Blue &Yellow: Politics and Economics in Ukraine

• The Guardian has an interview with Yulia Tymoshenko, article contains very little new information on the prime minister. Below is one of the better bits from the article.

 

It was one of those ghastly days – collapsing into bed at 4am after an official trip, up again too soon for a cabinet meeting on the economic crisis, and then an interview with the Guardian. When she arrives for our meeting, Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's prime minister and Europe’s second most powerful woman, has not even had time to produce the trademark peasant-style plait that normally hovers on her head like a halo: her hair is combed into a loose bun. Her officials struggle to remember when they had last seen her in this condition, and pictures taken that morning of her minus plait are already shooting round Kiev's mobile phones.

 

• The specter of violent radicalism discussed in an article on the economic crisis in Ukraine. [Christian Science Monitor]

 

• Deputy Justice Minister accuses SBU Deputy Chief of obstructing the work of the government during the economic crisis. [Ukrainska Pravda]

 

• In FT, Roman Olearchyk writes on the weaknesses in the Ukrainian economy exposed by the economic recession. The article also provides a good summary of the economic events in Ukraine. Excerpt below [FT].

 

While few expect a sovereign default this year, concerns and uncertainty loom. On May 12, Moody’s downgraded Ukraine’s sovereign credit rating to B2 from B1, and assigned a negative outlook, reflecting the fragility of both the Ukrainian macro economy and the banking system.

Meanwhile, the majority of Kiev’s banks, many owned by domestic businessmen, have nowhere to turn. Some will go bust. Consolidation is also expected.

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