Ukraine: Daily Briefing – January 31, 2018, 5 PM Kyiv time

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported at 12:30 PM Kyiv time that in the last 24 hours, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action. In the last 24 hours, Russian-terrorist forces opened fire on Ukrainian positions on the Luhansk and Donetsk sectors of the front 3 times in total.

US Envoy Kurt Volker. Photo – Reuters

On January 29, US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker held a telephone press briefing following meetings with Russia’s representative Surkov. Volker stated, “2017 was a year of violence in Ukraine. It really was a hot war. The level of violence throughout most of the year was higher than in 2016, and [inaudible] that is probably violence since the war really began in 2014. It continues on.[…] On average a Ukrainian soldier has lost his life about three every week. […] So this tragedy needs to stop.

           I have discussed this in great detail with the President of Ukraine, President Poroshenko when I was in Kyiv. Also with his National Security Advisor. […] We are working very, very closely with Ukrainians in all aspects of this. […]

          Of course the U.S. objective remains the same from when I was first appointed and when we first launched this effort, as stated by Secretary Tillerson in Kyiv in July. And it’s very simply: we seek the restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the safety and security of all Ukrainian citizens, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or religion.

         To the meetings with my Russian counterpart, they really kind of fell into three parts. The first part was my conveying to the Russian side a very strong sense of disappointment and frustration in Washington that Russia has done absolutely nothing to end the conflict or to withdraw its forces since we began this process when I was appointed in July. That is something that has been noticed and is a source of frustration in Washington. […]

         A possible peacekeeping force. Here there is nothing that is surprising to any of you, we have this territory that is currently being occupied by Russia, and [the forces] are under Russian command and control. And the Russian side is concerned about Ukraine implementing political steps under the Minsk Agreements. The Ukrainian side is of course concerned that they can’t access the territory that’s still occupied and that there is no effective ceasefire and [inaudible]. So the Minsk Agreements say all of these things. They cover the political and the security steps, but it has, but discussions about that have really gone nowhere.

        So the proposal that we put forward last summer was to have a UN-mandated peacekeeping force that would be able to provide security in the area if the Russians were to withdraw. That would create a secure environment, and in that environment it would create the conditions where Ukraine could implement political steps required by the Minsk Agreements. And then once that’s completed, you would have elections, local elections, and the territory would then be restored to Ukraine.”    Volker’s full press briefing is available here: Telephonic Press Briefing with Ambassador Volker, Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations

Bloomberg reported on January 30, “New U.S. sanctions will follow the publication of a list of Russian billionaires and top Russian officials, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Tuesday.

          Mnuchin said the ‘oligarchs list’ wasn’t delayed by the Trump administration after it was published late Monday, just as a congressionally-mandated deadline was set to expire. While Treasury emphasized that people on the list are not necessarily subject to U.S. sanctions, the report has been denounced by the Russian government, which says it will further hurt relations with the U.S.

         ‘There will be sanctions that come out of this report,’ Mnuchin said in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

          Some Democrats in Congress are upset that the report was not immediately accompanied by fresh U.S. sanctions to punish Russia for its alleged meddling in the 2016 election. Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, accused Mnuchin of ‘slow-walking’ the report.

         ‘We will take the basis of that report and look at, as we do in the normal course, where it’s appropriate to put sanctions. This should in no way be interpreted as we’re not putting sanctions on any of the people in that report,’ Mnuchin said. […]

          An accompanying report on the effect on Russia’s sovereign debt from possible U.S. sanctions was classified, Senator Bob Corker confirmed in a statement on Tuesday. Congress had requested an unclassified version of the report.”

Ukraine Business Journal reported, “Ukraine is starting a 5-year, $11 billion program to build 1,000 km of highways and to repair 9,100 km more, the Cabinet of Ministers reports. The goal is to dramatically upgrade road links among the 24 regional capitals. This public works program should provide 55,000 jobs. About half of financing comes from the state budget, and about half from international financial institutions.”

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported, “The Ukrainian government has fired tax and customs service chief Roman Nasirov, who was suspended from the post after his arrest on suspicion of embezzlement in March 2017.

           Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on January 31 that the State Commission for Senior State Service Personnel had approved the government’s recommendation that Nasirov be dismissed. Nasirov is being investigated on suspicion of defrauding the state of 2 billion hryvnyas ($70 million).

           He is one of the highest officials to face prosecution in Ukraine, whose pro-Western government is under pressure from the United States, the European Union, and donor organizations to tackle a deep-seated graft problem.