Kyiv expects the first $5 billion of its $17.5 billion credit from the IMF just in time for the weekend:
Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko says Kyiv expects the first tranche of $5 billion under a new four-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program to be disbursed no later than March 13.
The IMF on March 11 approved the $17.5-billion loan for Ukraine to stave off default.
Jaresko said at a briefing in Kyiv on March 12 that the central bank would receive $2.2 billion of the money, which will be used to stabilize the national currency.
The hryvnia has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the dollar over the past year amid the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the east.
Jaresko said the remaining $2.8 billion would go to the government.
She announced that Kyiv would launch a program to privatize many of the country's 3,300 state-owned companies by the end of this year.
Jaresko also said Kyiv will begin talks with its creditors on restructuring its debt, adding that a solution should be found within at least two months.
The IMF said successful debt restructuring would be "a key consideration" for the payment of further tranches.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Former Regional Governor In Ukraine Found Dead
A former governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya region has been found dead with a gunshot wound to his throat, the latest in a string of violent deaths of officials with ties to ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych.
Police officials said Oleksandr Peklushenko, governor of the southeastern region from 2011 until March 2014, most likely committed suicide.
Suicide Or Homicide? In Ukraine, Old-Guard Officials Dying Mysteriously
They said his body was found in his home in the town of Sonyachniy near the regional capital, Zaporizhzhya, on March 12.
Peklushenko, 60, was a member of Yanukovych's Party of Regions and formerly represented it in parliament.
Yanukovych fled to Russia after he was ousted in February 2014 by pro-European protests known as the Euromaidan.
At least six officials or ex-officials with links to Yanukovych's government have died this year in cases ruled probable suicides, but the victims' political allegiances and job histories have fueled suspicions of foul play.
Zaporizhzhya borders the Donetsk region, which is partially held by Russian-backed rebels whose conflict with government forces has killed more than 6,000 people since April.
Based on reporting by UNIAN and pravda.com.ua