10/16/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - The Cabinet approved the reform of management of Naftogaz

The Cabinet approved the reform of management of Naftogaz

10.16.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• The Cabinet approved the reform of management of Naftogaz.
• Militants interrupted the release of the hostages.
• The former head of the SSU Nalyvaychenko claims existence of the "Russian trace" in the shooting of activists of the Maidan.
• President Poroshenko presented 26-year-old new head of the regional Custom in Odessa.

Key Events in Ukraine

• The Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting with representatives of international financial organizations adopted corporate governance reform of Naftogaz. Supervisory Board of Directors will be created with the participation of international financial donors.
• The order of the annual training of reservists has been approved and enters into force on January 1, 2016. Duration of the training camps for commanders will not exceed five days, for the army units - 15 days.
• Health Minister Kvitashvili said that implementation of electronic health records and patient registries will start next year in Ukraine with the financial support of the World Bank.
• The head of fiscal services Nasirov expressed the need to raise the excise tax on alcohol and tobacco as they are the lowest in Europe.
• Prosecutor General's Office detained one of the commanders of special forces "Berkut" who took part in the shooting of activists of the Maidan.
• Finance Minister Yaresko stated that the amount of financial assistance to Ukraine may increase by half - to $ 15 billion. She hopes to receive $ 1.7 billion in the next tranche of the IMF and $ 2.3 - from other international partners by the end of this year. According to her it is necessary to reduce state spending by 60 billion UAH to preserve economic stability in Ukraine. She claims that the country has passed the bottom of the crisis and the economy returns to growth.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate has increased significantly ahead of the weekend: 21,30 UAH / $ (-0,39 UAH), 24,19 UAH / € (-0,62 UAH), 3,47 UAH / 10 RUB (-0,01 UAH) .

Ukraine at War

• Militants interrupted the exchange of prisoners, blackmailing Ukrainian side by  unacceptable demands. Advisor to the head of the SBU Tandit reported that militants continue to hold 148 hostages.
• According to the intelligence, insurgents remove equipment from the front line during the day under the control of OSCE observers and at night it is returned to the position.
• Armed Forces of Ukraine completed the withdrawal of mortars in the Luhansk region. According to official reports by headquarters of anti-terrorist operations, attacks by militants have not been recorded.

Ukraine and the World

• Greek parliament voted in favor of the austerity measures stipulated in the agreement with the creditors.
• The troops of Syrian President Assad, with the support of the Russian aircraft attacked the city of Aleppo. Mission for Human Rights reported that the attack killed 43 civilians.
  US and Russia have agreed on the mechanism of safety of military aviation during military action in Syria. At the same time President Obama said that the positions of the parties on the achievement of the peace in Syria are completely different.
  According to media reports, the Turkish air force shot down a Russian drone in its airspace.
• Turkey refuses to keep any refugees in exchange for money from the EU and supports the establishment of security zones within the countries where the refugees are moving.

The Trends

• According to experts, election of Ukraine as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council will not lead to empowerment in addressing the problems of Crimea and Donbas as any Ukrainian initiatives are blocked by Russia, which has veto power in the Council.