MUMBAI, Aug. 2 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has affirmed its 'BB-' long-term foreign, 'BB' long-term local, and 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Ukraine, reflecting fiscal concerns arising from a shortened electoral cycle with a negative outlook, Thomson Financial reported.

Although political risks in Ukraine have subsided in the near-term, the shortening of the electoral cycle continues to interfere with budgetary discipline, the privatization process, and the implementation of critical structural reforms -- in particular an overdue tightening of banking supervision, S&P said.