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The large drop in stock market indices caused by the spread of the Chinese coronavirus made many suggest a new financial crisis, President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to pay wage arrears to miners and limit coal imports, while the Cabinet announced a plan to support key industries – these are the main economic developments of the past week.

Lending rates in Ukraine are several times higher than those in European countries. NBU Deputy Chairman Dmytro Solohub sat down with UNIAN to tell about the reasons for such pricing by banks, the likelihood of cheaper loans, and the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the national economy.

Coronavirus continues to spread around the world. It inflicts an insidious blow not only on the population of about four dozen countries, but also affects the global economy unprecedentedly. International auditors predict pessimistic scenarios if it comes to a pandemic. UNIAN learned what awaits Ukraine in such conditions.

Early last week, someone purposefully dispersed panic in social networks, claiming that amid intensified shelling in Donbas, the Ukrainian Army retreated from its defense positions, and the town of Zolote "surrendered to separatists". To dispel these rumors, UNIAN visited Zolote and talked with the locals.

A major offensive by Russian-controlled forces on Ukrainian positions on the night of February 18 raises questions, whether Moscow really strives for peace in Donbas as much as it claims in the international arena. But why did the Kremlin need a new escalation in Donbas on the same day that Russia convened the UN Security Council?

The Cabinet of Ministers launched a campaign to remove the labor market from the "shadow" and distributed UAH 4 billion in support of farmers, while Minister of Energy and Environment Oleksiy Orzhel announced a record reduction in gas tariffs – these are the key economic developments of the outgoing week.

It's been ten years since the start of the now-disgraced Viktor Yanukovych's presidential term and six years from the day he fled from the country. Let's recall this man's role in Ukraine's most recent dramatic history.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with CEOs promised to protect "every penny invested," the State Statistics Service reported inflation down, while truckers blocked highways around Kyiv, demanding resignation of the infrastructure minister.

The U.S. Congress is drafting a new package of sanctions against participants in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipe project, that's if Russia eventually succeeds in completing it. They will affect European companies, including investors and also future recipients of Russian gas. UNIAN tried to figure out whether the U.S. would be able to sink Putin's project.

Amid opposition protests, Parliament started considering at second reading the land market bill, President Zelensky announced an "avalanche of investments" expected to flow into Ukraine, the government launched the Diia mobile application and an affordable loans program, while Ukrzaliznytsia signed a memo with a German railway carrier – these are the key economic developments of the outgoing week.

Russian propaganda is raging in schools across the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Militarization of young minds in these areas is entering a new round amid preparations for the celebration of February 23 (Russia's Homeland Defender Day) and May 9 (WW2 Victory Day). But it's not only marching in formations that local schoolchildren are taught – it's also planting landmines.

The hryvnia is back in the turbulence zone. The rate creeps up, but it's not easy to figure out whether it's a good or a bad thing. Experts ring the alarm. After all, in no way does the strong hryvnia as of year-end reflect the real situation in the Ukrainian economy.

The EU at a meeting of the Ukraine-EU Association Council noted reform progress and allocated assistance for the development of farming, the Cabinet changed leadership at Ukrzaliznytsia and the Social Insurance Fund, while the National Bank lowered the key rate to a three-year low – these are the week's main economic developments.

The government has published an estimate of Ukraine's population. It was not a standard census, but rather an "electronic" one. The count says the population stands at 37 million. It's 15 million down from the previous figure. What do these numbers mean and will the Cabinet of Ministers change economic plans due to population decline?

Although International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked in January, a project dedicated to this day generated global debate about the ethics of talking about genocide on the Instagram entertainment platform sparked back in May last year. UNIAN met with the producers of Eva.stories and found out how the resonating project was created.

Former battalion commander with the 72nd separate mechanized brigade, chief of staff of the 28th Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Vdovichenko (callsign "Slavian") sat down with UNIAN to tell about his troops forcing militants in Donbas to retreat, repelling the attacks of the "elite" DPR troops, preventing an offensive on Avdiyivka with the help of journalists and photos of tanks, surviving and following his "don't die" order.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos jokingly promised to get foreign investors a "nanny" in Ukraine, the finance ministry made a new Eurobond issue worth EUR 1.25 billion at a record low rate, while the government applied new methodology in counting the country's population – these are the main economic developments of the outgoing week.

A five-year gas transit contract signed between Naftogaz of Ukraine and Russian Gazprom, signed at the end of 2019, will bring billions of dollars in revenues and give Ukraine time to boost own gas extraction and cut consumption. If Ukraine succeeds, this will allow the country to confront Russia on an equal footing.

Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk filed a resignation letter in the aftermath of audio leaks from his alleged meeting, the National Bank following public outrage eased restrictions on individual entrepreneurs related to the personal use of business accounts, while the Verkhovna Rada adopted a number of important bills – these are the main economic developments of the past week.

Foreign trade deficit is on the rise in Ukraine, having already exceeded the psychological mark of $9 billion. Future prospects are also disappointing. What threats does this economic "hole" bring and how can it be patched?