KIEV, Dec. 11 – Newly elected lawmakers will try to debate and approve incumbent Mykola Azarov as Ukraine’s next prime minister on Wednesday, one day earlier than had been earlier expected, lawmakers said Tuesday.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, after recently seeing a final draft natural gas agreement with Russia, has refused to support it, voicing concerns over the country’s energy security, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia newspaper reported Saturday, citing a source.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of the opposition Regions Party, gave Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko 100 days to either pull the economy out of crisis or face massive street protests.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s group on Thursday nominated Andriy Portnov, a harsh critic of President Viktor Yushchenko, to be in charge of selling state assets.

KIEV, Dec. 10 – The hryvnia will remain at the level of UAH 7.50/$1 until the end of this year, but in 2009, it could devalue to UAH 8.00-8.50, Deputy Bleyzer Foundation Executive Director Oleg Ustenko said.

KIEV, Dec. 10 – State-financed employee unions are planning to conduct mass protests on Dec. 17 and 23 if the government doesn't meet their demands.

As reported to Interfax-Ukraine by the Ukraine Trade Union Federation (UTUF), such a decision was unanimously taken at joint sitting of education and science, culture, health care other state-financed social sector employees' trade union presidiums on Dec. 9.

KIEV, Dec. 10 – The policies of the Ukrainian government correspond to the International Monetary Fund's expectations and have the potential to stabilize the economic situation in the country, according to Ceyla Pazarbasioglu. the leader of the International Monetary Fund mission in Ukraine.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – Ukraine’s security service, SBU, dispatched a special team to check Parliament’s voting system Tuesday after lawmakers complained it may had been tampered with to prevent approval of Yulia Tymoshenko as the new prime minister.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – President Viktor Yushchenko on Tuesday nominated former Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov as Ukraine’s new defense minister, while Volodymyr Ohryzko, a deputy foreign minister, was nominated as the new foreign minister.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – Yulia Tymoshenko’s bid to become prime minister fell through on Tuesday when a computerized vote counting system in Parliament suddenly failed to register votes from some of her most ardent supporters.