KYIV, Dec 20 - Ukrainian MPs passed a law on Thursday that could force the Moscow-backed church in Ukraine to add "Russian" to its name, aimed at curbing the influence of priests whom the authorities call a threat to national security, Reuters reported.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - The Trump administration has approved the first ever U.S. commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, in a clear break from the de facto U.S. ban on arms sales that dates back to the Obama administration, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

KYIV, Dec 19 - The current Extended Fund Facility program (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Ukraine is working and there is the opportunity to obtain more than two tranches under the program in 2018, Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk believes.

KYIV, Dec 19 - Acting Head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smolii is currently the only candidate for the post of NBU governor, Bloc of Petro Poroshenko MP Vadym Denysenko, who represents the Cabinet of Ministers in parliament, said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 - The United States on Tuesday targeted more Russian businessmen and companies over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine, slapping them with U.S. sanctions in a move Moscow criticized as hostile, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Dec. 19 – Ukraine and the European Union have signed agreements to finance four border cooperation programs in the amount of EUR 365 million.

KIEV, Dec. 19 – Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman during a telephone conversation with of the European Council President Donald Tusk discussed the issue of the introduction of a visa-free regime for Ukrainians by the EU and the completion of the ratification of the Association Agreement.

KIEV, Dec. 18 – President Petro Poroshenko expressed hope that the European Commission in the first half of 2016 will submit recommendations to the European institutions on the abolition of the visa regime with Ukraine.

KIEV, Dec. 18 – The International Monetary Fund-supported Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program for Ukraine may fail if the Ukrainian parliament does not pass the 2016 national budget, the IMF said in a press release.

KIEV, Dec. 18 - Ukraine has imposed a moratorium on the repayment of a $3 billion eurobond held entirely by Russia, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Friday, after Moscow refused to accept the terms of a restructuring of the debt, Reuters reported.