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Russia's moves in Crimea and the Sea of Azov are becoming increasingly provocative. The JIT probe into an MH17 crash gave Australia and the Netherlands an impetus to form their position. PM Groysman held talks in Brussels. Emmanuel Macron did not live up to general hopes during a St. Petersburg visit. In Italy, a Eurosceptic government is being formed. Hungary once again tried to use NATO to exert more pressure on Ukraine. Johannes Hahn sees no reason for abolishing the visa-free regime for Ukraine. Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid visited Donbas.

The EU plans to lend EUR 1 billion to Ukraine, demanding more efforts to fight corruption, on the eve of summer vacations the Verkhovna Rada intends to outlaw the use of palm oil in food production, and the Kyiv authorities have decided to sharply raise the fare in public transport to prevent collapse – these are the major economic developments of the past week.

The Russian president demonstrated an arsenal of various moves to maintain the image of the "great and terrible." Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin quoted Ukrainian film maker Oleh Sentsov, who went on hunger strike in a Russian prison. U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker was persistently promoting a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas. On the eve of Europe Day in Ukraine, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli disclosed several unpleasant facts for Ukraine.

A meeting took place in a hybrid Normandy format in Aachen, Germany, – without the participation of Vladimir Putin. Kurt Volker announced a visit to Ukraine, having made a number of statements. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued the award, obliging Russia to pay compensation to Ukrainian companies for the loss of property in Crimea. Putin took the oath of office for his fourth term as Russian president. Nikol Pashinyan became Prime Minister of Armenia. Donald Trump continued wiping out the gains of the Barack Obama Administration's foreign policy.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued its award on Russia, making it responsible for the seizure of Ukrainian companies' assets in Crimea; the construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was launched in the north of Germany; and the prices of crude oil soared in connection with a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and the imposition of sanctions on that country – these are the major economic developments of the past week.

Almost two years have passed since the last meeting of the Normandy Four leaders. Now, on May 10, the German chancellor, the president of France and the Ukrainian president sat down to hold negotiations without the Russian leader.

The more years pass since Nazi Germany in 1945 surrendered to the anti-Hitler coalition, the fewer witnesses remain of those events, and the more some unscrupulous politicians in Ukraine are trying to speculate on the theme of Victory Day and play into the Kremlin's hands, which turned the topic into mass hysteria.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell's visit and further confirmation of deliveries of Javelin ATGMs to the Ukrainian military testify that the Ukraine issue remains in Washington's focus. Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) along with a group of former hostages spoke at the European Parliament about the situation in Ukraine. Benjamin Netanyahu did a favor to Donald Trump. Milos Zeman played a Kremlin tune. Nikol Pashinyan stopped short of a taking up the prime minister's office.

The Cabinet decided to reduce the number of recipients of social assistance for utilities, having introduced new criteria for their provision; agrarians sowed 90% of the target area with early grains and leguminous crops; the Government committee decided on a list of large-scale state enterprises to put up for sale; and infrastructure minister Volodymyr Omelyan traveled in a second class rail car to inspect Ukrainian Railways - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Serzh Sargsyan resigned as Prime Minister of Armenia, which did not stop the political crisis in the country. Alexander Lukashenko delivered an annual address to the nation. Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel each had meetings with Donald Trump. PACE failed to pin down it members with alleged corruption trace behind them, but also chose not to go for rapprochement with Russia. The European Commission announced measures to combat fake news. Johannes Hahn made a tempting offer to Ukraine. The two Koreas held a summit in an idyllic atmosphere. G7 and NATO foreign ministers (with the exception of Hungary) showed support for Ukraine.

To get a billion euros from the European Union, Ukraine will have to meet a number of useful requirements, in particular, to introduce an automatic verification of those astonishing "riches" declared by the country's officials. Meanwhile, the State Statistics Service released data on the slowdown of industrial output, and the Cabinet adopted a large-scale state program to improve road safety and ordered that the Ukrzaliznytsia [Ukrainian Railways] top managers ride trains - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

The prospect of longtime Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan becoming PM sparked riots in Yerevan. Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron met in Berlin. The Russian Foreign Ministry produced more absurd statements. Early presidential and parliamentary elections were appointed in Turkey. Kim Jong-un announced halt to North Korea's nuclear tests.

The government set Ukraine's budget policy for 2019-2021, predicting a fall of the national currency down to UAH 31.8 per dollar; the IMF issued an outlook for the country's economic development; the finance ministry came out with an unexpected confession that raising minimum wage is impossible, while Prime Minister Groysman named Ukraine's main economic problem - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel sat down with UNIAN to explain whether it's possible to bring Ukrainian forces to NATO standards by 2020, be granted a Membership Action Plan, whether to expect from Russia a full-scale invasion into Ukraine in the short term, and why he believes the Donbas conflict has no military solution to it.

The United States, UK, and France went for a joint airstrike at Syrian facilities where the intelligence believes chemical weapons are produced. Peter Poroshenko held intensive negotiations with German leadership and outlined Ukraine's further foreign policy priorities. U.S. sanctions against Russia, probably for the first time, became truly effective, forcing the Kremlin to look for ways to save face. Viktor Orban and his Fidesz Party secured a constitutional majority in the Hungarian parliament.

The World Bank urged Ukraine authorities to speed up reform, Prime Minister Groysman attacked extraction companies from the President's entourage, while law enforcers once again raided the Ukrzaliznytsia headquarters - these are the key economic news of the past week.

A few years ago, the dependence of the Ukrainian economy on that of its northern neighbor was so strong that a sanctions strike against Russia would ricochet violently over Ukraine. However, despite the fact that the hryvnia today saw no damage from the ruble plunge, a new package of Russia sanctions could still affect certain Ukrainian companies.

Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia came out of a critical condition amid intensive treatment. Russia's efforts in the UN Security Council and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found no support. Donald Trump met with presidents of the Baltic States. In Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan applied diplomatic asymmetry. Nord Stream 2 continues its advance toward the practical phase of construction. The U.S. imposed new sanctions against Russian oligarchs and officials. Viktor Orban resorted to unbridled propaganda.

The agrarians started the sowing campaign that will cost them at least 10% more than last year, road repairs were launched after a long winter, Ukrzaliznytsia postponed the increase in train ticket prices, while the authorities announced a new stage of decentralization - these are the main economic news of the outgoing pre-Easter week.

Navy Admiral (Rtd), Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Ihor Kabanenko told UNIAN why the Ukrainian coast guards, having seized the Nord vessel in the waters of the Azov Sea, acted lawfully, and hinted that the situation with the Nord could well be a provocation on the part of Russia.