KIEV, March 9 ??“ A Kremlin-linked Russian political analyst said Thursday that Russia will probably further increase natural gas prices it charges Ukraine if pro-Western parties form a ruling coalition after the March 26 vote.

NEW YORK, March 9 ??“ Falling steel prices and a re-privatization action from the government have lowered the wealth of Ukraine??™s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, by almost 30% over the past 12 months, according to Forbes magazine.

KIEV, March 9 - Ukraine plans to boost power exports to Europe by 28.7% on year to 6.05 bln kilowatt-hour in 2005, compared with 4.7 bln kWh in 2005, an energy and fuel ministry official said Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 9 ??“ Ukraine topped the list of CIS countries with insurance premiums as the share of the economy, suggesting that its insurance industry in the country had been growing fast, a study shows.

NEW YORK, March 9 - Indonesia and Ukraine will be added to a widely followed Dow Jones emerging markets index of the credit derivatives market while Bulgaria, South Korea and Romania will be removed on March 20, Reuters reported.

WASHINGTON, Mar. 9 - The International Monetary Fund may lower its economic growth forecast for Ukraine this year following a major increase in natural gas prices in January, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

BERLIN, March 8 - Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the national oil and gas company, will borrow ?2 billion from Deutsche Bank to finance its overseas and domestic energy projects, according to an agreement signed Tuesday.

KIEV, March 8 ??“ The Prosecutor General Office filed charges against two senior police officers who had been detained last week and confessed to committing the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze in 2000.

KYIV, Feb 7 - Japan will help Ukraine restore and increase the fertility of Ukrainian agricultural lands by introducing promising nanobubble technology - saturating soils with oxygen, the State Agency of Melioration and Fisheries of Ukraine reports.

KYIV, Feb 7 – Belgium will send EUR 1.7 billion in taxes from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, the Belgian publication VRT said.