KIEV, April 26 – Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko turned down an invitation to visit Chernobyl on Tuesday, calling President Viktor Yanukovych a “lousy” leader for allegedly listening to political demands from Brussels.

KIEV, April 26 – Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday made little progress in discussion over the Custom Union, a Moscow-led trade bloc, and focused instead on bilateral trade ahead of a summit in June.

KIEV, April 26 – The Ukrainian government expects to get $19-20 billion from the International Monetary Fund within the next two-and-a-half years, Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tyhypko said in an interview with the Ekonomicheskie Izvestia (Economic News) newspaper.

KIEV, April 26 – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday said Ukraine will benefit from ratification of a recent natural gas agreement, which will cost Russia $3 billion in 2010 and $4 billion in 2011.

KIEV, April 26 – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, during a trip to Ukraine on Monday, suggested both countries merge their assets in nuclear power generation to create a global nuclear power champion.

KIEV, April 26 – Ukraine’s two rival opposition leaders on Monday decided to unite efforts to knock down President Viktor Yanukovych’s deal with Russia that extends stationing of its navy in the country by 25 years.

KIEV, April 23 - Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, the UK's special representative for international trade and investment, said at a meeting with President Viktor Yanukovych that he was planning to ask British businessmen to "do more for Ukraine."

KIEV, April 23 – Ukraine should use the period of relatively low gas prices for the modernization of its economy, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said during a meeting with EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule.

KIEV, April 26 – Ukraine has every reason to claim special status in gas relations with Russia, Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine's second president, said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, April 26 ??“ Ukraine??™s police on Wednesday detained three suspects thought to have carried out explosions at two Kharkiv supermarkets on Saturday that had injured fourteen people, including a two-year girl, officials said.