Ukraine received financial credit guarantees from Germany to pay for Donbass renovation. The attack of Islamic terrorists in Paris strengthened the position of the French Nationalist pro-Russian party. Situation is worsening at the Donetsk airport.
Key Events in Ukraine
● Prime Minister Yatsenyuk held talks with Federal President Gauck in Berlin. Ukraine is to receive financial guarantees from Germany on a credit of 500 million euros at low interest rate for 20 years towards renovation of Donbass. Joint steps to overcome the consequences of Russian aggression were also discussed.
● Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Abromavicius said that Ukraine needs $15 billion to stabilize the financial system in the country.
● According to the State Statistics Service, the annual inflation rate in Ukraine reached almost 25%.
War in Ukraine
● On Christmas night three Ukranian soldiers have been killed in renewed attacks on Donetsk airport and Ukrainian positions in Peski by insurgents. The shelling further continued along the whole perimeter of the front line. In Telmanovo district of Donetsk region Ukrainian troops destroyed a subversive group of militants.
● The head of the Kharkiv regional administration reported that the regional branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had dismissed about 500 employees who refused to go to the war zone.
● The Polish government is ready to provide immediate evacuation from Donbas to 205 ethnic Poles.
Ukraine and the World
● In a terrorist attack in Paris the islamic extremists killed two police officers and 10 employees of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo”, which printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The Yemeni cell of the terrorist organization “Al Qaeda” took responsibility for this crime. French authorities announced a day of national mourning in memory of the killed. Rallies in memory of the victims have been held across France.
● The Lithuanian President Grybauskaite emphasized that at this moment there is no ground for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the European Union on the terrorist Russian state.
● The Spokesperson for the US Department of State Psaki urged Russia to immediately release the Ukrainian pilot Ms. Savchenko, who is kept in detention and is currently on a hunger strike demanding recognition as a POW. Washington also demands the release of hundreds of Ukrainian hostages, forcibly held in jails by the Russian authorities.
● As a part of the resumption of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries, Cuba began the release of political prisoners from the list compiled by Washington.
Trends
● Donetsk businessman Balabanov, earlier implicated in raider takeovers, has been appointed as a director of state enterprise “Tsentroenergo”.
● Anti-Islamic mood intensified in France due to the terrorist attack in Paris. This situation strengthens the position of the nationalist party party “National Front”, led by the well-known nationalist Mrs. Le Pen, that has a pro-russian orientation.
