О мировом кризисе и в Украине на английском

By Anders Aslund
The case for Ukraine

Pessimists believe that Ukraine is on the verge of default. Fortunately, such a calamity is unlikely, but Ukraine badly needs more international financial support to handle a tremendous external shock.

A year ago, Ukraine’s economy was in sound health after eight years of an average annual economic growth of 7.6 percent. Ukraine has maintained a minimal budget deficit, and its public debt was as small as 12 percent of GDP in 2007.

Ukraine’s mistake, however, was to keep its exchange rate pegged to the US dollar, which encouraged speculative short-term capital inflows, driving up inflation to 31 percent last May and the current account deficit to 6.7 percent of GDP last year.

These flaws were not major, but Ukraine became a prime victim of the freezing of international financial markets after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Without credit, most construction just stopped. Steel is Ukraine’s main export product, accounting for over 40 percent of exports, and both prices and volume of sales plummeted by half.

The blow to the Ukrainian economy has been horrendous. In January, industrial production fell by no less than 34 percent over January 2008, and GDP is estimated to have plunged by 20 percent. Steel production, mining and construction have fallen by half.
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Ukraine asks Gazprom to reduce gas supplies in 2009

Ukraine`s national oil and gas company Naftogaz has asked Russia`s Gazprom to reduce gas supplies to the country from the contracted 40 billion cu m to 33 billion in 2009, a presidential aide said on Thursday, RIA Novosti reported.

Earlier this month, Naftogaz warned it might face problems paying for gas supplied by the Russian gas monopoly as Ukrainian utility companies were delaying payments leaving the state-run gas firm short of funds.
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By Quentin Peel, The Financial Times

Crisis in Kyiv tests patience of Berlin and Moscow

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany`s foreign minister, is not normally a man lost for words. In an interview with the FT last week he talked fluently on how to cope with the global economic crisis and on relations with Russia.

On one subject, however, he was temporarily silenced: what to do about the crisis in Ukraine.
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President: Ukraine can service its debt

President Viktor Yushchenko said Wednesday that Ukraine has enough money to service its debt, downplaying increasingly pessimistic assessments of country`s ability to weather the financial storm engulfing eastern Europe, AP reported.

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President: Ukraine can service its debt

President Viktor Yushchenko said Wednesday that Ukraine has enough money to service its debt, downplaying increasingly pessimistic assessments of country`s ability to weather the financial storm engulfing eastern Europe, AP reported.
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Yushchenko vows to persuade Tymoshenko to give up "inadequate position"
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Yushchenko and Tymoshenko agreed upon three anti-crisis steps
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