KIEV, Feb. 18 – Air Koryo, North Korea's national airline, has added to its fleet the first of two new Ukrainian-Russian An-148 regional jets.

The first An-148-100, which was assembled at Antonov State Enterprise in cooperation with Voronezh Aircraft Production Association (VASO, Russia), was sent to North Korea in early February under a contract signed in July 2010, an informed source in Ukraine's aviation industry told Interfax-Ukraine.

KIEV, Feb. 19 – The largest number of residents of Kiev would vote for UDAR Party leader Vitali Klitschko in a mayoral election if he were nominated as a single candidate from the UDAR, Batkivschyna and Svoboda parties, according to a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center.

KIEV, Feb. 19 - Ukraine insisted Tuesday that a formal agreement covering energy, trade, judicial and human rights norms tying the ex-Communist country to the EU will be signed by November "at the latest."

KIEV, Feb. 16 – The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a bill on the introduction of biometric passports for traveling abroad, which will contain forefinger prints, Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych said.

KIEV, Feb. 19 – Ukraine’s jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is suffering from a hernia and any further delay in her proper treatment may result in the need of surgery, her daughter said Friday.

KIEV, Feb. 19 – It is expedient for Ukraine to settle relations with the International Monetary Fund and fulfill the requirements of a memo signed with the IMF regarding a 2009 national budget without a deficit, otherwise the country could face a surge in inflation, according to experts from Ukrainian companies.

KIEV, Feb. 19 - Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrayiny warned on Thursday that increasing debts from power producers and other firms for natural gas supplies jeopardize the company’s ability to pay Gazprom.

KIEV, Feb. 19 – Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko, under pressure from the opposition Regions Party, will face grilling in Parliament on March 3 over the country’s foreign policy, a sign that lawmakers may seek to dismiss him.

BRUSSELS, Feb. 17 – The defense ministers of Ukraine and NATO member states are planning to discuss current reforms and the implementation of an annual national program.

These issues will be considered at a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the level of defense ministers, which is to be held as part of an informal meeting of defense ministers in Krakow, Poland, on Feb. 20-21. A commission meeting with Defense Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov will take place early on Friday, Feb. 21, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said at an official press conference in Brussels on Tuesday.

KIEV, Feb. 18 – It is necessary to cut the volume of dispatcher restrictions for the admissible capacity of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and increase the share of nuclear power in total electricity generation, to at least 50%, according to President Viktor Yushchenko.