Politics & Economics

The International Monetary Fund in the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policy within the framework of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) postponed four existing structural beacons for Ukraine, and added four new ones. This was reported on Telegram by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev on Telegram. "During the latest EFF review, the Memorandum on Economic and Financial Policy underwent noticeable changes. The deadlines for the four existing beacons were postponed, which indicates delays in the EFF implementation and progress of reforms," ​​Hetmantsev notes. In particular, the appointment of the new head…

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is skeptical of Austria's offer to host peace talks to resolve the Russo-Ukrainian war, considering Vienna a "hostile venue" because of Austria's clear distinction between the victim and the aggressor. This was stated by Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker in an address to the National Council, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Austria has offered itself as a platform for peace talks. As far as I know, the Russian Federation under President Putin is quite skeptical about the proposal, because they are unwilling to realize that, even if we can distinguish between the victim and the perpetrator and…

European countries should establish their own negotiation team for the peaceful resolution of the Russian war against Ukraine and appoint a special envoy for Ukraine. Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated this in an interview with France 24 during his participation in the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, according to Ukrinform. "We (Europeans) need two things. One is a negotiating team, just like the Americans, the Ukrainians and the Russians have. And they had that in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. And then probably eventually we need a special envoy who would be kind of in charge and coordinating everything,…

Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to inject a new demand into discussions about the resolution of the war — one that aligns with the Kremlin's longstanding efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government and derail any potential peace agreement. According to Ukrinform, this was reported in a recent Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report. "Putin's new demand for an interim government in Ukraine as a precondition for peace negotiations demonstrates how the Kremlin continues to hold negotiations hostage and is attempting to extract additional concessions from the West following the progress made in the ongoing…

The Supreme Council for National Defense of Romania (CSAT) decided at a meeting on Friday to continue military support for Ukraine. This was reported by Romania Journal with reference to a press release from the Romanian presidential administration, Ukrinform learned. It is noted that this was the first meeting of the CSAT after Ilie Bolojan took office as acting president of Romania in February. During the meeting of the Council, the developments in Russia's illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine was analyzed. Particular attention was paid to the situation on the ground, as well as the stage and prospects of…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns Russia's attempts to legitimize its illegal control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and urges the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to use all available mechanisms to increase pressure on Russia. The ministry said this in a statement, according to Ukrinform. The ministry stressed that Russia's illegal interference with the operation of ZNPP, including centralized control and actions that threaten the technical stability of the facility, constitutes a gross violation of international law and fundamental nuclear safety principles. At the same time, the Kremlin is deliberately limiting the work of…

The total amount of damages suffered by Ukraine since Russian armed aggression started in 2014 may reach USD 1 trillion. The relevant statement was made by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Mudra in Ihor Dolgov’s video blog on Ukrinform. “We know that today the amount of losses caused by Russia in the past three years alone has already been estimated at USD 589 billion,” Mudra told. In her words, due to Russian continuous strikes on Ukraine’s territory, the actual amount of damages keeps growing on a daily basis. [embedded content] “These figures are one…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) management has approved the allocation of 400 million USD to Ukraine. According to Ukrinform, this was announced by the IMF press service. "The IMF Board today completed the Seventh Review of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine, enabling a disbursement of about USD 0.4 billion," the statement reads. It is noted that these funds will be used for Ukraine's budget support. "This will bring the total disbursements under the IMF-supported program to USD 10.1 billion," the press service reported. Additionally, the IMF highlighted that Ukraine’s economy remains resilient, and performance remains strong under…

Austria will continue providing humanitarian, financial, and political support to Ukraine and will assist the country on its path to achieving a just and lasting peace, according to Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker. As reported by Ukrinform, Stocker made this statement on X following his conversation with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. "Just had a good exchange with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Assured him of Austria’s continued humanitarian, financial and political support," Stocker wrote. The Austrian Chancellor also announced that a high-level Austrian business delegation would visit Kyiv the folowing week. Stocker emphasized that the Ukrainian people deserve a comprehensive,…

Ensuring accountability for future ceasefire violations is a key element of Ukraine's security guarantees. This view was expressed by the British Ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris, in an interview with Ukrinform. "There’s one question, which is about how you monitor a ceasefire. And that needs to be given careful consideration to ensure that any violations of a ceasefire have consequences, and that it’s very clear, if there are provocations as we’ve seen before and a ceasefire is broken, who is responsible for those," Harris emphasized. According to the Ambassador, the primary goal of security guarantees is to prevent another Russian…