'Shelling Every Day' In Donbas Trenches
Talks in Minsk aimed at a pullback of weapons from the front lines in eastern Ukraine have remained at an impasse. That's unlikely to surprise the men of the Ukrainian armed forces entrenched near Donetsk airport. They say they are under daily shelling from pro-Russian separatists. (Video shot July 27, Katerina Malofeyeva, RFE/RL's Current Time, www.currenttime.tv).
Ukraine's debt faces 'high risks': IMF
Washington (AFP) -- The IMF, which recently released a loan installment for Ukraine, said Tuesday it views the country's debt as sustainable but facing "exceptionally high" risks linked notably to the pro-Russian conflict.
The International Monetary Fund, in a report on Ukraine's $17.5 billion loan program awarded in March, highlighted the government's progress in implementing required reforms, putting the economy on a tentative track to stabilization.
The global crisis lender, which extended a $1.7 billion loan installment to Ukraine on Friday, said that the Ukrainian public debt was "sustainable with high probability," a prerequisite for the IMF to lend to a member country.
But the Fund warned that "risks to the outlook remain exceptionally high," citing notably the "uncertainty about the duration and depth" of the pro-Russian conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine, the country's industrial heartland.
"A large shock associated with a sharp escalation of the conflict in the east could render debt dynamics unsustainable, but most observers consider this scenario unlikely," the IMF said.
In its report, the IMF signaled concern about the country's debt burden, which it expects will approach 100 percent of gross domestic product this year amid the country's deep recession, now forecast at a nine percent contraction.
In announcing its four-year financial rescue in March, the IMF said that Ukraine needed to find $15.3 billion in debt relief with private creditors over that time frame. The debt negotiations have begun but have yet to produce a result.
The Ukrainian debt outlook could suffer from "prolongation of the discussions on the debt operation" and "larger-than-expected financing needs of the banking sector," the report said.
Poroshenko Consults Generals As Ukraine Peace Talks Falter
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened his generals on August 4 amid signs that his latest bid to negotiate an end to clashes with pro-Russian rebels is faltering while violence is rising.
"We need to clearly determine a plan for strengthening our defenses in case of the conflict's escalation," the presidency quoted Poroshenko as telling members of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov reported the death of three more soldiers in overnight rocket attacks. Kyiv said four of its troops had been killed on August 3, and the rebels reported one loss in the past two days.
The increased violence occured as peace talks in Minsk appeared to be unraveling.
Poroshenko sent his personal envoy to the talks on August 3 to discuss a new weapons withdrawal agreement with negotiators from the rebels and Moscow.
But the European-mediated talks fell apart due to what one separatist said was Kyiv's refusal to pull back its forces from four strategic sites. The rebels accused Kyiv of "sabotaging" the peace talks.
Based on reporting by AFP, Kyiv Post, and Interfax
Kremlin Downplays OSCE Report Of Russian Troops In Eastern Ukraine
The Kremlin on August 4 played down a report by OSCE monitors who found an armed man in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine who identified himself and a group of uniformed soldiers as a members of Russia’s armed forces.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said on August 3 that the armed man was guarding a weapons depot controlled by pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
It said the man “claimed that he and those present at the site were part of the 16th Airborne Brigade from Orenburg, Russia. They did not wear identifying insignia.”
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Pesko said on August 4 that “the Kremlin questions the accuracy of the data of the OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine which allegedly registered the presence of the Russian military in the conflict zone.”
He said “the trustworthiness of these reports needs to be verified” and that Russia’s Defense Ministry was the most competent authority to verify the report.