BRUSSELS, Dec 14 - In a dramatic twist, Ukraine and Moldova got the green light to start EU membership talks after days of hardballing from Hungary. Viktor Orban insisted Kyiv was not ready, but let the rest of the bloc sign off without him.

KYIV, Dec 15 – Parliament late Tuesday approved 2021 budget with deficit at 5.5% of the GDP to comply with demands from the international Monetary Fund to reduce financing gap from previously planned 6%.

KYIV, Dec 13 – The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture is puzzled by the lack of relationship between rapidly strengthening hryvnia and consumer prices that remain strong, Tymofiy Mylovanov, the minister, said.

KYIV, Dec. 16 - A selection commission has named a new chief for Ukraine's National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPZK), an independent body that outlines and implements policies to prevent fraud, RFE/RL reported.

KYIV, Dec. 16 - Ukraine has deported Azerbaijani opposition blogger Elvin Isayev, who is wanted by the Prosecutor-General’s Office, Azerbaijan’s State Migration Service said in a news release over the weekend.

KYIV, Dec 16 – Cybersecurity is one of the most important priorities for the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Secretary of the NSDC Oleksiy Danilov said.

KYIV, Dec 17 – Temperatures above zero seen in Ukraine in December are favorable for most winter crops, although there is a risk of killing buds of fruit trees if temperatures sharply change to below zero after December 25, Head of the agrometeorological department of the Ukrainian weather center Tetiana Adamenko has said.

KYIV, Dec 17 – The parliamentary committee for agricultural and land policy is finalizing the provisions that foreigners would not be able to buy land until the decision to allow this is made at a national referendum, Deputy Head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, MP Yevheniya Kravchuk said.

KYIV, Dec 17 – Ukraine will be able to quit signing new programs with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the completion of the new three-year program, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to slap sanctions on companies building a massive underwater pipeline to bring Russian natural gas to Germany, but it was uncertain whether the measures would slow completion of the project, Reuters reported.