HEATMAP: bne IntelliNews Despair index

Jokers in the political pack

Disillusioned with the establishment, voters have welcomed the entry of satirists and comedians to the political fray — but can they offer a concrete policy alternative?

Nazis and mafia bosses invited to founding of independent Ukrainian church

Scandal erupts over the inclusion of two leaders of known organised crime groups and the head of the C14 Neo-Nazi group in the delegation lead by President Petro Poroshenko to the ceremony in Istanbul.

Ukraine’s Naftogaz filed a new $12bn claim against Russian gas monopoly Gazprom

Naftogaz CEO Andrei Kobolev said the claim will provide an opportunity for Ukraine to compensate losses from bypassing transit of Russian gas.

Ukraine’s inflation falls to 9.8% y/y in 2018

Consumer price inflation in Ukraine slowed in the last month of 2018 to 9.8%, down from 10% in November, as the central bank's campaign to tackle price rises continues to meet with success.

Ukraine’s gross international reserves reach five-year high in 2018

Gross international reserves rose 10.6% y/y to $20.8bn in 2018 – the highest level since October 2013, the National Bank of Ukraine reported.

HEATMAPS: Unemployment is mostly defeated but pay is not high enough

Transition from the socialist system came at an enormous cost for most of the countries in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of unemployment and poverty, but now the fight against unemployment is almost won.

Ukrainian President Poroshenko added $19.7mn to his fortune in 2018

Poroshenko, who remains one of the richest men in the country, added UAH548.679mn to his fortune from dividend payments from businesses nominally held in trust by Rothschild Trust Schweiz AG last year, according to his official declaration.

Football in a time of war

When Shakhtar Donetsk’s Champions League decider against the French football club from Lyon was re-located from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine to the country’s capital Kyiv at barely a week’s notice, there was exasperation in the city but little surprise

HEATMAPS: Inflation is defeated but the "Never Never index" still too high

Sky high inflation has been the bane of emerging Europe for most of the last two and a half decades. The beast has been slain in most countries of the region, but the battle continues in others.

COMMENT: Ukraine reveals benchmark details of new IMF deal

Ukraine published on December 20 part of its memorandum with the IMF on its new stand by programme, revealing its commitments under the programme and structural benchmarks necessary for its successful completion.

OUTLOOK 2019 Ukraine

The political agenda in Ukraine will be dominated in 2019 by the two elections, for president on March 31 and the Verkhovna Rada in October.

Castoff clothing a $770mn business in Eastern Europe

The CEE and Eurasia region accounts for around a quarter of the thriving $3bn global trade in secondhand clothing from western countries, but trade flows are being altered by rising incomes in the region and the falling quality of exports.

IMF board of directors signs off on Ukraine’s $3.9bn stand-by agreement

The board of Ukraine’s main donor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) signed off on the badly needed $3.9bn Stand by agreement (SBA) at a meeting on December 18.