Ukrainian and separatist representatives are meeting in Minsk for a third time, but marking the first official meeting since the signing of a peace deal in February. The two sides, including officials from Russia and the OSCE held talks yesterday to discuss how to create more stability in the eastern region of the country. Both…
A summit between leaders of the European Union and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko yesterday did little to convince onlookers that Ukraine would be joining the EU anytime soon. The EU has downplayed a prior claim that they would consider a peacekeeping mission to eastern Ukraine, while Poroshenko loudly defended the debt restricting deal/economic reforms and…
The deals with the private sector done, Ukraine is now scrambling to renegotiate its sovereign debt with other governments, most notably Russia. Additionally, Kiev’s Finance Ministry are working to provide currency swap lines to boost the country’s emergency cash reserves for the coming months (neatly coinciding with the return of gas debt talks with Russian…
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko categorically rejected the possibility of a federalized Ukraine when asked about the possibility. Poroshenko intimated that the plan was merely an attempt to “destroy” Ukraine and capitulate to the perceived Russian goal of breaking parts of the country apart. Nevertheless, despite his rejection of a federalized Ukraine, Poroshenko expressed support for…
Just as quickly as they began, the Ukrainian debt restructuring talks appear to be over. On Saturday, Kiev agreed to a debt restricting plan with debtholders like Franklin Templeton, PIMCO, and Blackrock as part of the $40 billion IMF bailout agreed to last month. Ukraine has agreed to a debt-swap in exchange for liquidation from…
Reports that Russian arms are still flowing into Ukraine with no interruption cast doubts on how effective the Minsk II Accords will be at keeping peace official. Unofficially, fighting still rages around the Donetsk airport and Mauripol and many senior military officials from NATO have made public statements that Moscow continues to provide aid and…
Ukrainian officials will meet today with Russian officials and representatives from state-owned energy giant Gazprom to discuss Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine. There is no clear timetable for the talks, as quarreling between the two sides has persisted and indications are that myriad issues are still unresolved. Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn recently stated…
The IMF has agreed to funnel some $10 billion in additional assistance funds into Ukraine’s economy as part of a larger four year bailout program. The fund’s board approved a $17.5 billion loan with tranche payments of some $5 billion next week and the other $5 in the next month for Ukraine to borrow against.…
The Ukrainian central bank will raise its benchmark refinancing rate to 30%, a more than 10% increase of the current rate of 19.5%. The bank taking this step has been expected, as inflation rates are increasing rapidly and the hryvnia has lost nearly half of its value during 2015. The move by the central bank…
The Ukrainian central bank began to severely restrict access to foreign currencies on Wednesday in an attempt to curb a sharp drop in the hryvnia, and then rapidly changed course, lifting the ban on foreign currency purchases. Ukraine’s economy has worsened due to infighting over legislation in the Ukrainian parliament and the related inability to…
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