On Tuesday, Feb 24, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) issued a decree, restricting capital transactions from Feb 25 – 27. It says that banks are not allowed to buy foreign currencies for their clients.
One year after Maidan, activist Igor Procenko talks about war, fights between oligarchs, war as an excuse for the lack reforms and Putin.
Reported violations related to freedom of press doubled since 2013, violations of the category ‘assault’ nearly tripled, attacks on editorial offices in 2014 where almost eight times higher than in 2013.
Debaltseve connects the railways between Donetsk-Luhansk and to the east. Controlling Debaltseve would allow Russian backed militias faster transportation (troops, equipment, coal), therefore it is the key for territorial and economic consolidation of DNR/LNR.
On Feb 8 the German FAZ reported that the actual death toll of the conflict in Ukraine is ten times higher than the official figures suggest. According to their sources (‘Sicherheitskreise’ – military / intelligence) 50’000 fighters and civilians have died since April 2014. The UN estimates 5’358 casualties, Poroshenko recently said that …
Actors are driven to take higher risks in a environment that becomes more dangerous while the consequences of their actions are not clear.
Or are they going to ban primes?!
On Nov 9 Reuters published an article quoting senior EU officials involved in gas negotiations. The bottom line: It’s worse than expected.
Elections in Ukraine are over, old problems start hurting again. The optimistic bubble blown up during election campaign bursts. And the public goes back to normal, defining its role in a armed society.
Some notes on a geopolitical hot spot with features of a institutional freak show.
