Section: Voice of America (USA)
IIF: Ukraine, Creditors in Talks on Possible Debt Restructuring
Ukraine is holding talks with creditors on restructuring its foreign currency debts, an official from an international finance association said on Thursday following recent meetings with Ukrainian officials. Lubomir Mitov, an economist with the Institute of International Finance, said that while Ukraine’s finances were precarious, it was...
Ukraine Rebels Cite Heavy Losses Battling Kyiv Troops
Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of Ukraine on Thursday and a rebel commander acknowledged big losses among separatists heavily outgunned by government forces. Even as President Petro Poroshenko and his team prepared to unveil their blueprint for ending more than two months of rebellion,...
Ukraine’s Poroshenko to Sign EU Agreement on June 27
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday he would sign an association agreement with the European Union on June 27 and also would send his new foreign minister to Luxembourg next week to lay out a peace plan for the east to EU ministers. Poroshenko made his comments after presenting Pavlo Klimkin, who was earlier endorsed as foreign...
NATO Chief: More Russian Troops at Ukraine’s Border
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday that at least a few thousand more Russian troops were now at Ukraine’s eastern border, a build-up he called a regrettable step backwards. “We now see a new Russian military build-up around the Ukrainian border. At least a few thousand more Russian troops are now...
US Warns of More ‘Costs’ if Russia Fails to Help Stem Ukraine Crisis
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the United States will work with its partners to impose “further costs on Russia” if it does not use its influence to help halt separatist violence in eastern Ukraine. The White House said Biden spoke by telephone Wednesday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and that the two promised to...
Analysts: Ukraine Dispute Not Likely to Cut Russian Gas Sales to Europe
Analysts tell VOA that Russia should not make any attempt to interrupt natural gas deliveries to Europe as part of its dispute with Ukraine. Russia loses in any attempt to interrupt the flow of natural gas to Europe, said two analysts who spoke with VOA. Russia cut off the flow of natural gas to Ukraine this week after Kyiv failed to pay $2...
Russia Arms Ukraine Secessionists, Again
When Crimea broke away from Ukraine, after the uprising in Kyiv that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, Russia denied sending soldiers and weapons to boost the secessionist forces. Now, as James Brooke reports for VOA from Moscow, the Kremlin is trying the same tactic in the Russian-leaning areas of southeastern Ukraine. …read more Source:...
In Ukraine, Divisions Not Necessarily About Language
From the outside, the crisis in Ukraine appears to be drawn along ethnic and linguistic lines – between Russian-speakers who identify with Russia and Ukrainian-speakers who identify with Ukraine. But during a recent visit, VOA’s Al Pessin found out it’s not so simple. …read more Source: Voice of...
US Pledges $10m to Fight Ukraine Corruption
The head of the U.S. government’s development agency has announced new financial support for anti-corruption initiatives in Ukraine. The visiting USAID chief said America stands by Ukraine in its quest to enact reform. While in Kyiv, USAID Director Rajiv Shah pledged $10 million in additional support for beleaguered Ukraine. He said much of...
UK Scrambles Jets to Intercept Russian Planes Near Baltics
Britain said on Wednesday it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept seven Russian military aircraft flying near the Baltic states as tensions between the West and Russia over the Ukraine crisis remained high. NATO last month tripled the number of fighter jets patrolling the Baltics to beef up the alliance’s defenses in Eastern...
