KIEV, Feb. 17 - Ukraine will set up a project office for reforms, whose mission will be to help the government and parliament carry out necessary reforms in the country.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - The Ukrainian government will approve on Wednesday a new edition of the "European Rampart" program to be implemented on the border with Russia, and this rampart, the same as the security line along Donbas, will be erected and reinforced, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on an increase in gas rates by 280% and heating tariffs by 66%, National Bank of Ukraine Governor Valeriya Gontareva said at the 11th investment conference arranged by Dragon Capital in Kiev on Wednesday.

KIEV, Feb. 18 – Ukraine will suspend payments for the electricity generated in the “anti-terrorist operation (ATO)“ zone and payments will resume only if the electricity is supplied to Ukrainian households rather than to terrorists, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for "a firm reaction from the world to Russia's brutal violation of the Minsk agreements and the ceasefire regime" after Ukrainian troops were surrounded by pro-Russian troops that launched an attack on the town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - Seven miners have been killed in an explosion at the Pivnichna mine of the Makiyivvuhillia state enterprise in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - Western partners will be prepared to extend financial assistance to Ukraine only if a new democratic government is elected in the country, the leaders of Ukraine's opposition Batkivschyna and UDAR factions, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Vitali Klitschko, said after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

MOSCOW, Feb. 18 - The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement poses no threat to Russia's interests, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - Russia blamed the West on Tuesday for an escalation of tension in Ukraine, saying European politicians had encouraged "radical forces" in the former Soviet republic by failing to condemn their actions, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Feb. 18 - The United States issued a new travel alert for Ukraine on Tuesday, citing increased risks because of political unrest and violent clashes between protesters and authorities, Reuters reported.