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.

KIEV, June 16 - NATO's chief sought to allay Russia's concerns about Ukraine's possible entry into the alliance Monday, calling the idea that NATO wants bases on Ukrainian soil a "big myth," The Associated Press reported.

KIEV, June 15 - Ukraine's speedy entry to the World Trade Organization will force Russia to impose additional trade tariffs against the country to protect its markets, an influential Russian lawmaker said Wednesday.

KIEV, June 15 - Ukraine's official gross domestic product figure may have been artificially inflated last year, according to an investigation by SBU, the security service, submitted to President Viktor Yushchenko.

KIEV, June 15 - The government will convene Thursday for a special emergency meeting to look into ways of stopping the dramatic decline of output by steel companies hit by a major downturn in world demand last month, an official said.

KIEV, June 15 - Ukrainian share prices will grow by 10-15% by year-end due to the normal seasonal growth of investor interest at the end of the year Renaissance Capital Ukraine CEO Jacob Hartmut said.

KIEV, June 16 ??“ The Raiffeisenbank Group has completed its ???due diligence??? audit of Kiev??™s Aval Bank, but has not yet decided whether to acquire the bank, Aval Honorary President Fedir Shpih said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.