As reported earlier, Russia is set to ban Ukraine food imports:
Russia has announced it will ban all food imports from Ukraine starting on January 1.
Russian Economy Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev told TV channel Rossia-24 on November 18 that Russia was taking the action "because Ukraine has joined the sanctions against the Russian Federation -- economic and financial."
Russia has been slapped with Western sanctions for annexing Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
More than 7,900 people have died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, according to UN estimates.
Moscow, which denies any role in the conflict, has already imposed its own food bans on the EU, the United States, and other Western countries.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the pending Russian action will cost Ukraine's economy some $600 million in 2016.
On the other hand, Yatsenyuk noted the Ukrainian economy was now less dependent on Russia.
"While earlier our dependence was 35 percent, now it's at the level of 12.5 percent," Yatsenyuk said on November 18, according to a statement on his cabinet's website. (AFP, dpa)
Ukraine has not yet received a Russian offer to restructure the payment of $3 billion worth of Eurobonds, says Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 16 that Moscow was ready to allow Kyiv to pay its $3 billion debt not this year, but to pay $1 billion per year in 2016-18. Putin expressed his hope that this issue will be solved by the end of the year.
The Kyiv subway announced that the two stations closed today due to a threat of explosion have resumed their work.
"As a result of an inspection conducted by law enforcement no explosives were found," the statement reads.
Two stations, Khreshchatyk and Teatralna, were briefly closed.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has explained how much Ukraine may lose after Russia imposes its food embargo on January 1.
"Ukraine estimated losses from the introduction of a trade embargo by the Russian Federation. In 2016 Ukraine it will lose about $600 million worth of exports to the Russian Federation," he said.
Russia will introduce a food embargo on Ukraine starting from January 1, Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev said on Rossia 24 state TV channel.
"Since Ukraine joined sanctions against the Russian Federation -- economic and financial -- we decided to introduce...safeguard measures in the form of a food embargo. This decision simply has a deferred nature. It is deferred until January 1," he said.
According to Ulyukayev, it is probable that Russia "will have to unilaterally protect its market from uncontrolled access of goods through Ukraine’s customs territory, goods from third countries, and especially from the European Union."