KIEV, May 25 - Most of the population does not support the idea of early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, according to public opinion polls conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Centre from May 11-26, 2016 and by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology on December 15-25, 2015.

KIEV, May 25 – Ukraine will grant special status to Donetsk and Luhansk regions but free and fair municipal elections in Donetsk and Luhansk based on Ukrainian legislation and international standards should be held first, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.

KIEV, May 26 – The decision of the Ukrainian government to denounce the intergovernmental agreement on military and technical cooperation with Russia reflects the consistent position of Ukraine towards the aggressor and suits the logic behind the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, First Deputy NSDC Secretary and head of the interagency commission for military and technical cooperation and export control at the council Oleh Hladkovsky said.

LONDON, May 26 - Ukraine hired three banks to raise $1 billion of five-year bonds backed by the United States Agency for International Development, which will help the issuer lower its funding costs significantly, IFR reported.

KIEV, May 26 – Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has called on Yuriy Terentyev, the new head of the Antimonopoly Committee, to step up the fight against anticompetitive collusion.

WASHINGTON, May 26 - US President Barack Obama accused Russia of toughening its battlefield stance Tuesday, as he met with the NATO secretary general to discuss the rolling crisis in Ukraine, AFP reported.

MOSCOW, May 26 – Ukraine's membership in NATO will not be on the agenda in the near-term outlook, acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deschytsia says.

KIEV, May 26 – Ukrainian MP Petro Poroshenko, who, according to existing polls, has won the presidential elections in Ukraine, said he is convinced that dialogue with Russia can be conducted in any format after the legitimacy of the new administration is confirmed.

KIEV, May 26 – Kiev welcomes the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the readiness to cooperate with new Ukrainian authorities following the presidential elections, acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deschytsia said.

KIEV, May 26 - Vitaliy Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, has claimed victory in an election to become mayor of Kiev, clinching a major role in Ukraine's emerging new political order after Sunday's presidential election, Reuters reported.