KIEV, Aug. 13 – Ukraine, citing a recently ratified free trade accord, will seek to get access to the Russian natural gas pipelines to start imports of gas from Central Asia, a senior official said Monday.

Valeriy Muntian, the government envoy for cooperation with Russia, the CIS, Eurasian Union, and other regional organizations, made the comment days after the free trade deal was signed by Yanukovych.

KIEV, Aug. 13 – Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has refused to attend a tax evasion and embezzlement trial due to restart this week, Reuters reported on Monday, citing her daughter.

DNIPROPETROVSK, Aug. 10 – A U.S. delegation has visited Dnipropetrovsk region to study the implementation of a project for the disposal of solid rocket fuel from SS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles and missile bodies.

KIEV, Aug. 10 – Rinat Akhmetov's Foundation for Development of Ukraine has installed high-quality equipment worth UAH 650,000 as part of the targeted assistance program at the intensive care unit of the Ukrainian Children's Cardiac Center and at the Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, the foundation reported.

KIEV, Aug. 11 – The International Monetary Fund does not predict a worsening of the economic situation in Ukraine in 2009, IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Max Alier said.

KIEV, Aug. 13 – President Viktor Yushchenko on Thursday said he was “very disappointed” by an “unfriendly” letter from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and suggested holding a summit to discuss bilateral problems.

KIEV, Aug. 12 – It is unlikely that the open letter by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko on the worsening of bilateral relations will significantly impact the Ukrainian financial market, according to experts polled by Interfax-Ukraine.

MOSCOW, Aug. 12 - Analysts at Citi believe that investors must reassess the risks in Ukrainian assets owing to the current situation in the Transcaucasian region.

The Citi note said: "A more aggressive Russian foreign policy within the former Soviet Union is likely to pose a threat to Ukrainian asset prices."

KIEV, Aug. 13 – Ukraine on Wednesday flatly denied allegations from Russian defense officials that its military personnel had been operating anti-aircraft complexes in Georgia that successfully shot down several Russian warplanes in the region.

KIEV, Aug. 13 - Tensions between Russia and Ukraine rose on Wednesday after President Viktor Yushchenko signed two decrees de-facto restricting movements of the Russian Black Sea Fleet that had been stationed in Sevastopol.