Breaking trade and transportation ties with Russia-annexed Crimea and parts of the Donbas region controlled by the separatists is a bad idea, said Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a news conference on Dec. 30.
The comment followed previous government intentions to cut supplies of gas and electricity to the territories taken over by Kremlin.
“Limited transport communication with Crimea should be restored,” said Yatsenyuk, adding that as a citizen he stands for full separation from the Crimean peninsula, but as a prime minister he understands this would be unfair towards Ukrainians living there who want to travel to the mainland.
Commenting on the Donbas, Yatsenyuk said that turning off electricity and gas supplies to the occupied territories would lead to a catastrophe. However, the price of gas and electric power will be deducted from social payments transferred to those living in the separatist-controlled areas.
Donbas residents who pay a visit to the separatist-free territory to get cash, whether it’s their pension payment or a subsidy, are a problem, since they take hryvnias back to the rebel areas, while the government doesn’t want any cash flows from Ukraine to the occupied zone.
Out of 823,000 internally displaced people, only 30,000 have applied for jobs in the government-controlled part of the country. To solve the problem, Yatsenyuk proposed making registration for displaced people stricter.
Under rules introduced in November, Donbas residents have to be registered in Ukrainian-controlled areas to receive their pensions and social payments. But the rules have been easily bypassed by many locals who get Ukrainian registration documents, but live in the occupied territories.
Energy issues
Keeping the links with Donetsk and Luhansk are critical for securing coal supplies from the insurgent-held enclaves.
To make sure that the money paid for coal goes to the suppliers and doesn’t reach the separatist combatants, Donbas mining companies should be registered in Kyiv, Yatsenyuk said.
Regarding the electricity, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine can buy it from Inter RAO, a Russian company.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of gas now comes to Ukraine from the European Union, while previously Russia’s Gazprom was a monopolist supplier. Without a reverse flow of gas from the EU, firewood would be the most popular way to heat a room, Yatsenyuk said.
Moreover, state-run nuclear power plants operator Energoatom inked a deal with Westinghouse, an American energy giant, implying supplies of nuclear fuel. This will decrease Ukraine’s reliance on Rosatom, a Moscow-based nuclear power company, which even had plans to build a plant in Ukraine’s Kirovograd Oblast at some point.
Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world’s operating nuclear plants, including more than 50 percent of those in Europe.
“The new agreement for Westinghouse Electric Company to significantly increase fuel deliveries to Ukrainian nuclear power plants through 2020 represents a very important day for Ukraine,” reads a news release of the Ukraine – U.S. Business council regarding the issue. “This agreement provides more energy for Ukraine and more independence from Russia.”
Tax reform
When asked to comment on the tax reform passed by the parliament on Dec. 28, Yatsenyuk lamented many didn’t understand the essence of the move and started criticizing it.
It is not an increase or decrease of taxes, but a rebalancing, he explained.
Moreover, the government plans to impose a luxury tax, while putting a heavier levy on giant conglomerates is also an option.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oleg Sukhov can be reached at [email protected].
