ROME, April 27 - Ukraine’s prime minister said he asked Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience Thursday to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia.

KYIV, April 27 – The contraction of the Ukrainian economy in 2022 will be about 33% according to the base scenario, in which the war will last for another month and a half at the most, Oleksandr Pecheritsyn, a leading analyst at Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv), said.

KYIV, April 27 - The war in eastern Ukraine appears to be entering a critical phase, as Russia pours in more fighting units and Ukrainian forces try to hold lines battered by weeks of shelling and rocket fire, CNN reported.

KYIV, April 26 – The political parties Servant of the People, Opposition Platform - For Life, European Solidarity, and Batkivschyna have good chances of being re-elected to the Verkhovna Rada.

KYIV, April 26 – President Volodymyr Zelensky leads other politicians in the latest opinion poll with 28% support, followed by former President Petro Poroshenko’s 15% and opposition leader Yuriy Boiko’s 14%, data show.

KYIV, April 26 – Ukraine is working on the development of the nuclear industry to ensure the energy security of the state and the synchronization of the national energy system with the energy system of the European Union, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

KYIV, April 24 – Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who may join the Ukrainian government, said he would primarily focus on engaging in talks with the International Monetary Fund to help Ukraine get through coronavirus crisis.

KYIV, April 24 – Ukraine may start gradually lifting the lockdown after May 11 if number of coronavirus cases continues to show positive trend, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Monday. The lockdown was originally declared between March 24 and April 24.

GOMEL REGION, April 27 - President Petro Poroshenko and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko have agreed on expanding access to the Belarusian market for Ukrainian goods and services.

KIEV, April 27 - Ukraine plans to jam the airwaves transmitting broadcasts in support of Moscow-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region, Reuters reported Thursday, citing a top Ukrainian defense official.