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Ukraine and Russia agreed on a new contract for the transit of Russian gas via the Ukrainian territory to the EU after the existing deal expires on December 31, 2019. The protocol of the future agreement was coordinated by the parties in Minsk on December 20. The formal signing of the contract is scheduled for December 29. UNIAN learned whether Naftogaz or Gazprom could be declared a winner.

Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement on key issues of a new contract for the transit of Russian gas, the government has declared a "war" on the gambling business, while the Ukrainian hryvnia continues to beef up – these are the main economic developments of this week.

Ukraine's national debt has reached $82 billion, while the Cabinet continues its borrowing spree, each week placing bonds, most of which are being purchased by non-residents. What are the risks of such a policy, and will the country be able to pay off its debts?

Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement on a new three-year extended fund facility, the National Bank once again lowered the key rate, while the State Statistics Service said inflation was slowing to a six-year low – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

Negotiations have been held in the Normandy format between the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia. The main issue of discussion is the fate of Donbas. But the gas topic was also touched upon on the summit's sidelines. Zelensky and Putin discussed it bilaterally.

The Cabinet of Ministers extended trade sanctions against Russia and launched the new Customs Service, Ukrtransnafta agreed with the Russian Federation to extend oil transit, while the hryvnia updated four-year highs five times in a week – these are the main economic developments of this week.

Ukraine continues to defend its position in the gas transit dispute with Gazprom. Billions in revenue for the Ukrainian budget are at stake. So far, in international courts, the Ukrainian position looks more confident than the Russian one.

Ukraine won appeal in gas transit dispute with Gazprom, the Cabinet began to pay off insurance arrears, while the hryvnia renewed its four-year high twice a week – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

Oleg Bakhmatyuk, ex-owner of VAB Bank, and owner of Ukrlandforming agricultural holding, who was put on wanted list on November 22 on suspicion of embezzling UAH 1.2 billion in VAB Bank's stabilization loan, told UNIAN about the circumstances of the case, the nature of conflict with NABU Director Artem Sytnyk, as well as further plans to shape up his line of defense and return to Ukraine.

The World Bank has improved the forecast for the Ukrainian economy development, the Cabinet of Ministers updated the plan for the implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, while IMF talks are still ongoing – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

The second week of November became historic for Ukraine – the parliament passed land reform at first reading of the law on the land market, and the next day adopted the state budget. The IMF staff mission arrived in Kyiv to complete negotiations on a new EFF program, while the statistics agency announced a slight slowdown in GDP growth in 3Q 2019.

The government announced its intention to reduce government spending by 10% and cut thousands of jobs in regional state bodies, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk promised not to raise taxes, while Naftogaz placed 7-year securities worth $500 million – these are the main economic news of the past week.

The first investment forum was held in Mariupol, where President Zelensky called on businesses to invest in restoring Donbas, representatives of Naftogaz and Gazprom held another round of gas transit talks in Brussels, while the Cabinet announced personnel cuts in regional administrations as part of decentralization reform – these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

In Brussels, another round of trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia negotiations on gas transit via Ukrainian pipelines has completed without yielding any significant results. Once again, Russia put forward a number of ultimatum-type conditions, while the European Union expressed disappointment over such a stance. At the same time, chances remain for the sides to ultimately reach an agreement.

The Cabinet of Ministers improved the forecast for economic growth in 2020, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk declared war on smuggling, while the National Bank lowered the key rate for the third time in a row this year and issued a new UAH 1,000 banknote – these are the main economic developments of this week.

Ukraine's key foreign creditors, the IMF and the World Bank, have issued updated forecasts for a higher growth of Ukraine economy, the State Statistics Service noted rising exports of Ukrainian goods to the EU, while the Verkhovna Rada approved in 2020 the country's budget at the first reading – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

The territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied by Putin's Russia will sooner or later return to Ukraine. Experts warn that the restoration of the region will require huge investments, at the same time considering such investments to be beneficial for the country and society and naming several of their possible sources.

Finance Minister Oksana Markarova has presented to MPs the draft state budget for 2020, the government decided on the date of the long-awaited launch of the land market, while Naftogaz held in Brussels a productive round of negotiations on the transit of Russian gas – these are the main economic news of the past week.

The first round of gas talks in the trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia format took place in Brussels. It did not yield any concrete results in terms of signing the relevant agreements. Nevertheless, for the first time in many years, Russia has backtracked, which confirms the correct strategy of Ukrainian negotiators.

The review mission of the International Monetary Fund arrived in n Kyiv, the Verkhovna Rada liquidated the National Financial Services Commission and postponed the introduction of fines for owners of uncleared cars with EU plates, while the State Statistics Service reported on slower inflation in August - these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.