KIEV, Oct. 12 – The impact of the positive trends in agriculture will smooth the decline of Ukraine's gross domestic product in 2009, according to Valeriy Lytvytsky, the head of the group of advisors to the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

KIEV, Oct. 13 – Ukraine's state gas firm Naftogaz has officially asked Russia's Gazprom to amend a number of clauses from the gas contracts signed by the companies in January 2009, according to Bohdan Sokolovsky, the Ukrainian president's commissioner for international energy security.

KIEV, Oct. 13 – Gaz Ukrayiny announced it has signed over 200 agreements with heat suppliers for the 2009-2010 heating season.

Agreements have been signed with those enterprises that paid in full for gas consumed in the previous heating season.

KIEV, Oct. 13 – The government is to consider allocating a credit to Lutsk automobile plant (LuAZ), part of the Bogdan Corporation, under state guarantees so as to complete the construction of the second stage of a bus plant in Lutsk, Bogdan Corporation Press Secretary Serhiy Krasulia told Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, Oct. 13 - Ukrgazvydobuvannia, the largest gas extracting enterprise in Ukraine, in January through September 2009 announced it has increased natural gas extraction by 2.8% year-on-year, to 11.389 billion cubic meters.

KIEV, Oct. 14 – Kerch-based Zaliv Shipyard has finished building the hull of an offshore vessel for servicing drilling platforms under an order from Norway's Ulstein Hull AS.

The company's press service told Interfax-Ukraine that the vessel, which would service a long-term project on the development of an oil and gas field in West Africa by Sun Angolia, was built as a part of a contract signed in 2008.

KIEV, Oct. 14 – A statement by Russian Grain Union President Arkadiy Zlochevsky about Ukraine's abandoning talks on the creation of a pool of grain exporting countries in the Black Sea region is untrue, according to Agriculture Minister Yuriy Melnyk.

"I'm surprised by such statements, as we have not dropped out of the talks. On the contrary, we're ready for further dialog," he said.

KIEV, Oct. 14 – Ukraine on Wednesday resumed supplies of Russian crude oil to markets in the European Union after repairing power supply lines that had been damaged by a severe storm on Tuesday.

KIEV, Oct. 13 - Ukrainian banks' net profit January through September amounted to UAH8 billion, 63% over the same period last year, the National Bank of Ukraine said.

KIEV, Oct. 13 - The United States Department of Agriculture has forecast that Ukraine’s 2008 grain harvest will be almost 48.98 million tons, which is 1 million tons over its previous forecast made a month ago.