Ukraine
KYIV BLOG: EBRD gives Ukraine poor marks in its progress report
EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti gave a balanced but tough report on Ukraine’s progress at the annual 14th Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting in Kyiv.
Ukraine to raise up to $4bn via Eurobonds in 2018-2019
The Ukrainian authorities have open the book on the issue of the first bonds from a total of $4bn it hopes to raise over the next year, the first paper to be issued on the international capital markets since the Maidan protests broke out three years
Ukraine central bank leaves key policy rate unchanged at 12.5%
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has left its key policy rate unchanged at 12.5% due to the need "to return inflation to the target path", the regulator said in a statement published on September 14.
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Washington extends Iran nuclear deal waivers but also imposes new sanctions
Washington has announced that it is extending sanctions waivers for Iran granted under the 2015 nuclear deal, but at the same time it is imposing new measures against several individuals and entities over the country's ballistic missile programme.
Eastern Europe on alert as Russia targets “West” in largest war games for years
Nato members Poland and the Baltic states fear Russia will use the "Zapad" exercise to boost its military presence in the Kaliningrad region and possibly in Belarus.
KYIV BLOG: Ukraine headed for a constitutional crisis
Ukraine faces a crisis like Boris Yeltsin’s showdown with the communist-dominated Duma in 1993 if President Petro Poroshenko plays his cards badly in his stand-off with former Odesa governor and ex-Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili.
Russia ready to back deployment of UN peacekeepers not only on frontline in Ukraine's Donbas
Moscow is ready to back the possible deployment of the United Nations (UN) peacekeepers not only on the contact line between Ukraine's troops and pro-Moscow rebels, "but also in other places," Putin told German Chancellor Merkel
Poland drops passport design that angered Lithuania and Ukraine
Proposal to feature depictions of the Ukrainian city of Lviv and Lithuanian capital Vilnius in passport to celebrate 100 years of Polish independence sparked outcry in neighbouring states.
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KRUK REPORT: All the borders have been crossed
When irresponsible politicians play with rules instead of following them, the one who ends up paying is the country itself. Before September 10, I thought Poroshenko was smarter and Saakashvili was less self-centered.
Kyiv leadership slams Saakashvili for "attack on Ukrainian statehood"
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko slammed former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili on August 11, who defied the president by entering Ukraine without a valid passport accompanied by a supporters and a bevvy of Ukrainian lawmakers.
Ukraine reports 0.1% m/m deflation in August
Deflation in Ukraine stood at 0.1% month-on-month in August following a 0.2% m/m inflation in July; Ukraine's inflation stood at 16.2% in annual terms, the state statistics service Ukrstat reported on September 8.
Saakashvili defies Poroshenko, returns to Ukraine without a valid passport
Stateless former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili defied President Petro Poroshenko and crossed the border into Ukraine, despite having no passport.
Ukrainian president forecasts economic growth at 1.8% y/y in 2017
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko believes that Ukraine's GDP will grow by 1.8% year-on-year in 2017.
Ukrainian prosecutors raid HQ of agro giant Astarta
Timing of raid raises suspicions as it takes place at the most important time of the year for Astarta, coinciding with the launch of its thee-month sugar production campaign.
Ukraine foreign reserves up to $18bn in August
Ukraine's foreign exchange reserves increased by $240mn, or 1.3% month-on-month to $18.035bn in August, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said in a statement on September 5.
Crisis over Ukraine gas monopoly snowballs
The management crisis at state-owned gas monopoly Naftogaz took a new turn after Charles Proctor, an independent member of the supervisory board, said he will resign from his post in late September, citing the lack of government support.
Ukraine to issue its first post-Maidan Eurobond this autumn
Planned issue widely seen as a test of investors’ appetite for debt from the war torn country.
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Presidential faction in Ukraine parliament urges government to raise minimum wage in country
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's parliamentary faction has urged Kyiv government to raise the minimum wage in Ukraine to UAH4,000 (€170) from the current level of UAH 3,200, faction head Artur Herasymov said.
KYIV BLOG: Poroshenko's low popularity creates opening for Kremlin in Ukraine's upcoming elections
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has only a 2% popularity rating, opening up an opportunity for Moscow to influence the upcoming elections in favour of a new and friendlier candidate.
Kerch bridge to hurt Ukraine’s trade
The controversial bridge connecting Russia directly to the annexed peninsular of Crimea is nearly ready and will badly hurt Ukraine’s trade, a study has found.