Ukraine preparing for gas shutoff on Monday

Ukraine is preparing for a complete gas shutoff on Monday, June 16, as well as the interruption of gas transit to Europe. The announcement was made by the head of Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolyev, reports Espreso TV, June 14.

“We’re preparing for the worst-case scenario, a full zero,” Kobolyev stated on TV channel 24.

On Friday, June 13,  Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk instructed the appropriate ministries, the leadership of Naftogaz of Ukraine, and the oblast state authorities to switch to the plan of operation to be implemented in case Russia suspends gas delivery on Monday, the government  press service stated, June 13, as reported by Espreso TV.

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Ukraine Has Appealed to the UN to Convene an Urgent Meeting of the Security Council, Says PM Yatseniuk

May 22, 13:04

“We call on our partners in the Security Council of the United Nations to convene an urgent meeting of the Security Council,”  said Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk speaking to reporters on Thursday, May 22, at one of the military units near Kyiv.

“We will provide evidence that the Russian side has carried out attempts to escalate the conflict, causing bloodshed, and attempts to capture Ukrainian border застав frontier and to disrupt the presidential election,” said Yatsenyuk. He made it known that last night there was a fourth attempt to break through the state border of Ukraine with Russia: “From the Russian Federation three KAMAZ vehicles escorted by a Niva off-road vehicle tried to break through the state border of Ukraine.”

Ukrainian Ministry Cuts Expenses on Government Maintenance

The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has published a presentation explaining the drastic measures that will be taken to cut expenses on government maintenance.

Ukraine suggests to Russia that Russia makes Ukrainian its second state language

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk stated that Ukraine suggests to Russia to recognize Ukrainian as a second official language on the territory of the Russian Federation.

He mentioned this on the 10th annual investment conference of Dragon Capital in Kyiv, as reported by Interfax.

“Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made ​​a statement on the matter. The Ukrainian-speaking community is the largest in Russia and is completely natural for Ukrainian to be recognized as a second state language, or at least to carry a special status,” said Yatsenyuk.

Yatsenyuk Wants to Cut the Number of Taxes by 17 Times

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated in his speech before the Parliament on March 28 that, following the revisions to the Tax Code, the number of taxes levied in Ukraine may be cut down to eight.

“We must adopt a new version of the Tax Code, which would provide for cutting down the number of taxes to eight and for expanding the tax base”, he said. According to Yatsenyuk, a draft law to this effect could be introduced in Parliament sometime next year.

“The more simple the tax system is, the fewer opportunities are there for officials to collect bribes”, noted the Prime Minister. As a reminder, Ukraine holds the first place globally in terms of the number of various taxes levied. The World Bank has calculated that Ukrainian businesses pay, in some form, a total of 135 different taxes.

One step before default: Yatsenyuk gives presentation on the real state of the Ukrainian economy

After participating in the TV program “Shuster Live” on March 28, Ukrainian premier-minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has shared his presentation on the Ukrainian economy’s state today. EuromaidanPR has translated this presentation.

Yatsenyuk: the poverty line in Ukraine will not increase in 2014

Speaking on Shuster LIVE on Friday night, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated that the poverty line in Ukraine will not increase in 2014.

“We’re being honest about this: we’re not raising the minimum living standards this year, but we’re also not cutting them. These levels will be frozen as of January 1 of this year”, said Yatsenyuk.

Nevertheless, according to him, “the government has managed to leave enough funds in the budget to allow for indexation to inflation level.” “In other words, the prices will be going up. The dollar’s exchange rate went up against hryvnia, which means that everything will go up. We forecast inflation at the rate of 12-14%. This is consumer price increase. That is why we will index pensions and the poverty line to adjust them to inflation rate”, added the Prime Minister. Yatsenyuk also reminded that the rates for gas and heat for consumers will be increasing gradually.

Yatseniuk: the Government has no Means for Refunding VAT

Friday, March, 28, 2014, 09:02

The Cabinet is proposing a new mechanism for reimbursing the value added tax, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated in the Verkhovna Rada.

He noted that the government’s debt regarding the value added tax is USD 21.7bn. He also said that the government is against issuing treasury promissory notes, so this tool will be eliminated. Yatsenyuk said that the government has no money for refunding VAT.

“We suggest that every company that has a non-refunded VAT is publicly and transparently issued not a promissory note but government bonds guaranteed by the state, with which the businesses will go to banks and get cheap loans,” he said.

Yatsenyuk: Close Mines, Give Each Miner UAH 80,000 a year

Friday, March, 28, 2014, 09:00

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk told the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday that out of UAH 13bn of subsidies that are allocated to the coal industry, “the miners get only UAH 3bn; the rest is stolen.”

He quoted an expert, “who has been working in the coal industry all his life”:

“Out of the UAH 13bn which is spent on the so-called subsidy for the coal industry, he believes that UAH 10bn is stolen and only UAH 3bn reaches the miners.”

Yatsenyuk: Ukraine’s total debt rose to UAH 800bn

Friday, March, 28, 2014, 08:57

The total amount of Ukraine’s debt has reached 53 % of GDP, or UAH 800bn, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk stated in the Verkhovna Rada on Tuesday.

He said that the amount of foreign reserves has dropped from USD 34.6bn by USD 20bn since January 1, 2013.  Today, reserves stand at only USD 15.5bn.