[Ohio UZO News] Ukraine: WSJ; FT; KP; EDM (2)

[Deychak, Orest]

The Wall Street Journal

Ukraine's Steel Data Offer Hope 

By James Marson 

18 August 2009

A11

Ukraine's steel output posted a record rise last month, providing a
flicker of hope that the country is pulling out of a deep recession.

Figures released by the government on Monday showed the economy's rate
of contraction slowed as industrial production rose 5% from the previous
month, with steel, the country's main export, up 15%.

With gross domestic product down 18% from a year earlier and industrial
production almost 30% off, Ukraine's export-driven economy is still
fighting its way out of the woods and is heavily reliant on a world-wide
upturn in demand for steel and chemicals, its main exports.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko hailed the signs of
improvement as a signal that her government's policies are working.

"It's a significant sign that shows that the economy has entered
recovery," she said.

Ms. Tymoshenko forecast that metal production will continue to rise and
that the country will return to growth of 3% in 2009.

Ukraine's economy is one of the worst hit by the global ecnomic crisis.
When demand for its exports dried up last fall, the national currency,
the hryvnia, lost around 40% of its value against the dollar.

A massive lending program by the International Monetary Fund, which has
disbursed over $10 billion since November, has helped the government to
plug budget holes, prop up wobbly banks, and continue paying off its
foreign debts.

Attempts to combat the crisis have been hamstrung by political
infighting between President Viktor Yushchenko, Ms. Tymoshenko, his
former ally and now bitter rival, and opposition leader Viktor
Yanukovych. Bickering among political leaders has all but paralyzed the
government, leaving key cabinet posts vacant as the economy plunges.

Analysts warn that the run-up to the presidential elections on Jan. 17,
in which all three are set to take part, is likely to see further
instability.

Financial Times

Ukraine's GDP shrinks by 18%

By Roman Olearchyk 

Published: August 18 2009 

Ukraine's gross domestic product contracted by 18 per cent in the second
quarter, according to preliminary government figures released yesterday,
marking the country as one of the world's most recession-battered
economies.

However, economists say other fresh figures suggest that Kiev is
beginning to pull out of recession, after a record 20.3 per cent
contraction in the first quarter of 2009.

The figures, to be updated on September 30, indicate that industrial
production in Ukraine - whose economy is largely driven by steel exports
- rose nearly 5 per cent on the month in July. International Monetary
Fund forecasts say Ukraine's GDP will contract by about 14 per cent
overall this year.

Kyiv Post

Opinion

Democratic Ukraine, autocratic Russia:  Why? 

Andreas Umland and Ingmar Bredies, Special to Kyiv Post

August 18, 2009

http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/47102

 

Eurasia Daily Monitor

Ukrainian-Russian Diplomatic War Intensifies

August 17, 2009 

Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Home Page, Russia, Ukraine, Foreign
Policy, Featured 

By: Taras Kuzio
<http://www.jamestown.org/articles-by-author/?no_cache=1&tx_cablanttnews
staffrelation_pi1%5Bauthor%5D=15> 

http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=354
20&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=407&no_cache=1

 

The Black Sea:  A Hotbed of Corruption Over Oil and Gas Deposits

August 19, 2009 

By:  Roman Kupchinsky

http://www.jamestown.org/programs/edm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=354
28&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=407&no_cache=1

 

 

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