KIEV, Dec. 15 - The European Union said on Sunday it was halting work on a landmark trade and political pact with Ukraine, hardening their rift even as tens of thousands took to the streets of Kiev urging President Viktor Yanukovych to mend ties with Brussels.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – A failure to reach an agreement on lower natural gas prices between Ukraine and Russia will mostly hurt the people, not the government, Volodymyr Lytvyn, parliamwntary speaker, said Thursday.

The comment comes days after Cazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the agreement will not be reached this year as everyone had previously expected.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – Ukraine and the European Union will probably not initial a political association agreement at their Kiev summit on December 19, Leonid Kozhara, a lawmaker from the governing Regions Party, said Thursday, citing an undisclosed communication from Brussels.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – Ukraine International Airlines has asked the Ukrainian authorities not to allow the failure of the privatization of a state-owned stake in its statutory capital and provide equal access for all domestic air carriers to the country's airports.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – The Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday opened a criminal investigation against opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, effectively restricting her ability to travel ahead of her planned visit to Brussels.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – UEFA inspectors will again check the state of preparations of facilities in Ukraine for hosting the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, Euro 2012 Director Martin Kallen said.

"The next visit [by UEFA inspectors] will take place in March, when we'll thoroughly look what has been done.

KIEV, Dec. 15 - President Viktor Yushchenko by his decree authorized Energy and Fuel Minister Yuriy Prodan to sign later this month the European Energy Community treaty, the presidential press service reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW, Dec. 15 – The head of Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday said he expected no problems with Ukraine paying next month for natural gas imported in December.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – The International Monetary Fund has convinced the National Bank of Ukraine of the need to cancel the ban on the early withdrawal of deposits in the near future, said Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, the head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine.

KIEV, Dec. 15 – The pace of annual real GDP growth in 2008 will slow to 3.5%-4% compared to a 5.8% rise over the first 10 months of 2008, Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn told Dzerkalo Tyzhnia newspaper.

The minister said that the slow will be due to the production fall through constriction of the foreign markets and the decline in domestic demand due to the limited access to credits, the freezing of own companies' funds in stocks of ready-made products and payments on credits without a possibility to refinance them.