10/28/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Second round of elections will be held in Pavlograd

Second round of elections will be held in Pavlograd

10.28.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Second round of elections will be held in Pavlograd.
• The Cabinet resolved to establish a social gas consumption norm for households for the coming winter period.
• Vienna prosecutor appealed the court decision not to extradite Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash to the US..
• Akhmetov won 25% stake of Dniproenergo owned by the state in a court hearing.
• Huge queues gathered at the checkpoints in the occupied territories of Donbas.

Key Events in Ukraine

• Municipal Election Commission registered former member of the Party of Regions Trukhanov as the Mayor of Odessa. According to the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration, prosecutors started seizing ballots to verify voting results. After the intervention of President Poroshenko, CEC changed its decision to cancel the second round of elections in Pavlograd.
• The Cabinet decided to establish a social norm of gas consumption for households at the rate of 1200 m3 for six months. In February, the real rate of gas consumption will be evaluated, and the need to increase this norm in case of a cold winter will be determined. The market price of natural gas will be adjusted in the first quarter of next year based on the price of imported gas and the rate of the national currency. The procedure for obtaining subsidies for housing and communal services in the winter period has been simplified. The Prime Minister signed a decree on the establishment of state social standards in the housing sector.
• The Ministry of Justice has introduced a new service: a digital apostille, allowing for the legalization of documents on the same day.
• Head of the State Fiscal Service announced the dismissal of 42% of its executives and 15% of regional managers.
• General Prosecutor's Office opened a new criminal case against the former Deputy Prime Minister Klyuyev for the embezzlement of public funds.
• Ministry of Internal Affairs submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague materials on more than 400 offenses committed against the activists of Maidan.
• The Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the court of original jurisdiction and returned to oligarch Akhmetov's holding 25% stake in the largest energy company Dniproenergo.
• Ukraine has accumulated about 17 billion m3 of gas in underground storage facilities.
• Incumbent Kharkiv Mayor Kernes urged to revive economic ties with Russia.
• Subsidiaries of Russian banks in Ukraine increased their capital by UAH 16.6 billion, which led to the increase in the share of foreign capital in their authorized capital to almost 38%.
• Hryvnia exchange rate fell slightly against major currencies: 22.89 ₴/$ (+0.03 UAH), 25.37 ₴/€ (+0.08 UAH), 3.50 ₴/10 ₽ (-0.10 UAH) .

Ukraine at War

• The ceasefire in the conflict area in Donbas is constantly violated by militants’ shelling. As a result, one soldier was wounded near Horlivka, and three more were wounded in the village of Spartak near Donetsk Airport later in the day
• The Ukrainian army withdrew the artillery of up to 100 mm caliber from the line of fighting near Artemivsk and Mariupol.
• NSDC Secretary Turchynov assured that the Ukrainian army would react promptly to systemic provocation of the Russian occupying forces.
• The militants refused to allow the OSCE mission observers to inspect Ukraine’s state border with Russia.
• Long queues accumulated at the checkpoints in the conflict area at both sides, people are forced to sleep in cars in the field.
• OSCE observers reported on the continued export of coal from the occupied territory of Luhansk region to Russia.

Ukraine and the World

• Polish President Duda objected to the frozen conflict in Donbas and insisted on the return to Ukraine of the control over its state border with Russia.
• At the NATO summit on November 4, nine countries of Eastern and Central Europe will appeal to NATO with a request to increase its military presence due to the growing threat from Russia and Syria.
• Freedom House reported a significant decline in the freedom of the press in Ukraine. Conditions for media feedom also deteriorated in France, Libya, and in the Middle East.
• Vienna Prosecutor appealed the court decision to deny the extradition of oligarch Firtash; however, he has got his passport back and, according to his lawyers, he can return to Ukraine.
• Pentagon head Carter confirmed the refusal to cooperate with Russia on Syria. He believes that Kremlin’s mistakes will have negative consequences for the country.