KIEV, Sept. 26 – The National Bank of Ukraine said Friday the hryvnia’s decline was a “temporary” phenomenon caused by increased purchases of U.S. dollars by Naftogaz Ukrayiny to pay for natural gas imports.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - Somali pirates that hold a Ukrainian ship with tanks and other military equipment have reduced their ransom demand to $5 million from an original $35 million, the Indo-Asian News Service reported Sunday.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - Ukraine??™s government on Thursday postponed for several weeks its decision on reducing domestic prices of natural gas and power amid uncertainty over prices of gas imports next year.

KIEV, Sept. 28 ??“ Ukraine??™s Constitutional Court was asked on Thursday to intervene in the growing dispute between President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych over supremacy in domestic and foreign policy.

KIEV, Sept. 28 ??“ Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the national oil and gas company, is on the verge of bankruptcy as it is facing $1.5 billion in losses this year, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said Thursday.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - President Viktor Yushchenko re-appointed Viktor Pynzenyk as the finance minister and appointed Viktor Bondar as the transportation minister to replace Yevhen Chervonenko, a close ally of Yushchenko, the presidential press service reported.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - The government's energy team held an emergency meeting Tuesday following an agreement between Russia and Uzbekistan that may undermine Ukraine's natural gas imports from Turkmenistan, a newspaper reported Wednesday citing a source.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych gained leadership in opinion polls and may win the next general election as a result of a split within Ukraine's ruling coalition, recent poll data suggested. The data are the first measured reaction to the dismissal of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko earlier this month and her subsequent split and a clash with President Viktor Yushchenko.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - Raiffeisenbank Ukraine's mortgage loan portfolio increased from UAH160 million to UAH412 million from Jan. 1 through Sept. 9, according to Dmitriy Zinkov, the head of the bank's sales management network.

KIEV, Sept. 28 - The World Bank is analyzing the possibility of granting funds for the reform of Ukraine's transport and road sector.