12/29/2015 Ukraine: Daily Highlights - Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held a press conference on the results of the year

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held a press conference on the results of the year

12.29.2015 Daily Highlights by the Digests & Analytics Ukraine Agency

Topics from Media and Social Networks

• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held a press conference on the results of the year.
• The General Prosecutor's Office published the evidence in the Korban’s case.
• 60% of Ukrainians do not agree with the country’s policy.
• The Russian general who was in command during the capture of the Crimea died.

Key Events in Ukraine

• Parliament Speaker Groisman signed the Law on the State Budget for 2016. A Law on re-elections in Kryvyi Rih was not signed, as the Regulatory Committee is considering a complaint of the Opposition Bloc about violations of regulations during the process of voting. The text of the Law on amendments to the Tax Code is not available on the site of the Verkhovna Rada.
• President Poroshenko believes that the main objectives of the SBU in 2016 should be development of the  concept of counter-intelligence, fight against corruption in government and prevention of the monopolization of the economy.
• Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held a press conference at year-end, where stated that he was ready to resign if the parliamentary coalition adopts such desigion. According to him, Interior Minister Avakov can not be dismissed, because he is needed to continue the reform of the law enforcement system with the Government . Yatsenyuk does not intend to change the ministers proposed according to the  "Popular Front" party quota. Next year Ukraine plans to receive about $ 10 billion of Western loans, so the Prime Minister ruled out the possibility of exiting the program of cooperation with the IMF. He stated that Ukraine is ready for a legal "war" with Russia, and waiting for a decision on the natural gas dispute with Russia in 2016. According to him, next year the economy will see a moderate growth.
• Farmers continue to protest against the abolition of the tax privileges, blocking the main highways. The authorities have not yet contacted them.
• Head of the NBU Gontareva said that next year Ukraine will receive about $ 9 billion in financial aid, the next tranches of the IMF loan will be consolidated, the decision on their allocation will be made in late January. The hryvnia exchange rate for the next year is planned at the level of 24.1 UAH / $.
• The National Bank of Ukraine allowed the legal entities to provide collection services.
• The official rate of hryvnia did not change after a sharp fall on Monday: 3.79 ₴/$ (-0.02 UAH), 26.06 ₴/€ (-0.04 UAH), 3.28 ₴/10 ₽ (-0.08 UAH).

Ukraine at War

• The observers of the OSCE mission recorded in the main street of Kominternovo traces of tracks of heavy equipment. Under the guise of local residents the militants reported to the mission of the provocations of the Ukrainian army. The General Staff said that Kominternovo is not a strategically important point. During the last week intensity of the clashes decreased, however, at  night the shellings of Marinka and towns in the surroundings of ​​Donetsk and Gorlovka  intensified . According to official reports, one soldier was wounded Shyrokino.
• In Lugansk, the  occupants drowned the Ukrainian radio broadcast. The Ministry of Information Policy stated that it intends to increase the capacity of the transmitters and select the new frequencies for broadcasting.

Ukraine and the World

• German Foreign Minister Steinmeier said that the main objectives of the settlement process in the Donbass is the holding of local elections in the beginning of 2016 and the full implementation of the Minsk Agreement, including the restoration of Ukraine's control over the border with Russia. As further problems he considers violations of the ceasefire, worsening of the humanitarian situation in the occupied territories and the lack of agreement on the conduct of the local elections .
• UN Agency for Refugees said that  in 2015 more than a million refugees caame to Europe by sea , mainly through the island of Lesbos, over three thousand of them drowned.
• Turkey rejected any involvement in the support of the Crimean Tatar battalions, which are being formed in the Kherson region, and once again reminded Russia that it does not recognize the annexation of the Crimea.

The Trends

• The Law on Amendments to the Tax Code with all the corrections is absent on the Parliament's website. This gives reason to suppose that sense changes that are the subject of bargaining between the interest groups in the Verkhovna Rada are being introduced.
• The "Solidarity" Poroshenko Bloc is planning to remove the name of the President from the name of the party. The representatives of the party admit that it is not ideological, and it went to the parliamentary elections, using a rating of Poroshenko in the presidential election.