CHERNOBYL, Dec. 14 – The Emergencies Ministry plans to organize regular tourist excursions to the Chernobyl zone starting in January.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – The deficit of the Ukrainian Pension Fund in 2011 could fall to 1.4% of GDP from 2.46% of GDP in 2010, according to materials enclosed in the draft national budget for 2011 posted on Parliament's Web site.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration on Tuesday described as “unacceptable” the police detention of a journalist late Monday, and vowed to make sure nothing like that would ever happen again.

KIEV, Dec. 11 – UEFA's Executive Committee has officially confirmed Kiev, Donetsk, Lviv and Kharkiv as host cities for the Euro 2012 European Football Championship, UEFA President Michel Platini said at a press conference in Madeira, Portugal on Friday.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – President Viktor Yushchenko has again nullified cabinet resolutions on giving state guarantees to PolitekhMed for a $250 million credit to buy ambulances and to Ukrprotez for $400 million credit to buy cars for disabled persons from CJSC ZAZ, as the Ukrainian cabinet has exhausted the limit for issuing state guarantees for this year set in the law on the national budget for 2009.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – The Ukrainian presidential secretariat has criticized the approach used by the Ukrainian cabinet in talks with the International Monetary Fund , saying the government made irresponsible promises, reads a posting on the Web site of the head of state.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – Ukraine hopes to raise 1.5 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund by the end of 2009, acting Finance Minister Ihor Umansky said.

KIEV, Dec. 14 – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will probably again shield Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko from dismissal following last week’s allegations that the minister has been failing to fight corruption.

KIEV, Dec. 12 – The stabilization of the hryvnia exchange rate will be clearer in late December, although such trends have been seen on the cash and interbank markets, according to the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Volodymyr Stelmakh.

KIEV, Dec. 12 – The weakening of the hryvnia is a considerable factor of support for Ukrainian producers, as it cuts imports, according to Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk.