11/25/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Transit traffic of Russian airplanes over Ukraine was banned

Transit traffic of Russian airplanes over Ukraine was banned

11.25.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Transit traffic of Russian airplanes over Ukraine was banned.
• President Poroshenko submitted to the Parliament draft amendments to the Constitution on the ​​judicial reform.
• The militants renewed shelling of the Ukrainian territory using MLRS "Grad".
• Import duty on electric vehicles was abolished .

Key Events in Ukraine

• President Poroshenko submitted to the Verkhovna Rada the draft amendments to the Constitution in connection with the ​​judicial reform. It is offered to create a new structure - the Supreme Council of Justice, and to deprive the Parliament  of right to express a distrust to the General Prosecutor, to appoint and dismiss judges. According to the Presidential Administration, these changes were approved by the Venice Commission.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk announced about the termination by the Ukraine of purchases of the Russian natural gas and about maintaining of the volumes of the natural gas transportation to Europe. According to him, the cost of the European natural gas is much lower than that of Russia. Gazprom announced about the termination of the natural gas supplies to Ukraine without pre-payment. Head of Naftogaz Kobolev considers the European natural gas market flexible, which allows to diversify the supplies, obtaining the best possible prices.
• The NBU showed that it controls the situation on the currency market - the hryvnia exchange rate slightly increased even without selling dollars on the foreign exchange auction: 23,77 ₴/$ (-0,18 UAH), 25,16 ₴/€ (-0,34 UAH) 3,63 ₴/10 ₽ (-0,02 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• Militants from Spartak shelled at night the territory under the control of Ukrainian troops, using the MLRS "Grad". Joint Center for Coordination and Control confirmed the shelling. Shellings of the  Ukrainian positions along all the demarcation line continued, intensifying at night. The highest intensity of attacks was recorded in the surroundings  of Donetsk and at the Artemovsk direction. At the order of the General Staff, the Ukrainian troops are actually forbidden to open the fire in response to the attacks of the militants and the Russian army, "if they are provocative in nature." According to official data, in the war zone over the previous day one Ukrainian soldier was killed, eight were injured.
• Another Russian "convoy", consisting of more than 100 trucks, envaded Ukraine.
• Head of the Donetsk regional military-civilian administration Zhebrivskyi informed about the transfer of the check point near Mariupol from Gnutovo into Pavlopol and Pishevik which would allow to access the settlements in the "gray zone" and to move the contact line for 10 km from Mariupol.

Ukraine and the World

• Obama signed the US defense budget for 2016, which included assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 300 million.
• The State Aviation Service from November 26 banned the transit traffic for all Russian aircraft over the territory of Ukraine. From 25 October direct flights between Russia and Ukraine were banned . According to estimates of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the budget losses from this decision could be $ 25-30 million.
• From  January 20, 2016 Ukraine introduces  import duties on a number of Belarusian goods in response to the unfriendly actions against Ukrainian brewing and confectionery products.
• US President Obama accused the Syrian government of purchasing of  oil from the Islamic terrorist state and imposed sanctions against Russian businessman, former head of Kalmykia, Ilyumdzhinov and also companies and banks under his control for their participation in these transactions.
• Russian aviation bombed a Turkish humanitarian convoy in the border region of Syria, which was delivering building materials and food for the Turkmens living there, who support the Government of Turkey. Seven truck drivers were killed, more than 10 people were wounded. Observers reported about shelling by the Russian Navy of the territory where the Russian bomber aircraft, shot down by the Turkish air forces, fell. Turkish President Erdogan said he would defend the fraternal Turkmen people against aggression and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the residents of the border areas.
• In Moscow, unidentified persons threw paint, eggs and stones at the Turkish Embassy. The Russian government warned the citizens about the dangers of tourism to Turkey.

The Trends

• Order of the General Staff to ban the fire in response to the provocative attacks of the militants and to transfer the decision-making and responsibility for this to the unit commanders, according to observers and military experts, leads to the demoralization of the army, since the admissibility of opening fire will be evaluated by the military prosecutors.
• According to the journalistic community, adopted law on the privatization of the print media may reduce the influence of the authorities on the local press and reduce the burden on the budget. Some of the newspapers that were financed by the local authorities for their own PR, will not survive in the market conditions and will be closed. The opponents of the law believe that part of the media may get into the hands of the local oligarchs and "lords", but it would be more honest than keep them with money of the citizens.