IN THE SPOTLIGHT. Gorshenin Institute May 2015 All rights reserved ISSUE 58 (221) 05/04/2015

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2 CONTENT 1. Top news page 5 2. Armed conflict in Ukraine`s east page 5 Russia building up forces for offensive - NATO Normandy Four leaders discuss Ukrainian conflict on phone USA ready to join talks on Ukraine conflict in Normandy Four format Russia appoints new representative to Donbas contact group EU ready to send civilian assessment mission to Donbas 3. Crimean issue page 6 Ukrainian court arrests Crimean ex-lawmaker on suspicion of treason EU, Ukrainian leaders again condemn Russian annexation of Crimea Crimean authorities continue to summon Crimean Tatars for questioning Crimea among five world regions with worst conditions for mass media, says Freedom House Crimea cut off from SWIFT financial network system - mass media Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sends Russia protest note over premier's visit to Crimea 4. International political page 7 Ukraine-Russia Russian authorities freeze assets of Roshen company's Lipetsk factory Fifteen Russians apply for political asylum in Ukraine since beginning of 2015 European Parliament demands Russia release jailed Ukrainian pilot Ukraine-EU Ukraine-EU summit held in Kiev Ukrainian government reports on implementation of EU association agreement Ukraine implements second phase of action plan on EU visa liberalization - Foreign Ministry Austrian court denies US request to extradite Ukrainian tycoon Ukraine-USA 2

3 US Congress committee approves 200m dollars for providing weapons to Ukraine Ukraine-NATO Ukraine, NATO agency sign cooperation agreement 5. Domestic political page 10 Ukrainian government announces new pension reform Firtash takes credit for backing Klitschko's UDAR Ukraine honours memory of Odessa tragedy victims Security Service of Ukraine detains suspects in organizing terror acts in Kharkiv Budget receives only 230 dollars of ex-president's cronies' arrested funds - media Lyovochkin's sister faces criminal case 6. Media page 12 Firtash's Euronews TV licensed for broadcasting by national council Eight journalists killed in Ukraine in Economy page 13 Pro-Ukraine conference held in Kiev Japan to give 1.8bn-dollar aid to Ukraine Ukraine's public debt grows by 7bn dollars Ukreximbank gets three-month deferral on Eurobonds World Bank worsens Ukraine's GDP forecast Consolidated budget surplus reaches 14bn hryvnyas in first quarter National Bank grows profit almost seven-fold Major retail chains fined for price fixing Ukraine raises utility rates 8. Energy page 14 Naftohaz's claims against Gazprom climb above 16bn dollars Europe forwards gas talk proposal to Russia, Ukraine Naftohaz makes 40m-dollar prepayment to Gazprom 3

4 Ukraine excludes rebel-held territories from gas balance Ukraine suspends electricity imports from Russia Naftohaz's loss grows to 3.9bn dollars in 2014 Naftohaz cuts gas supplies to debtors President signs gas market law Court arrests 500m cu.m. of gas belonging to Ukrainian tycoon Austrian AMIC Energy closes deal to buy Lukoil-Ukraine Ukrtatnafta boosts net profit by 38 percent Major wildfire occurs in Chernobyl zone International donors provide 180m euros for completing Shelter facility 4

5 1. TOP NEWS Ukraine-EU summit held in Kiev Brussels and Kiev have affirmed the unity of their stances on Russian policy against Ukraine. You can find more details in the sections CRIMEAN ISSUE and INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL. Austrian court denies US request to extradite Ukraine's tycoon The Ukrainian oligarch has said that he had promoted Vitaliy Klitschko as a presidential candidate and supported his party. You can find more details in the sections INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL and DOMESTIC POLITICAL. Crimean authorities continue summoning Majlis activists for questioning Freedom House has reported that Crimea is one of the worst parts of the world when it comes to the freedom of press. You can find more details in the section CRIMEAN ISSUE. 2. ARMED CONFLICT IN UKRAINE'S EAST Russia building up forces for offensive - NATO Russia's military may be taking advantage of the recent cease-fire in eastern Ukraine to lay the groundwork for a new military offensive, Philip Breedlove, NATO's Land Forces Commander in Europe, has said. Oleksandr Zakharchenko said that Pro-Russian separatists plan to occupy the territory of Donbas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, the leader of selfproclaimed Donetsk people's republic. He added that rebel fighters might need Kharkiv and other cities in order "to defend the Donetsk land". Zakharchenko stressed that he would allow Ukrainian authorities to hold elections on the occupied territory only in line with laws of the Donetsk people's republic. Normandy Four leaders discuss Ukrainian conflict on phone On 30 April, the leaders of the so-called Normandy Four - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Russian President Vladimir Putin - participated in negotiations over the phone. The Ukrainian presidential administration has reported that the participants had supported a Ukrainian proposal to demilitarize the town of Shyrokyne and to install there a checkpoint of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe. Additionally, the administration stressed that Russia had agreed to a peacekeeping mission in Donbas. However, the spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitriy Peskov, denied this report. 5

6 USA ready to join talks on Ukraine conflict in Normandy Four format The USA is open to participation in the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine and is ready to join the Normandy Four format if other participants agree to it, the US assistant secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland, has said. Russia appoints new representative to Donbas contact group On 27 April, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed special envoy Azamat Kulmukhametov as a Russian representative to the contact group for the settlement of the Donbas situation. Russian ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov had previously served on this post. Previously, Kulmukhametov worked as Russian ambassador to Kuwait and Syria. EU ready to send civilian assessment mission to Donbas The EU is ready to send a civilian assessment mission to Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which would help to determine the next steps for the implementation of security policy, the European Council president, Donald Tusk, said in Kiev on 27 April. He stressed that sending an EU military mission to Donbas had not been discussed. A special envoy of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmytro Kuleba, told a roundtable organized by the Gorshenin Institute that a peacekeeping mission to Donbas, on which Ukraine has been insisting, was not an alternative to the Minsk agreements but a means towards their implementation. 3. CRIMEAN ISSUE Ukrainian court arrests Crimean ex-lawmaker on suspicion of treason On 29 April, the Kiev Pecherskyy district court decided to detain former Crimean Supreme Council lawmaker Vasyl Hanysh for 60 days as a preventive measure. He is suspected of treason. The Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office declared wanted 76 former Crimean lawmakers who are suspected of treason and, more specifically, of assisting a foreign state to carry out subversive activities against Ukraine and of public calls for change of the state borders of Ukraine. EU, Ukrainian leaders again condemn Russian annexation of Crimea The EU and Ukrainian leaders have once again condemned the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in a joint statement issued after the 17th Ukraine-EU summit, which was held in Kiev on 27 April. The leaders expressed concern over the continuous increase of the Russian military presence in the Crimean peninsula. 6

7 Additionally, the sides noted the deterioration of the situation with freedom of press and minority human rights in Crimea, and urged the self-proclaimed Crimean authorities to grant international organizations access to the peninsula in order to monitor human rights. You can find more details about the Ukraine-EU summit in the section INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL. Crimean authorities continue to summon Crimean Tatars for questioning The Crimean investigation committee continued to summon leaders and activists of the Crimean-Tatar self-styled government Majlis for questioning last week. In particular, the first deputy leader of the Majlis, Nariman Dzhelyalov, the chairman of the Majlis secretariat, Dylyaver Akiyev, and others were among those questioned. They were questioned over clashed between Crimean Tatars and pro-russian activists on 26 February Crimea among five world regions with worst conditions for mass media, says Freedom House The Crimean peninsula, which has been annexed from Ukraine by Russia, belongs to the five world regions with the most unfavourable conditions for mass media work, a report of the international NGO Freedom House has read. The organization noted that Ukraine had improved its indicators, moving up from the category of "not free" to "partly free". Crimea cut off from SWIFT financial network system - mass media Western banks refuse to carry out financial payments though the SWIFT system for residents of the Crimean peninsula, which has been annexed from Ukraine by Russia, the Russian newspaper Vedomosti has reported. The same applies to payments of companies that are registered in Crimea. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sends Russia protest note over premier's visit to Crimea The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has sent Russia a note of protest over a visit of Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev to occupied Crimea, which took place on 27 April and was not agreed with the Ukrainian authorities. The ministry said that such visits of Russian officials are viewed as deliberate actions directed at an intentional escalation in bilateral relations and the demonstration of disrespect to norms of international law. 4. INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL UKRAINE-RUSSIA Russian authorities freeze assets of Roshen company's Lipetsk factory On 28 April, the Russian Investigations Committee froze assets of Ukrainian 7

8 President Petro Poroshenko's confectionary company Roshen in the Russian city of Lipetsk worth 2bn roubles (38m dollars) until 13 September. At the same time, tax authorities contend that the company, against which a criminal case has been launched, owes them 180m roubles (3.4m dollars). Roshen is accused of claiming illegal VAT refunds. Fifteen Russians apply for political asylum in Ukraine since beginning of 2015 Since the beginning of 2015, 15 Russian citizens have applied for political asylum in Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Border Service has reported. Only one applicant has been denied the request. We shall remind you that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that Ukraine would grant political asylum to Russian citizens who were persecuted for political reasons in their homeland. European Parliament demands Russia release jailed Ukrainian pilot On 30 April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding that the Russian authorities release a Ukrainian pilot and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Nadiya Savchenko, who has been illegally held in a detention facility. The document also urged Russia to free other Ukrainian citizens, including filmmaker Oleh Sentsov and a son of the former leader of the Crimean Tatar selfstyled government Majlis, Mustafa Dzhemilyev, Khayser. We would like to point out that on 29 April, Savchenko was transferred from the detention facility's medical unit to a Moscow city hospital due to the deterioration of her health. However, on 30 April, she asked to be returned to the detention facility, and the request was honoured. The lawyer of the Ukrainian pilot said that the conditions in the hospital were considerably worse than in the detention facility. UKRAINE-EU Ukraine-EU summit held in Kiev On 27 April, the 17th Ukraine-EU summit was held in Kiev. The EU was represented by European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, while Ukraine was represented by its President Petro Poroshenko. In a joint statement issued after the summit, the leaders affirmed the unity of their stances on the Russian policy against Ukraine. The EU and Ukrainian leaders also called for the acceleration of the implementation of the Minsk agreements urged all the sides to implement the Minsk agreements quickly and fully, as well as stressed that it was Moscow's responsibility to do so. We would like to point out that during the summit, Poroshenko called on Europe to recognize Ukraine's right to become a member of the EU. He said that Ukraine should be able to satisfy all the requirements for applying to the EU membership in five years. He also expressed hope that the EU would grant Ukrainian citizens visafree travel. 8

9 For their part, the European leaders urged the Ukrainian authorities to speed up the implementation of reforms. According to experts, among the major achievements of the summit was the agreement in principle between Kiev and Brussels that free trade between Ukraine and the EU will be launched from At the same time, analysts say that the Ukrainian leadership voiced no new messages during the meeting. Particularly, there were no statements regarding the prospects for Ukraine's membership in the EU and visa regime relaxation. Ukrainian government reports on implementation of EU association agreement On 27 April 2015, the government office for European integration published a report on the implementation of the agenda on association and implementation of the EU association agreement by Ukraine. The document describes events, which were planned and held from September 2014 to April The text of the report can be found here. Ukraine implements second phase of action plan on EU visa liberalization - Foreign Ministry Ukraine has completed the second phase of the action plan on EU visa liberalization and expects the European Commission to present its conclusions on 13 May, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Kiev asked Brussels to define the terms and conditions of visa-free travel for Ukrainians. In his words, the sides agreed that a high-level meeting will be held after the 12 May visit by the EU assessment mission to work out preparatory documents ahead of the Riga Eastern Partnership summit on May. Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said that Poland and Romania would push for the cancellation of visas for Ukrainians and Georgians at the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga. According to the deputy head of the presidential administration, Valeriy Chalyy, Russian aggression is an additional argument for the European Union to postpone the introduction of a visa-free regime. Austrian court denies US request to extradite Ukrainian tycoon On 30 April 2015, a Vienna regional criminal court denied the US Department of Justice's request to extradite Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash to the USA, and allowed him to travel outside Austria. The judge concluded that the USA did not provide sufficient evidence of Firtash's crime. The court agreed with the defence team that the case was politically motivated. Austria's prosecutor's office has appealed against this decision. 9

10 Firtash suggested in court that he was being prosecuted by the USA because he did not support Yuliya Tymoshenko who was allegedly the US favourite in the Ukrainian presidential election. The court heard the statements by first Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk, Opposition Bloc MPs Yuriy Boyko and Serhiy Lyovochkin, and former Party of Regions MP Inna Bohoslovska as witnesses. Kiev mayor Vitaliy Klitschko was questioned during a closed video conference. The USA accuses Firtash of creating a crime ring in 2006 and conspiring to bribe Indian officials for a permit to extract titanium there. The USA got involved because Indian titanium is sold on the US market. The Ukrainian businessman was detained by the Vienna police in March 2014 on a warrant of the US FBI. He was released pending an extradition hearing on bail of 125m dollars paid by Vasiliy Anisimov, a Russian businessman from President Vladimir Putin's entourage. As reported earlier, Firtash and Russia's Gazprom established the RosUkrEnergo company which acted as intermediary in Russian gas supplies to Ukraine in Read more about Firtash's statements in court in DOMESTIC POLITICAL. UKRAINE-USA US Congress committee approves 200m dollars for providing weapons to Ukraine On 30 April 2016, the US House Armed Services Committee approved the allocation of 200m dollars to provide the Ukrainian army with arms and training. UKRAINE-NATO Ukraine, NATO agency sign cooperation agreement On 27 April 2015, Ukraine and NATO Support and Procurement Agency signed the agreement on cooperation in support and procurement. In NATO's words, this agreement establishes a formal framework for NSPA to act as the Executing Agent for two of the NATO Ukraine Trust Funds: Logistics and Standardization and Medical Rehabilitation. 5. DOMESTIC POLITICAL Ukrainian government announces new pension reform On 29 April 2015, Social Policy Minister Pavlo Rozenko presented a new government project of pension reform. It contains five key provisions: 10

11 - working citizens finance pensions; - special pensions, except payments to servicemen, are liquidated as of 2016; - a funded plan, when a working citizen funds his or her own future pension, is introduced as of 2017; - a professional pension system is introduced within the framework of the funded system; - non-government pension insurance is introduced. The government also agreed a package of bills regulating the introduction of the new pension system and sent it to parliament for consideration. Firtash takes credit for backing Klitschko's UDAR During a court hearing in Vienna, Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash said he provided support for Vitaliy Klitschko and his UDAR party since 2012 because he considered him an alternative candidate in the 2015 presidential election. He explained that this decision was prompted by then President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to implement reforms. In his words, the USA did not approve of Klitschko's candidacy, allegedly favouring Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Yuliya Tymoshenko. Firtash also spoke of his support for the Euro-Maydan pro-democracy protests and his role in developing an agreement between the authorities and the opposition after the shooting of protesters. He also confirmed reports Klitschko left the presidential election run after he, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko, the former head of the presidential administration, Serhiy Lyovochkin, and Firtash met in Vienna. "I can say that we have achieved what we wanted. Poroshenko became the president, Klitschko the mayor," he said. Klitschko said Firtash's statements were incorrect. In his opinion, Firtash's lawyer chose this strategy on purpose to move his client's case from economic to political domain. Ukraine honours memory of Odessa tragedy victims Mourning ceremonies were held throughout Ukrainian cities on 2 May to mark the anniversary of the fire in the Trade Unions House in Odessa. Forty-eight people were killed and more than 200 injured as a result of mass riots and a fire in the Trade Unions House in central Odessa on 2 May The Prosecutor-General's Office is suspecting Petro Lutsyuk, the former police chief in Odessa Region, of negligence during the street unrest in Odessa. Security Service of Ukraine detains suspects in organizing terror acts in Kharkiv The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has reported the detention of 10 members of the Kharkiv Partisans group and three members of Oplot, who are suspected of preparing and committing terror attacks in the city. 11

12 These were Ukrainian nationals led by Russians, it added. The SBU also detained over 30 Ukrainians on suspicion of separatism in Odessa and Kiev. Budget receives only 230 dollars of ex-president's cronies' arrested funds - media In the first three months of the current year, the state budget of Ukraine received only 5,010 hryvnyas (230 dollars) of the arrested 1.5bn hryvnyas (68m dollars ) owned by the allies of ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian media have reported. Lyovochkin's sister faces criminal case The Prosecutor-General's Office has launched criminal proceedings against Opposition Bloc MP Yuliya Lyovochkina, the sister of the former head of the presidential administration, Serhiy Lyovochkin, and former MPs Andriy Kravets and Yuliya Kovalevska from the Party of Regions. The cases were opened because they had registered their assistants with the parliament staff though they did not carry out their duties. One of Lyovochkina's assistants was ex-president Viktor Yanukovych's rumoured partner Lyubov Polezhay. 6. MEDIA Firtash's Euronews TV licensed for broadcasting by national council On 29 April 2015, the National Council for TV and Radio Broadcasting has licensed Dmytro Firtash's Inter Media Group to broadcast the Ukrainian version of Euronews TV on satellite. Inter Media Group has become an exclusive partner of Euronews in Ukraine. On 19 March, the national council cancelled the licence of the National TV Company of Ukraine to broadcast the Ukrainian version of the Euronews international channel. Eight journalists killed in Ukraine in 2014 According to the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, eight journalists, both Ukrainian and foreign, were killed in Ukraine in 2014, while several other media workers were killed already this year, most of them in Donbas. The organization also reported that since the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas, more than 40 media representatives were held as captives. Several journalists are still kept captive. The majority of journalists were forced to leave the occupied territories because of threats to their lives and health, while many publications ceased to exist. 12

13 7. ECONOMY Pro-Ukraine conference held in Kiev On 28 April, an international conference in support of Ukraine was held in Kiev. Leaders representing Ukraine and other countries discussed reforms which Ukrainians need and the assistance, which the international community need to grant them for successful implementation of these reforms. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that in total Ukraine had received 30bn dollars of international financial assistance. He added that the country hoped to attract 3bn dollars in direct foreign investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank by the end of For his part, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Hennadiy Zubko said that the government needed to spend at least 1.52bn dollars in order to reconstruct Donbas, which had been destroyed as a result of the conflict. Japan to give 1.8bn-dollar aid to Ukraine Japan will provide 1.8bn dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kentaro Sonoura said on 27 April, before his visit to Kiev, according to the press service of the Petro Poroshenko Block. Ukraine's public debt grows by 7bn dollars The total direct and guaranteed debt of Ukraine in March increased by 11.9 percent, or 6.91bn dollars, to 65.03bn dollars, according to the Finance Ministry. The total amount of public and publicly guaranteed debt in the hryvnya equivalent in March, compared to February, fell by 90bn hryvnyas, or 5.6 percent, to 1,520bn hryvnyas. Ukreximbank gets three-month deferral on Eurobonds State-owned Ukreximbank on 27 April made an agreement with creditors to extend the maturity of its April Eurobonds by three months. In January-March, Ukreximbank showed a loss of 4.53bn hryvnyas (206m dollars), while in the corresponding period of the last year it posted a profit of 63.78m hryvnyas (2.9m dollars). World Bank worsens Ukraine's GDP forecast The World Bank has projected that Ukraine's real GDP in 2015 will contract by 7.5 percent, as compared with a decline of 6.8 percent recorded in However, in 2016, the country's economic growth could reach 2 percent, according to the institution's estimate. Also, the World Bank expects that consumer inflation in Ukraine in 2015 will accelerate to 40 percent. Earlier, the IMF and the World Bank said that Ukraine's GDP in the current year 13

14 will drop by 5.5 percent. It should be noted that, according to the National Bank, Ukraine's GDP in January-March 2015 fell by 15 percent compared to the same period of Consolidated budget surplus reaches 14bn hryvnyas in first quarter Ukraine's consolidated budget showed a surplus of 13.97bn hryvnyas (635m dollars) in the first quarter of 2015, according to the Finance Ministry. The consolidated budget surplus for the respective period in 2014 amounted to 469.9m hryvnyas (21.36m dollars). National Bank grows profit almost seven-fold The National Bank has reported that its profit in 2014 totalled 96.08bn hryvnyas (4.37m dollars), or 6.5 times more than in Also, it should be noted that the regulator's total assets as of 1 April were bn hryvnyas (36.87bn dollars). Its liabilities increased to bn hryvnyas (31.1bn dollars), or by 37.8 percent. Major retail chains fined for price fixing The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has imposed a fine of 203.6m hryvnyas (9.25m dollars) on the largest retail networks for a breach of legislation. According to the agency, the chains agreed to substantially inflate prices of consumer goods. The violation relates to the events of , and was uncovered in Ukraine raises utility rates Central heating and hot water rates in Ukraine grew by 71.5 and 57 percent respectively on 1 May. It should be recalled that prices of natural gas, electricity and cold water supplies rose substantially in April. 8. ENERGY Naftohaz's claims against Gazprom climb above 16bn dollars The state-run energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny on 30 April filed with the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal its claims against Russia's Gazprom concerning the contract for natural gas transit through the territory of Ukraine (January 2009). It should be noted that the total amount of Naftohaz's claims to Gazprom submitted to the Stockholm arbitration for damages and transit contract amendments currently stands at more than 16bn dollars. Gazprom official Sergey Kupriyanov said that the amount of the Russian company's claims to Naftohaz exceeds Kiev's claims to Moscow. 14

15 Europe forwards gas talk proposal to Russia, Ukraine The European Commission has sent its proposals for the trilateral natural gas talks to Ukraine and Russia, according to Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Issues Maroš Šefčovič. Energy Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn noted that the date of the tripartite meeting could be scheduled after the Ukrainian and Russian sides give their official response to the European Commission's proposal. According to his estimates, the negotiations will take place in mid-may. Naftohaz makes 40m-dollar prepayment to Gazprom The state-run energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny on 28 April transferred 40m dollars to Russia's Gazprom as an advance payment for natural gas supplies. The amount of advance payments for April's Russian gas supplies made by Naftohaz, without the latest transfer, was 70m dollars. Ukraine excludes rebel-held territories from gas balance Natural gas deliveries to consumers in the territories controlled by the prorussian separatists are not projected in the second quarter of 2015, according to the forecast balance for receipt and distribution of natural gas in 2015, approved by the government on 15 April. In the first quarter, gas supply to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics was 0.41bn cu.m. In general, according to the document, Ukraine will require 54.24bn cu.m. of gas in 2015, including 19.54bn cu.m. of domestically produced gas, 25.99bn cu.m. of import gas, 8.69bn cu.m. to be withdrawn from underground storages, and 0.03bn cu.m. to be taken from gas pipelines. Pumping of gas into underground storage facilities is projected at 13.9bn cu.m. Ukraine suspends electricity imports from Russia Due to a decrease in consumption, Ukraine has stopped buying electricity from Russia, the state-run company Ukrenerho has said. At the same time, the company noted that the situation could change in the summer, because during that period the maximum power consumption should reach consumption volumes seen in the winter. Naftohaz's loss grows to 3.9bn dollars in 2014 The state-run energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny showed a loss of 85bn hryvnyas (3.9bn dollars) in 2014 while its revenue was 74.4bn hryvnyas (3.4bn dollars). A year earlier, Naftohaz posted a loss of 18bn hryvnyas (818m dollars) on revenues of 75.9bn hryvnyas (3.45bn dollars). 15

16 Naftohaz cuts gas supplies to debtors The state-run energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny said on 27 April that it would discontinue natural gas supplies to businesses with debts for consumed gas. As of 24 April, enterprises generating electric power and heat energy had 21.9bn hryvnyas (995m dollars) in gas debt to Naftohaz. Compared with the year's beginning, this amount increased by 69 percent. Naftohaz's largest debtor is Kyivenerho owned by Rinat Akhmetov. The company owes 3.7bn hryvnyas (168m dollard) for gas it consumed. President signs gas market law President Petro Poroshenko on 30 April signed a law on the natural gas market. The document, among other things, obliges regional gas distribution companies (most of which are controlled by businessmen, including Dmytro Firtash) to pay for the use of public gas distribution networks. Court arrests 500m cu.m. of gas belonging to Ukrainian tycoon The Kiev Pecherskyy district court on 29 April arrested 500m cu.m. of natural gas (worth 3.6bn dollars) which belongs to Ostchem Holding of Dmytro Firtash and is stored in the facilities of Ukrtranshaz, a state-owned company, under criminal proceedings concerning 5.7bn hryvnyas (259m dollars) embezzlement by officials of the state-run company Naftohaz Ukrayiny. Austrian AMIC Energy closes deal to buy Lukoil-Ukraine Austrian company AMIC Energy Management GmbH (AMIC) has acquired from Russia's company Lukoil 100 percent of the shares in Lukoil-Ukraine, which owns 240 petrol stations and six oil tank farms on the territory of Ukraine. Ukrtatnafta boosts net profit by 38 percent Ukrtatnafta (operates the Kremenchuk refinery in Poltava region) in 2014 increased its net profit by 37.8 percent in comparison with 2013, to 358m hryvnyas (16.27m dollars), the company has reported. It should be recalled that percent of shares in Ukrtatnafta are owned by the state-run energy company Naftohaz Ukrayiny, while Privat Group of Ihor Kolomoyskyy, and businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavskyy own 28 percent each. The company's management is controlled by Privat since October Major wildfire occurs in Chernobyl zone A wildfire covering 400 hectares occurred in the Chernobyl zone on 28 April. Ukraine's emergency services managed to stop the fire only after a few days, just five kilometres away from a radioactive waste storage facility. According to the State Service for Emergency Situations, the fire was set intentionally or was a result of careless handling of fire. The Interior Ministry 16

17 has opened criminal proceedings with regard to the incident. Experts say that the background radiation in Chernobyl and in other Ukrainian cities is within the norm. International donors provide 180m euros for completing Shelter facility The G7 states and the European Commission have decided to allocate 165m euros for the completion of a new confinement (Shelter project) at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has said. In addition, several other countries made a commitment to allocate 15m euros in total. In particular, Finland will provide 2m euros, Kazakhstan 1m euros. Thus, the funding gap was reduced to 85m euros. It should be recalled that the total project cost is 1.4bn euros. Founded in July 2010, Gorshenin Weekly is a weekly digest of expert analysis covering the most important political, social and economic events in Ukraine. It is the key source of information about opinion polls carried out by the Gorshenin Institute as well as the best professional commentaries on recent developments. Gorshenin Weekly is available in Russian and English. Gorshenin Weekly has over 1000 subscribers in the EU, the USA, Russia, Ukraine and other countries. Its regular customers are representatives of the embassies, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the US Department of State, leading international analytical centres, Ukrainian and international mass media. If you wish to subscribe to Gorshenin Weekly please send your request to the following address: weekly@gorshenin.eu. Our contact information: 18b Mala Zhytomyrska st., Kiev 01001, Ukraine f kipu@kipu.com.ua For more information please visit our website 17