KYIV – When Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov told Mikheil Saakashvili to “Get the hell out of my country!” to conclude their nasty shouting match at the December 14 meeting of the president’s National Reforms Council, he struck a nerve in the country.
Last year, on January 5, 2014, more than 10,000 people gathered on Kyiv’s Independence Square in the first major opposition protest rally for the year, part of the Euro-Maidan movement. Opposition leaders urged supporters to continue the protests after Christmas according to the Julian calendar. The number of protesters had declined following a gas deal between Presidents Viktor Yanukovych and Vladimir Putin on December 17, 2013, that reduced the price Ukraine was paying for Russian gas imports by one-third.
KYIV – Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) held its eighth annual Charity Evening and Silent Auction in Kyiv on December 5.
The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine on December 12 released a transcript of Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt’s interview with Myroslava Gongadze of Voice of America. The interview took place on November 13 in Kyiv and it aired on the program “Prime Time.” Following are excerpts of their discussion about the beginning of the Euro-Maidan. The interview also discusses Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Obama administration’s response to Russian aggression, the state of affairs in Ukraine today and what lies ahead. (A video of the full interview is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNH0ZRZeGGw.)
The eighth-largest multistate food poisoning outbreak of 2015 was a Salmonella outbreak linked to Barber frozen Chicken Kyiv. The Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak linked to the raw, frozen, stuffed chicken entrees made by Barber Foods sickened 15 people in seven states before ending in October. Four people were hospitalized.
The deep political and economic crisis that has gripped Ukraine for two years is now easing, as the conflict in its eastern region has partially subsided and its economy has seen a glimmer of light for recovery. (More …)
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk placed a moratorium on the loan payment, due to be paid Sunday.
KYIV, Ukraine-Ukraine said Friday that it would suspend repayment of a $3 billion bond to Russia, a move that the Russian government earlier said would provoke legal action against Kyiv.
Ex-president of Ukraine, representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on settlement of the situation in Donbas Leonid Kuchma states that the Group has reached no compromise on the elections in the occupied territory of Donbas.