Three Ukraine soldiers killed as airport clashes rage
At least three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 14 injured in the past 24 hours as fighting intensifies for control of Donetsk airport, a military spokesman said Monday. Duration: 00:57.
By: AFP news agency
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Three Ukraine soldiers killed as airport clashes rage - Video
Moscow Junta Shoots Civilians Caucasus, Enough to feed Moscow! Ukraine WAR 2014
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Moscow Junta Shoots Civilians Caucasus, Enough to feed Moscow! Ukraine WAR 2014 - Video
Ceasefire at Ukraine Airport After Deadly Clash
Ukraine: Ukraine #39;s military said Monday that its forces and Russian representatives had agreed a temporary ceasefire around the airport in rebel-held Donetsk that has been the focus of fighting...
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Ceasefire at Ukraine Airport After Deadly Clash - Video
BRUSSELS, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Ukraine, an important energy transit nation for Europe, needs to rebrand itself as a safe haven for foreign investors, Europe's neighborhood commissioner said.
Ukraine erupted in violence following a November 2013 decision to abandon efforts to join the European Union. With a new government in Kiev warming again to the EU, European Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn briefed lawmakers following his visit last week to Ukraine.
"I was able to sign an agreement for regional development worth $68 million with the acting Minister of the Economy Valery Piatnitsky," he said Monday.
Ukraine's battered economy was left in shambles following last year's political upheaval. Energy reforms were part of the loan conditions offered after the revolution by the International Monetary Fund.
Hahn said the IMF was reviewing Ukrainian reforms with the view of releasing as much as $2.72 billion in additional support.
"Internal reforms are essential: the rule of law creates the necessary climate for investment by Ukrainian investors but also from foreign enterprises," the commissioner said. "Interest is there if the conditions can be created."
Ukraine serves as a key energy transit country for the European economy. Europe gets about a quarter of its natural gas needs met by Russia, though more than half of that runs through the Soviet-era pipeline network in Ukraine.
Ukraine, with the help of European negotiators, brokered an interim deal with Russia to secure a discount on gas prices and reliable supplies through the winter in exchange for commitments to repay the billions of dollars in debt owed to Russian gas supplier Gazprom.
Ukraine has said it was trying to lessen its dependence on Russia by working with its neighbors to reverse the direction of natural gas supply lines and by exploiting domestic shale reserves.
Europe, meanwhile, is wary of any pipeline developments that would involve Gazprom or other similar state-backed entities, saying producers shouldn't be controlling the means of delivery.
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Ukraine needs to court investors, EU says
Thirteen floors above a snow-covered complex on the outskirts of Kiev, in a half-built high-rise, Egor Popov wondered aloud when the warren of dusty rooms would be ready for move-in: maybe next year, probably not.
Presales on the 1,210-unit Sun Gates fourth wing, still a concrete-and-brick skeleton accessible only by a shaky open-air elevator, may be delayed, he said. Not because of a lack of financing or demand for flats. The issue is the nine layers of red tape and graft requests that are part of finishing the project, said Popov, a spokesman for TMM Real Estate Development Plc (TR61), Ukraines only publicly listed developer.
A year after Ukrainians rose up against the pro-Russian policies of then-President Viktor Yanukovych, business leaders still wait for an end to corruption and cronyism, promised by the revolutions leaders. Even as war rages in the east and the deepest recession since 2009 shows no sign of lifting, the president, premier and foreign minister said in the past week that graft is the nations biggest threat. Ukraine ranks as Europes worst on Transparency Internationals corruption index.
Man cannot live by patriotism alone, said Popov as blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags fluttered from balcony railings across the courtyard. The year thats passed hasnt brought many positive things to ordinary people. Bureaucracy and corruption just havent changed.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said to lawmakers on Nov. 26 that he has been less than successful at rooting out corruption, though he refuted claims his administration hasnt tried. Close
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said to lawmakers on Nov. 26 that he has been less... Read More
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Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said to lawmakers on Nov. 26 that he has been less than successful at rooting out corruption, though he refuted claims his administration hasnt tried.
As foreign investors flee the former Soviet republic, Ukraine relies on a $17 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to stay afloat. The hryvnia has lost 45 percent against the dollar this year, the biggest decline among all currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Central bank reserves are at $12.6 billion, the lowest level since March 2005.
It may get worse. IMF negotiators left Kiev on Nov. 25 without an agreement needed for disbursement of a $2.8 billion installment of the loan. Two days later, lawmakers met one of the key concerns by agreeing on a government coalition, a month after snap parliamentary elections.
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Ukraine Revolution Fails Business as Graft Envelops Bureaucracy