German, French Ministers Visit Eastern Ukraine
The German and French foreign ministers have made their first visit to eastern Ukraine since the start of the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in 2014.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on September 15 arrived in Kramatorsk, a city controlled by the Ukrainian government.
On their arrival to the city, Steinmeier and Ayrault were met by dozens of protesters holding placards saying, "We Say No To Special Status of Donbas" and "We Are Ukraine!"
On September 14, Ukrainian leaders agreed to observe a new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine that became effective on September 15 and will last at least a week.
"We came with a promise from Moscow that effective [September 15] there will be a truce that will last at least a week," Steinmeier said on September 14, a day after the leaders of the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared a unilateral cease-fire.
The announcement of a new cease-fire came after Steinmeier and Ayrault met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv, where they urged the government to commit to the February 2015 Minsk agreement.
The Minsk peace plan envisages holding elections in separatist-held areas and partial autonomy for the country's eastern regions, known as the Donbas.
Based on reporting by AFP and rian.com.ua
Ukrainian Police Search Kharkiv Mayor's Residence
Ukrainian media reports say police are searching the residence of the mayor of the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko was quoted as saying that a hotel in Kharkiv, where Hennadiy Kernes is currently residing, was being searched on September 15.
Lutsenko also said a house in the city belonging to the mother of opposition lawmaker Mykhaylo Dobkin was also being searched.
According to Lutsenko, the searches are part of an investigation into the alleged involvement of Kharkiv city officials into an illegal land privatization.
Kernes barely survived a shooting attack in April 2014, a time of growing instability in eastern Ukraine and a month after Moscow forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
Kernes initially gave his backing to the pro-Russia separatists in the east before later switching his loyalty to the Ukrainian government.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is just 20 kilometers from the Russian border.
Based on reporting by UNIAN and pravda.com.ua
Clinton Sets Meeting With Ukraine's Poroshenko
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, her campaign said on September 14, in an effort to contrast her pro-Kyiv stance with her Republican opponent Donald Trump's public comments in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Clinton's meeting with Poroshenko, whose country has struggled economically and politically since Moscow forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and fueled a war with separatists in eastern Ukraine, will occur on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting in New York next week.
Ukrainian officials said on September 14 that both Clinton and Trump had been invited to meet Poroshenko, but so far only Clinton has confirmed.
Aides said the former secretary of state will use the meeting with Poroshenko to burnish her foreign policy credentials and show her solidarity with Ukraine.
Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
IMF Approves $1 Billion Loan For Ukraine After One-Year Delay
By RFE/RL
The International Monetary Fund on September 14 approved a loan disbursement for Ukraine of $1 billion after a delay of more than a year that reflected concern about corruption and stability in the war-torn nation.
The IMF in March 2015 had agreed to provide Kyiv with $17.5 billion over four years as long as the government continued to make progress on improving its management of the economy and fighting corruption.
To date, Ukraine has received about $7.62 billion of the loans. The latest disbursement was less than the $1.7 billion Kyiv hoped to get, showing the fund still has concerns about stalled reforms.
But the IMF said its executive board approved waivers allowing loans to resume despite Kyiv's failure to meet targets on limiting debt, boosting international reserves, and easing foreign exchange restrictions.
President Petro Poroshenko hailed the IMF's decision as a triumph, saying it would clear the way for an additional $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee and a new 600 million-euro loan from the European Union.
He said a Russian attempt to block the IMF's decision had failed and that the new loans would help keep the hryvnia currency stable and aid the economy.
"The positive decision by the IMF is evidence that the world recognizes that reforms are happening in Ukraine, that real and positive changes are happening in Ukraine, and that the country is moving in the right direction," Poroshenko said on Twitter.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said the IMF decision should clear the way for the sale of about $1 billion in U.S.-guaranteed bonds by the end of September.
Ukraine's economy has suffered a deep decline after two years of war with Russia-backed separatists in the east, where most of its industries are located. Its economic output plummeted by 9.9 percent in 2015.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that Ukraine is showing "welcome signs of recovery" and improved confidence, which she attributed to the implementation of reforms, sound macroeconomic policies, and efforts to rehabilitate Ukraine's banking system.
"While the social and economic cost of the crisis has been high, growth is expected to be higher in the period ahead," Lagarde said.
"A sustainable recovery requires completing the structural transformation of the economy, where much remains to be done, including combating corruption and improving governance," she said.