Short news from Ukraine: an economic disaster, corruption and war

Working group of EU Council formulating proposals for expanding sanctions against Russia over annexation of Crimea
11 декабря 2014 г., 16:37:00
According to Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, a working group of the EU Council is formulating proposals for expanding sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea.

Premier Yatseniuk to meet with NATO Secretary General Dec. 15
11 декабря 2014 г., 16:10:00
Speaking at the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday, Premier Arseniy Yatseniuk announced that he would meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday, December 15th.

Parliament approves government's action program presented by Prime Minister Yatsenyuk
11 декабря 2014 г., 15:43:00
The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved the government's action program which was presented by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk; the program includes a series of austerity measures aimed at reducing the country's budget deficit.

President Poroshenko urges Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine, close border
11 декабря 2014 г., 15:29:00
"Please withdraw your troops from my country. Please release all hostages and close the border. And I promise: if you close the border, then within one or two weeks we will have peace and stability in Ukraine. It's very simple," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in Canberra on Thursday at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Ukrainian troops fighting over 32,000 separatists, Russian troops, mercenaries
11 декабря 2014 г., 14:54:00
According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, government troops in Donetsk and Luhansk regions are confronted by 32.7 thousand armed separatists and Russian regular troops, special task forces, and mercenaries.

Separatists continue violating ceasefire
11 декабря 2014 г., 14:33:00
In defiance of the ceasefire declared in Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Tuesday, illegal armed groups continue to shell positions of government troops as well as villages and towns.

Three Ukrainian soldiers killed, eight wounded since Wednesday - NSDC
11 декабря 2014 г., 14:07:00
National Security and Defence Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a news briefing that three Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and eight wounded since Wednesday.

Terrorist leaders call for resumption of peace talks with Kyiv
11 декабря 2014 г., 13:35:00
The leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics have called for resuming peace talks with Kyiv through the Trilateral Contact Group.

EU to strengthen sanctions on Crimea
11 декабря 2014 г., 12:54:00
The EU will strengthen its sanctions against the tourism industry in Crimea, as well as the exploration of oil and gas on the peninsula, Reuters has reported, citing a draft decision by the EU.

Premier: Budget deficit almost UAH 70 bln
11 декабря 2014 г., 12:30:00
The government keeps deficit of the state budget within the frames of UAH 68 billion, which is about 4%, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada.

Finance Ministry borrows UAH 1.5 billion
11 декабря 2014 г., 11:59:00
Finance Ministry held the planned placement of government bonds Wednesday and attracted UAH 1.5 billion to the budget, the ministry's press service informs.

Situation in Ukraine's health care system critical - WHO
11 декабря 2014 г., 11:35:00
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the situation in Ukraine's medical sector is critical, the WHO press service has reported.

Terrorists violate “silence regime” 22 times
11 декабря 2014 г., 11:08:00
Over the previous 24 hours, militants violated the silence regime in Donbas 22 times, the ATO press centre informs on Facebook.

Sweden allocates $664,000 as aid to Ukraine
11 декабря 2014 г., 10:43:00
Sweden has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) to provide $664,000 as humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Swedish Ambassador to Ukraine Andreas von Beckerath said on his Twitter page.

Australia to give Ukrainian Armed Forces $2 mln - Abbott
11 декабря 2014 г., 10:12:00
Australia will allocate $2 million in financial assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at a working meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the presidential press office reported.

NATO to train sergeants for Ukrainian army
11 декабря 2014 г., 9:46:00
NATO is beginning the work on training sergeants for the Ukrainian army; substantive negotiations on this issue between representatives of NATO and the Ukrainian Defence Ministry will begin on December 15, head of the group of advisers from NATO on reforming Ukraine's military education, retired General Boguslav Pacek, told Ukrinform agency.

Ukraine exports over 16 mln tonnes of grain since beginning of marketing year
10 декабря 2014 г., 17:21:00
Ukraine has exported 16.358 million tonnes of grain since the beginning of the 2014-2015 marketing year, the press office of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry has reported.

EU to ban investment in Crimea
10 декабря 2014 г., 16:00:00
The European Union countries are planning to ban investment in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea from December 15, EUobserver has reported.

Ukraine continues observing 'silence regime' - Security Council
10 декабря 2014 г., 15:42:00
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) has seen progress in the establishment of peace in Donbas and decided to continue observing a "silence regime", NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukrinform reported.

Government program considered in parliament
10 декабря 2014 г., 14:53:00
A draft resolution on the Program of the Cabinet's activities is registered in the Verkhovna Rada, by which the parliament is proposed to approve it.

Poland says too early to resume cooperation between NATO and Russia
10 декабря 2014 г., 14:38:00
Poland currently sees no signs in Russia's actions that would help resume normal cooperation between NATO and Russia, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said at a conference "The Next 15 Years: The Future Polish Priorities in NATO," Ukrinform reports.

Yatseniuk calls extraordinary Cabinet meeting
10 декабря 2014 г., 14:09:00
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk held an emergency meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, the press service of the Cabinet told Ukrinform.

Ukrainian military suffered no losses the past day in conflict zone
10 декабря 2014 г., 13:46:00
For the first time Ukrainian military suffered no losses over the past day in the conflict zone, said spokesman of the National Security and Defence Council Andriy Lysenko.

Talks on setting date for next round of Minsk negotiations ongoing
10 декабря 2014 г., 13:15:00
A new round of peace talks, involving Ukraine, pro-Russia separatists, Russia and representatives of the OSCE is aimed at seeking a solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

First meeting of EU-Ukraine association committee to be held in January
10 декабря 2014 г., 12:48:00
First meeting of the EU-Ukraine association committee is to be held in January 2015, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration Iryna Heraschenko said.

UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs to visit Kyiv next week
10 декабря 2014 г., 12:20:00
UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will visit Kyiv on December 15th to 17th for talks with Ukraine's leadership.

Government initiates amending Ukrainian constitution to introduce three tier court system
10 декабря 2014 г., 11:54:00
The government initiated the introduction of amendments to the Ukrainian constitution that would foresee a three tier court system in Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has stated.

IMF: additional $15 billion should be allocated to Ukraine within weeks to avoid financial collapse
10 декабря 2014 г., 11:18:00
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that additional $15 billion should be allocated to Ukraine within weeks to avoid financial collapse, Britain's Financial Times newspaper has reported.

U.S. VP: Ukraine cannot lose another chance to change country
10 декабря 2014 г., 10:37:00
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Ukraine cannot lose another chance to change the country for the better.

Ukraine tops Visegrad 4 summit agenda
10 декабря 2014 г., 10:10:00
A meeting of the Visegrad Group in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, on Tuesday, raised issues concerning the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz underlining the need to bolster the EU’s Eastern Partnership programme.

Explosion hits office building in Odessa, qualified as terrorist attack
10 декабря 2014 г., 9:43:00
A powerful explosion went off in an office building in Odessa, Southern Ukraine, overnight to Wednesday.