Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item that our news desk filed overnight:
IMF: Combating Graft Key Element For Any New Ukraine Loan
WASHINGTON -- Fighting corruption will be a key component of any new lending program Ukraine gets with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gerry Rice, IMF communications director, said in a September 12 briefing in Washington.
Before his appointment last month, Ukraine's Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said in July that Ukraine wanted to replace its current $3.9 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which expires at the end of the year, and replace it with a longer-term program.
Rice said an IMF team is in Kyiv and is currently taking "stock of the new government's policy intentions" during its stay, which will conclude around September 26.
One "important element of the discussions," Rice said, is the "importance of creating an effective anti-corruption framework," which has been a "critical element of our engagement with Ukraine for the last few years."
Ukraine ranks 120th out of 180 countries on the Transparency International watchdog's perceived corruption index.
In recent years, Kyiv has adopted new anti-graft laws and agencies have been established, including the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
According to polls, corruption is the second-most important issue for Ukrainians after the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In previous announcements, Honcharuk said he wants a staff-level agreement for up to four years to go into effect by the end of the year.Under the current program, Ukraine has tapped $1.4 billion.
The IMF projects Ukraine's economy will grow by 2.7 percent this year, whereas Honcharuk said he is targeting 5 percent annual growth.
According to the Washington-based lender, inflation is projected to reach 8 percent this year.
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.
From our news desk:
Trump Administration Releases $250 Million In Military Aid To Ukraine
KYIV -- The Trump administration has released $250 million in military aid to Ukraine -- funds that it had held up despite criticism that the money was desperately needed to counter Russian aggression and territorial expansion.
The announcement of the aid disbursement came ahead of a Senate Appropriations panel debate on September 12 in which lawmakers from both parties were expected to criticize Trump for holding back the funds, which Congress already had approved.
Lawmakers have credited legislation threatened by Democratic Senator Dick Durbin with forcing Trump to hand over the military aid.
Several Republican senators, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said they would have voted with Democrats.
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said: "We support Ukraine. Period. End of discussion."
Relations between Kyiv and Moscow have been troubled since 2014 when Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and began supporting pro-Russia separatist fighters who are battling Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine sees the aid as vital to bolstering its military and controlling Russian aggression.
RFE/RL's correspondent in Kyiv reports that Ukrainian officials are "very relieved" to hear the news that Trump is allowing the aid to be disbursed.
Ukraine's defense budget in 2017 was about $5.2 billion, so the $250 million in U.S. aid represents a boost of about 5 percent.
Trump earlier refusal to disburse the aid prompted critics to charge that he was holding back the aid as a concession to Russia.
Based on reporting by AP and RFE/RL's Kyiv correspondent Christopher Miller