KIEV, May 19 – The Ukrainian government remains committed to the idea of decentralization of power and is ready to ensure a special status for Russian and languages of national minorities, acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.

KIEV, May 19 – European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule has announced the Ukrainian government's intention to create a coordination agency for overseeing assistance from Europe.

KIEV, May 19 – Oleksandr Turchynov, speaker of the Ukrainian parliament and acting president of Ukraine, said he is confident Ukraine will cope with possible difficulties if Russia stops supplying gas on June 1.

BRUSSELS, May 19 - Europe's Energy Commissioner said on Monday progress had been made in the gas price dispute between Russia and Ukraine after talks with Russia's energy minister and Gazprom and said a fresh round of negotiations was scheduled for May 26, Reuters reported.

MOSCOW, May 19 - The Kremlin announced on Monday President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian forces near Ukraine back to their bases, but NATO and the United States said they saw no sign of a pullback and Moscow had failed to carry out such promises before, Reuters reported.

KIEV, May 16 – The modernization of the mining and metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine should be carried out in compliance with European environmental standards, President Viktor Yanukovych said.

KIEV, May 19 – One reporter was taken to hospital and another slightly injured following an attack from a group of pro-government demonstrators in Kiev on Saturday shortly after the same group clashed with opposition protesters.

KIEV, May 17 – President Viktor Yanukovych has noted the importance of completing the construction of the third hydraulic turbine of the Tashlyk pumped storage plant located on the Southern Buh River in Mykolaiv region.

KIEV, May 19 – Parliament, by a strong majority, recommended on Thursday the government pursue a free-trade agreement with the European Union by the end of the year and calling it a foreign policy “priority.”

Lawmakers, in a resolution, also called for “interaction” with a Russian-led trade bloc, gave this policy a much lower status.

KIEV, May 19 – Ukraine will have to decide whether to go ahead with drilling offshore the Black Sea in the wake of the oil spill disaster in the U.S., Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Wednesday.