James Brooke, veteran American journalist in Kyiv, produces Ukraine Business News each weekday. Here we give you a daily summary – and a link to his site
Friday 18 June
– Ukraine’s hryvnia has gained 5.3% against the dollar this year – a stronger gain than most currencies.
– A battle continues over the CEO of Naftogatz, the state energy firm. Last month, the Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine’s executive council, went around the company’s supervisory board – suspending them – and naming their ally and then-acting ecology minister Yuriy Vitrenko as CEO. Ukraine’s national anti-corruption body ordered the prime minister to cancel this appointment. Now the PM, Shmyal, has filed suit against this action.
– Meanwhile, the European Bank for Construction and Redevelopment also expressed their displeasure with the Cabinet of Ministers’ Naftogatz decision.
– As Russia seeks to bypass gas transport through Ukraine, Ukraine is exploring a Trans-Balkan pipeline from Turkey, through Romania and Bulgaria – with conection to oil from Azerbaijan.
– Yuriy Vitrenkno, the CEO in controversy above, wants the US and EU to make Russian energy firm Gazprom allow gas from Asias to reach Europe through Ukraine.
You can find more details and other headlines at Ukraine Business News and you can sign up to receive their e-newsletter released at 6am Ukraine time each morning. James Brooke is a former longtime New York Times foreign correspondent who previously served as Bloomberg’s bureau chief in Moscow.
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