Ukraine: Daily Briefing
August 14, 2018, 5 PM Kyiv time
 |
|
Canadian Sniper Rifle Maker Signs Weapons Deal With Ukraine – For the report from UATV, please click on image above
|
1. Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported at 12:30 PM Kyiv time that in the last 24 hours, no Ukrainian soldiers were 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 41 times in total, including at least 11 times with heavy weapons – mortars, artillery and anti-tank rockets. Returning fire, Ukrainian forces killed 2 and wounded 5 enemy combatants.
2. IMF mission will visit Kyiv September 6-19
On August 13, Goesta Ljungman, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in Ukraine, stated, “At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, an IMF mission will visit Kyiv during September 6-19, 2018, to discuss recent economic developments and policies. The mission will also discuss next steps, including financial assistance from the IMF in support of policies to maintain macroeconomic stability and keep the economy on a path toward sustainable and inclusive growth.”
3. US President signs Defense Bill authorizing $250 million in security assistance for Ukraine
On August 13, US President Donald Trump signed into law H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which authorizes appropriations for 2019 fiscal year and sets forth policies for US Department of Defense programs and activities. The bill authorizes $716 billion for US national defense.
“The NDAA will strengthen the efforts of the United States to bolster the defenses of its European partners, including $250 million dedicated to security assistance for Ukraine,” the White House stated.
4. EU allocates 15.5 million Euros to improve Ukraine’s public administration
The Delegation of the EU to Ukraine stated, “Based on the progress achieved by Ukraine in public administration reform (PAR) in 2017, the EU decided to provide more assistance to Ukraine in this crucial policy area. €15.5 million was authorised for disbursement to Ukraine’s 2018 state budget out of a total of EUR 90 million committed by EU to support the reform. This allocation follows the first tranche of EUR 10 million which was made available in May 2017.”
Thomas Frellesen, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the EU Delegation to Ukraine stated, “Through this decision to transfer €15.5 million of EU funds to Ukraine’s 2018 state budget we recognise tangible progress made by Ukraine in implementation of the public administration reform. This particularly concerns establishment of a well-performing PAR coordination framework at political and senior civil service levels, transparent and merit-based recruitment to reform staff positions, launch of a pilot phase of reorganisation in 10 ministries, as well as conceptual work initiated in the areas of policy making and general administrative procedure.”
