10/20/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - General Prosecutor's Office stated that the order to shoot at the Maydan gave former President Yanukovych

General Prosecutor's Office stated that the order to shoot at the Maydan gave former President Yanukovych

10.20.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• General Prosecutor's Office stated that the order to shoot at the Maydan gave former President Yanukovych.
• The observers predict a revenge of the former Party of Regions in local elections.
• The militants rejected the proposal of Ukraine on the participation of Ukrainian political parties in local elections in the occupied territories.
• The supports of the power line that supplies power to the Crimea were blasted
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Key Events in Ukraine

• The Cabinet introduced to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on the national flag, providing for penalties for improper use of the flag and pledge to the flag by public officials and students.
• Fuel and Energy Minister Demchishin announced about contract extension on imports of electricity from Russia next year and raised prices for supples to the Crimea by 15%. However, the cost of electricity for Ukrainian enterprises is above this price.
• General Prosecutor's Office said that the order to shoot at the Maidan gave personally former president Yanukovich, and does not rule out any involvement in the events of 2014 of the Russian special services.
• Criminal cases against three former deputies of the Party of Regions, including former leader of the faction Efremov, accused of falsifying the results of voting for the "dictatorial laws of Yanukovich", which lead to heavy consequences, were sent to court .
• The Head of the Donetsk military and civil administration Zhebrivskyi sees no reason to cancel the election in Mariupol.
  The observers found in Ternopil printing office with thousands of unrecorded ballots and the matrix, from which they were printed.
  According to the participants of the electoral process, in Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Krivoy Rog, the Donbass, and several other regions, the former members of the notorious Party of Regions might return to power.
• Foreign Minister Klimkin thinks that the lack of control over part of the border will not intervene with integration and obtaining of a visa-free regime with the EU.
• The official hryvnia exchange rate continues to decrease: 21,99 ₴ / $ (+0,37 USD), 25,01 ₴ ​​/ € (+0,51 USD), 3,54 ₴ / 10 ₽ (+0,02 USD).

Ukraine at War

• In Minsk was held a meeting of the contact group on the conflict settlement in the Donbass. The militants rejected the demand of Ukraine on the participation in the local elections of representatives of Ukrainian political parties and media.
• Head of the SSU Gritsak reported that the attack in Odessa, when the explosion occurred in front of the SSU, was disclosed. Perpetrators of the crime were fulfilling the instructions of the Russian special services.
• Two supports of high voltage towers power lines leading to the Crimea, were blasted.
• The OSCE mission found in the vicinity of Mariupol a cluster of several dozen units of militants heavy equipment. The Headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist operation informed about completion of the withdrawal of tanks on Debaltseve direction.
• Advisor to the SSU Head Tandit said that about 800 Ukrainian troops are considered missing .
• Russia included 220 objects of the Crimea into the list of cultural monuments. Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest against these actions.

Ukraine and the World

• Polish Prime Minister Kopacz promised to oppose the construction of the second stage of the "Nord Stream" pipeline , bypassing Poland. Slovak authorities also strongly object to this construction .
• Russian aircrafts delivered another strike at  the Syrian opposition. The bombing of opposition forces strengthens the influence of the  Islamic state in the region.
  The US and Russia agreed on the regime of safety for military aviation flights in Syria.
  Turkish officials claim that they work on the plan for a political settlement in Syria, which includes a withdrawal from the post of President Assad in six months after the announcement of the truce. Experts believe that Putin, with nothing holding him back in Syrian compaign, might by means of military intervention achieve a better position in future negotiations. One of his goals is to leave  President Assad in his office, controlling part of the territory adjacent to the Russian military bases. Russian politicians claim that Russia's participation in the war in Syria would be short-term.
• In the parliamentary elections in Canada, won the 44-year-old politician Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister (1968-1984), who is called "the father of modern Canada."
• According to ambassador to Poland Deshitsa, sanctions against Russia should not  be cancelled until the return of the Crimea and regaining by Ukraine of the full control over its territory.

Trends

• According to experts, the criminal cases opened by the Ministry of Interior against officials, and searches in the offices of the VS Energy company , which controls a third of the power distribution market in Ukraine, indicate an attempt to force a sale of assets to the third parties. The owners of the company are Russian businessmen. VS Energy, as the owner of the re-registered in Kherson Sevastopol power company, is supplying electricity to the Crimea.
• Tax police searched the offices of two IT-companies. Experts believe that such searches have become a trend. In September, Minister of Economic Development Abromavicius strongly criticized such actions of the security forces.