KIEV, Sept 2 - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered his new government to submit a draft law for land market reform by the start of October and to prepare large-scale privatizations of state companies starting in April next year, Reuters reported Monday.

KYIV, Aug 30 – Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk has expressed confidence in the new head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Maksym Nefyodov and believes that it is possible to eliminate smuggling by the end of 2019.

KIEV, Aug. 31 – The price of natural gas from Russia in Q4 2015 for Ukraine could be $250, although Kiev has a chance of protecting its price thanks to reverse gas supplies, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said.

KIEV, Sept. 1 – Excerpts from the OCSE Special Monitoring Mission report on the latest Kiev riots:

"On August 31, starting from 09:00, the SMM monitored protests in front of the Verkhovna Rada building in Kiev. Approximately 3,000 people [men and women of all ages] carrying 'Svoboda', 'Radical Party' and 'Ukrop' flags, were protesting against constitutional amendments that were being voted on inside the Parliament. The event was initially peaceful and orderly with no signs of unrest," the SMM said.

KIEV, Sept. 1 – The balance in Ukraine's single treasury account as of early September 2015 totaled UAH 45.85 billion, which is 3.4 times up year-over-year and the highest recorded figure in the country's history.

KIEV, Sept. 1 – The water supply will be cut by 50% in most towns of the Luhansk region controlled by militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) from September 2 to 10, the Luhansk regional military-civil administration said.

BLAGOVESCHENSK, Sept. 1 – Ukraine won't pump enough gas to get through the winter into underground storage facilities unless it receives gas from Russia, but Russia will not be resuming supplies in the days to come, the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, told reporters during a visit to the Amur region.

KIEV, Sept. 2 – President Petro Poroshenko has called for making the Trilateral Contact Group mechanism more efficient.

KIEV, Sept. 2 - Two civilians were killed Wednesday in eastern Ukraine, undermining fresh efforts to end simmering violence as the European Union agreed to extend sanctions against individuals deemed responsible for the conflict, AFP reported.

KIEV, Aug. 30 – A lack of competence of the authorities is one factor hindering the development of the national economy, President Viktor Yanukovych has said.