Politics & Economics

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has announced the appointment of candidates for a number of ambassadorial positions - some of them have already been approved or are awaiting approval. The statement was made by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi at a briefing on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “I can confirm that a number of ambassadors are indeed expected to be replaced, a number of ambassadors announced by the President of Ukraine back in November. The Minister has submitted a number of candidates. Some of them have already been approved, some of them are awaiting agreement, and…

A Lithuanian ministerial delegation, led by newly appointed Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, has arrived in Kyiv for intergovernmental consultations with Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced this on the Telegram messaging app, Ukrinform reports. "We are beginning intergovernmental consultations with our Lithuanian colleagues. Today, a delegation of ministers led by Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas arrived in Kyiv. We have a full agenda to discuss, including European defense and security, Ukraine's EU and NATO membership aspirations, the recovery program, strengthening sanctions against Russia and confiscating frozen Russian assets, and deepening our economic and trade cooperation," Shmyhal said. Read…

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry plans to establish two additional consular offices in the Polish cities of Rzeszow and Poznan while expanding its consular presence in Romania, Slovakia, Germany, and France. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced the plans during a government question-and-answer session in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. Sybiha said that today, Poland hosts the second-largest Ukrainian community, encompassing both its long-established autochthonous population and newly arrived Ukrainian citizens. "We are talking about approximately one million people. We will strengthen our consular presence. It is planned to open two additional consular institutions in Rzeszow…

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has announced that officials from the incoming U.S. administration are scheduled to make significant visits to Ukraine in January 2025. He said this during a government question-and-answer session in the Verkhovna Rada on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "We have already established practical contacts with the new administration. As part of developing these ties, we anticipate key visits in January next year, which will provide an opportunity to directly convey critical positions and the concept of 'peace through strength' to representatives of the new administration," Sybiha said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky previously confirmed that Keith…

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin continues to falsely posture Russia's economy as strong and stable, shifting responsibility for economic problems onto others and manipulating facts. This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), as cited by Ukrinform. Analysts note that Putin described Russia’s economy as "stable and reliable" but acknowledged that inflation had reached 9.2–9.3% and blamed the Central Bank for this. "Putin insinuated that the Russian Central Bank and its head, Elvira Nabiullina, mishandled rising Russian interest rates and noted that the Russian government's economic policies had ‘some shortcomings,’ likely in an attempt…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told European Union leaders that he wants to wait until the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump before deciding whether to extend the bloc's sanctions against Russia. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources, according to Ukrinform. The EU has adopted 15 sanctions packages against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, which need to be extended every six months. The next extension is scheduled by the end of January, 11 days after Trump is due to be sworn in. Until now, extending the sanctions has been a routine decision, with the political agreement typically reached…

On December 19, 2024, the Ukrainian State Property Fund sold the nationalized enterprise, Aeroc LLC, through privatization auction for UAH 1.89 billion. The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian State Property Fund on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Today, an online large privatization auction for the sale of the state-owned share in the amount of 100% in the authorized capital of Aeroc LLC has been held with the final result of UAH 1.890 billion. Three bidders were competing for the ownership rights to this object,” the report states. During bidding, the starting price increased almost twofold. In accordance with…

From 2025, the amount of insurance proceeds, or liability limits, under motor third party liability (MTPL) insurance agreements in Ukraine will increase by about 1.5 times. The relevant statement was made by Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) Director General Oleksandr Bernaziuk in an interview with Ukrinform. According to Bernaziuk, the above changes will result from the fact that most provisions of the revised Law of Ukraine ‘On Compulsory Third Party Liability Insurance of Motor Vehicle Owners’ are coming into force from January 1, 2025. “Currently, liability limits for the damage to life and health are UAH 320,000, for…

EU leaders who met in Brussels in the format of the European Council supported restrictive measures against Russia and emphasized the importance of reducing its ability to wage an aggressive war against Ukraine. According to Ukrinform, this is stated in the conclusions of the European Council of December 19, published on its website. “Efforts to further limit Russia's ability to wage war must continue. In this context, the European Council welcomes the adoption of the 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including measures against its 'shadow fleet'. The Council reiterates its call for the full and effective implementation of sanctions,…

The so-called “Istanbul agreements,” which are actually Russia's ultimatum to surrender Ukraine and give up its independence, issued back in 2022, do not exist in reality and are Putin's senile fantasies. The Head of State said this during a press conference in Brussels, answering the question of whether Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia on the basis of the so-called “Istanbul agreements,” an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “In general, I am surprised by his statement that he [Putin] is ready for something, he constantly says that I am illegitimate... The ultimatum contained, and they always talk about it, 'demilitarization' and…