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Nearly five years after ex-President Viktor Yanukovych fled from Ukraine, the court finally handed down a verdict in his high treason case. After eight hours of an almost continuous reading of the full text, the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv sentenced Yanukovych in absentia to 13 years in prison for high treason and 12 years for complicity in war. But can Yanukovych be held accountable to the fullest?

Another round of Ukraine-EU-Russia gas talks to decide the fate of the future transit contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom saw no concrete outcome, as earlier expected. And although the meeting was held behind closed doors, some new details surfaced.

The NBU governor reported to parliament, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman demanded that the Naftogaz Supervisory Board reduce the exorbitant salaries of the company's top management, while Russia disrupted technical consultations on gas transit – these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Russia has disrupted technical consultations in the run-up to the trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russian negotiations on the future contract on gas transit via Ukraine. This casts doubt on the very effectiveness of talks, scheduled for January 21.

Ukraine's key creditors – the IMF and the World Bank – have worsened the outlook for the development of the national economy in 2019, noting that the efforts of the authorities to create a more competitive environment did not meet expectations; the Ministry of Economic Development cited modest financial figures in reports of strategic state enterprises, while the NBU announced a new wave of currency liberalization – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

In 2018, Ukraine allocated a record $40 billion for road repairs, which made it possible to drastically increase the volume of road construction and maintenance works throughout the country. In parallel lines, the railroad operator began an upgrade of its fleet, while Ukraine completed the largest infrastructure project of the decade, the Beskydy tunnel in the Carpathians.

The year of 2018 brought Ukrainians a rise in gas prices, new central heating tariffs, and swings in petrol prices, while we also witnessed Naftogaz’s historic victory over Russia's Gazprom. In 2019, no less fateful events are expected as a new competitive electricity market will be launched.

At UNIAN's request, the country's leading economists have shared their macroeconomic forecasts for the coming year. They expect that in 2019, the economic situation will remain fragile, given the low probability of continued important structural changes during the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The past year for Ukrainian farmers was marked with a record-high harvest and the purchase of the largest and most problematic agricultural holding, while the government again showed its unwillingness to fairly distribute subsidies between small farmers and big market players.

In 2018, Ukraine allocated a record UAH 170 billion from the state budget for defense, which allowed intensifying rearmament efforts, financing the development of new types of weapons. Combined with the use of foreign arms and hardware, this strengthened Ukraine's defense capabilities in countering Russian aggression.

The outgoing 2018 is truly a year of contrasts in the telecommunications market. The long-awaited LTE (4G) format was introduced, while even the 2G connection was not solid at all times, and no promised abolition of “mobile slavery” happened; the team of business reformers who came to manage Ukrposhta increased the company’s losses and began closing company branches in rural areas; and the epic with the return of Ukrtelecom to state ownership went for the second round in Ukrainian courts.

Ukraine secured a new cooperation program with the IMF, scored several loud victories in international courts against Russian aggressors, attracted new investors, and boasted a record harvest – these are the main economic results of the outgoing year.

Ukraine's main creditor, the IMF, set new demands on reforms and even allocated an incentive tranche in the amount of $1.4 billion; the authorities go for a large-scale reshuffle in the Fiscal Service structure; and MPs once again chose to prolong the moratorium on farmland sale to avoid speculation ahead of the presidential election.

Despite the introduction of martial law in several regions of Ukraine and the incompletion of the previous cooperation program, the IMF approved a new one for Ukraine, this time worth $3.9 billion. Experts call the key lender's decision a rescue from default.

The long-awaited privatization tender for the sale of Ukraine's strategic SOE Centrenergo is canceled because participants are not allowed to bid, the court reinstates ex-head of the fiscal service Roman Nasirov suspected of corruption, while NEURC predictably approves new heating tariffs, and the IMF is almost ready to provide Ukraine its first tranche under a new stand-by program – these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Ukraine has not yet removed the administrative barriers to electricity imports from the European Union, although Kyiv promised to do this several years ago. European officials set a deadline for fulfilling previous commitments for July 1, 2019. Otherwise, they vow sanctions.

On Tuesday, December 11, the Kyiv District Administrative Court reinstated Roman Nasirov, chairman of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, who had been dismissed by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of January 31. Unfortunately, such a return of odious officials to positions through the courts is quite a common thing for Ukraine.

Ukraine took another step toward receiving a bailout tranche from the IMF; Naftogaz called actions of Dmytro Firtash’s gas distribution firms "sabotage";  while Ukrzaliznytsia experienced a ticketing chaos – these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the Black Sea has raised to another level in the international arena the issue of the construction of the Nord Stream-2, the Kremlin's noose for the European Union. European officials have already submitted to Parliament a resolution on halting support for the Russian project, but it is only scheduled to be heard in March. UNIAN figured out what Ukraine should expect from a Europe that is constantly "in doubt."

Ukraine, for the first time in modern history, is learning how to live under martial law and it is not yet clear how this will affect the national economy, although the hryvnia responded immediately by going into a steep dive, only to regain positions shortly. The EU finally allocated the first EUR 500 million aid tranche, while IMF also sent positive signals by not turning away from Ukraine and being ready to consider the allocation of the next tranche. The country's main airport became closer as Ukrzaliznytsia launched an express railbus line, connecting it with the Kyiv center - these are the key economic news of the outgoing week.