09/20/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Crimean Tatars and activists blocked the entry of trucks into Crimea

Crimean Tatars and activists blocked the entry of trucks into Crimea

09.20.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Crimean Tatars and activists blocked the entry of trucks into Crimea.
• President Poroshenko said “no” to free possession of firearms.

Key Events In Ukraine

• President Poroshenko gave an interview to three national television channels, speaking against the right of acquisition and possession of firearms demanded by the first petition that gathered 25,000 signatures on the presidential website. According to him, 82% of Ukrainians are against the right to acquire and carry firearms. He also said that the proposal made by a French representative in the political subgroup of the Tripartite Contact Group Pierre Morel to hold elections in the occupied territories under a separate law reflected his personal point of view. Displaced persons should be given the right to vote in local elections.
  Poroshenko said that the war on corruption would continue and would not be limited to the detention of MP Mosiychuk from the Radical Party. He promised the proceedings against former officials would gain momentum.
• The Central Election Commission has registered 134 parties to take part in local elections. 10 parties have been rejected because of improper paperwork.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said in a Sunday address that pensioners would receive an increased pension in October and an additional payment for September. Increased public sector wages will be paid in the first decade of October. These payments have already been funded.

Ukraine at War

• Crimean Tatars headed by their leaders Dzhemilev and Chubarov, supported by civic activists and volunteers, blocked the access roads leading to the Crimea. The traffic of freight transport to Crimea has been completely blocked. More than 200 trucks got stuck on the administrative border with Crimea.
• The ceasefire in the conflict area in Donbass was disrupted by the militants occasionally firing at the Ukrainian positions from small arms.
• In Belgorod oblast of Russia, Russian FSB detained a Ukrainian border guard, who accidentally crossed the border to Russia.

Ukraine and the World

• Syrizza party led by former Prime Minister Tsipras won in early elections in Greece. However, the number of votes received is not sufficient to form the government, and the party will have to negotiate on a coalition with other political forces.
• Pope Francis arrived on his first official visit to Cuba, where he met its leader Fidel Castro.

The Trends

• Experts and political analysts stated that President Poroshenko, when explaining the denial of the right to own and carry firearms for Ukrainians, used manipulative techniques and quoted unofficial statistics.