KIEV, June 16 – Former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko was under pressure from Russia during the signing of gas contracts in 2009, according to the head of the parliamentary commission investigating the signing of gas contracts by the Tymoshenko government, Regions Party MP Inna Bohoslovska.

KIEV, June 16 – Parliament, led by President Viktor Yanukovych’s Regions Party, on Thursday gave first-reading approval to controversial pension, bringing Ukraine a step closer towards securing lending from the International Monetary Fund.

KIEV, June 16 - Ukraine will have to find ways to settle its dispute over natural gas with gas trader RosUkrEnergo, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Tuesday.

“We are thinking how to exit this situation,” Azarov said in an interview with BBC Ukrainian service aired late Tuesday.

KIEV, June 16 – Ukraine borrowed $4 billion in a mystery loan from Russia, not $2 billion as was recently reported, Serhiy Liovochkin, the chief of staff at President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, said Wednesday.

KIEV, June 16 – President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration will seek to set a date for local elections in Ukraine on October 31, Serhiy Liovochkin, the chief of staff, said Wednesday.

KIEV, June 15 - President Viktor Yanukovych called for an investigation to be conducted in Ukraine before Naftogaz complies with a court order to return 11 billion cubic meters of gas to Swiss trader RosUkrEnergo AG (RUE) and pays 1.1 bcm in gas by way of a fine.

MOSCOW, June 15 - Talks between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund on a new lending program continue, the head of the IMF mission in Russia, Poul Thomsen, said at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday.

KIEV, June 16 – The Ukrainian government has authorized First Deputy Finance Minister Ihor Umansky to sign non-negotiable, non-interest bearing bills in the national currency in favor of the International Monetary Fund under the Stand-by Arrangement in an amount equal to the borrowings transferred to Ukraine's national budget.

KIEV, June 16 – President Viktor Yushchenko’s constitutional amendments have been “blocked” in Parliament, making it unlikely that any amendments will be approved before the next presidential election, a senior official at the Yushchenko office said Tuesday.

KIEV, June 16 – Ukraine seeks to borrow $4 billion from European banks to secure massive natural purchases gas within the next two months to prevent supply disruptions in the winter, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Tuesday.