to the war zone."
• Director of the IMF Lagarde said that crediting of Ukraine will be possible even if Ukraine introduces a partial moratorium on the payment of the external debt. She confirmed the receipt by Ukraine of the next tranche within the extended crediting program. Finance Minister Yaresko claims that Ukraine cannot wait till September to reach an agreement with the Inernationsl creditor's club and is ready to introduce a moratorium in case no progress is achieved during the negotiations, which should take place this week.

The Trends

• Despite Russia’s veto on the creation of an international tribunal to investigate the MH-17 flight crash in the Donbass, the majority of the UN Security Council members is prepared to use the alternative ways to creat such tribunal.
• According to experts, the use of force against the residents of the depressive regions, where the amber mining is the only source of income for the inhabitants, without giving them an alternative, could lead to a social explosion and escalation of the situation, as the population possesses a large number of weapons.