KYIV, Oct 29 – The top U.S. official for Ukraine negotiations praised the country for reaching an agreement with the Internat onal Monetary Fund, adding the deal has helped to avert an economic disaster.

KIEV, Oct. 27 – The mission of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) has said that the Ukrainian local elections on October 25 adhered to international standards.

VILNIUS, Oct. 29 – Some EU countries support the proposal to revoke some of the sanctions against Russia, MEP Gabrielius Landsbergis (European People's Party, Lithuania) said after a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

KIEV, Oct. 29 – President Petro Poroshenko and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow have emphasized the need to strengthen political dialogue between the two countries at the highest level and deepen trade cooperation on trade, economic, energy, financial, scientific, technical, cultural, humanitarian and other areas.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 - The International Monetary Fund is expected to soon discuss reforms to lending rules that would allow continued support for Ukraine even if it misses payments on a $3 billion debt to Russia, Reuters reported.

MOSCOW, Oct. 29 - The director of Moscow's Library of Ukrainian Literature has been detained by police on suspicion of inciting ethnic hatred.

KIEV, Oct. 29 - Ukraine will cut imports of Russian natural gas starting November 1 and will focus on increasing imports of European gas, Andriy Kobolev, the head of Naftogaz Ukrayiny, said Thursday.

KIEV, Oct. 29 - Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian separatists on Thursday exchanged 20 prisoners in a goodwill gesture, AFP reported. The swap took weeks to organize and was the first of its kind since September 8.

KIEV, Oct. 28 - President Petro Poroshenko said that the elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR, respectively) on November 2 undermine the peace process in Donbas.

KIEV, Oct. 29 - Members of a joint investigative group from the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Ukraine, Malaysia and the European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) decided on Wednesday to press ahead with their probe.