Ukraine
Donors getting nervous due to speculations over de-nationalisation of Ukraine's PrivatBank
The United States embassy to Ukraine unexpectedly said on March 21 that its diplomats "are closely monitoring" developments surrounding the nation's largest lender by assets, PrivatBank, nationalised in late 2016.
Ukraine expert forecasts second-round run-off between Zelensky and Poroshenko
Ukrainian comic and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Petro Poroshenko will face each other in the second-round run-off of the 2019 presidential election, Zenon Zawada at Kyiv-based brokerage Concorde Capital predicted in a res
Ukraine government to extend contract with incumbent CEO of gas monopoly
The Ukrainian cabinet will extend a contract with CEO of the nation's state-owned natural gas monopoly Naftogaz Andriy Kobolev for one year, Volodymyr Groysman said at a government meeting on March 20.
Law enforcement agencies take sides as election tensions rise in Ukraine
One of the key players in Ukraine's presidential election is a businessman and politician who is not himself running for office: Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who supervises the national police, and sympathises with the opposition.
COMMENT: Ukraine has to climb a debt mountain
Ukraine has a debt mountain to climb with $15bn of bonds to refinance this year and $21bn in 2020. An improving economy gives the country better access to the international capital markets, but the battle remains uphill.
Over two-thirds believe Ukraine headed in the wrong direction, President Petro Poroshenko leads disapproval polls
Over two-thirds of respondents in new Rating poll believe Ukraine is headed in the wrong direction, and half say they won't vote for incumbent President Petro Poroshenko "under any circumstances".
Tymoshenko's allies accuse Ukrainian president of "buying votes" using nationalised PrivatBank
Politician close to opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko claims President Petro Poroshenko and his team have imported hundreds of millions of hryvnias via PrivatBank in order to bribe voters.
Ukraine’s far right protestors attack riot police with toy pigs
Protestors gathered near the Presidential Administration and faced off with a four-deep line of police in full riot gear but began to pepper them with a barrage of soft toy pigs.
Ukraine's banks are back in profit but high NPLs and interest rates are crushing the business
Banks remain hobbled by the crushing weight of their non-performing loans and steep interest rates left over from the country's economic collapse in 2015.
Ukraine central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 18%
The the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has keept its key policy rate at 18% per annum after "balancing the need to bring inflation back to its target against the risks that could prevent inflation from decreasing", the regulator said in a statement o
"Ukrainian Papers" massive business data leak embroils Poroshenko in a new corruption scandal
Another corruption scandal has broken out for Ukraine’s embattled President Petro Poroshenko, only two weeks away from presidential elections, via a massive leak of hacked files that also implicate the president's friends.
Board of Ukraine gas monopoly reportedly seeks extending of contract with incumbent CEO, halving salary
The supervisory board of Ukraine's state-owned natural gas monopoly Naftogaz proposed the Cabinet of Ministers to extend a contract with the company's CEO Andriy Kobolev for one year, until March 22, 2020, according to a letter signed by board's head
COLCHIS: Brexit’s Risks and Opportunities for the Eastern Partnership
Barring any last-minute drama, the United Kingdom will cease to be a member of the European Union on March 29, 2019. Brexit will cause problems for the Eastern Partnership programme, but it will also open a new door as "European" changes its meaning
Western-backed NABU anti-graft agency caught up in Ukraine defence corruption scandal
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has found out itself front and centre of the ongoing corruption scandal over alleged illegal profit of associates of President Petro Poroshenko from the war in Donbas.
Ukrainian-Russian startup raises $1.5mn to teach English to Polish and Spanish kids
AllRight.io, an e-learning startup with Ukrainian and Russian roots, secured $1.5mn in a funding round led by Buran Venture Capital.
Google fixes “technical mistake” in maps that presented Crimea to Russian users as Ukrainian territory
Five year after Russia took control of the peninsula, the sovereignty dispute between Russia and Ukraine over Crimea is still sensitive for online service providers
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Consumer prices in Ukraine rise 0.5% m/m in February
Consumer prices in Ukraine rose 0.5% month-on-month in February following a 1% m/m growth in January, according to the nation's state statistics service Ukrstat.
Manafort sentenced to 47 months in prison for hiding $55mn in Ukraine payments
Paul Manafort, who headed Donald Trump's presidential campaign for two months in 2016, was jailed on March 8 for hiding from US tax authorities $55mn in payments he received from Ukrainian politicians for consulting work.
Ukrainian comic and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy outlines his policies
Ukrainian comic and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with representatives of the international media on March 4 and sketched out some of his proposed policies should he win the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections on March 31.
Transparency International ranks corruption in 100 Ukrainian cities
The NGO found the level of corruption has risen from the year before, and the leaders have changed.