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Kyiv ranks 173rd in 24th Annual Cost of Living Survey. In the 24th annual survey ranking the most expensive cities in the world for expats, Kyiv now ranks 173rd out of 209. The survey, carried out by the international advisory firm Mercer, ranked Hong Kong as the most expensive place in the world for expats and Tashkent as the least expensive. The survey examined the cost of 200 items in each location from accommodation to a cup of coffee. Kyiv fell 10 places compared to 2017, Moscow at 17th fell 4 places. The most expensive place to live in Europe is Zurich ranked at number 3.
The Ukrainian government is continuing negotiations with the country's main donor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on the price of natural gas for households , trying to secure a compromise option, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told the nation's parliament on July 13. The statement followed the adoption of last week's amendments to the new law necessary for establishing the nation's anti-corruption court, which is a crucial condition for a new tranche from a $17.5bn support package agreed by Kyiv with the IMF in 2015. "We are conducting negotiations now. We are looking for compromise options, first of all, to protect the interests of Ukrainian citizens and Ukraine," Interfax news agency quoted Groysman as saying. "I hope for understanding with our international partners."
The former head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Roman Nasirov has not only not been prosecuted for corruption, but now plans to run for the Ukrainian presidency in 2019. "Every day I think about this [participation in the presidential elections] more and more. I have already begun to prepare for this. I think that, probably, yes," Nasirov said on the 112 Ukraine television channel, reports Interfax. Nasirov was arrested in March 2017 on corruption charges brought by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in what was widely hailed as the “first big fish” to be netted by the new anti-graft agency. Nasirov was arraigned in a court house that was surrounded by protestors who ringed the building to make sure he could not leave before judges came to work on the following Monday to formalised the indictment.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau was attacked on July 17 in a violent protest. Ukrayinska Pravda reports that protesters, including some claiming to be ATO vets or Socialist Party members, entered the building and destroyed surveillance cameras in the public part of the building. They then broke into the restricted part of the building and demanded NABU director Artem Sytnyk come out to them so they could deliver an appeal to him. Police responded promptly and removed the protestors, stated National Police spokesman Yaroslav Trakolo. It later transpirered that the protestors were hired by the Interior ministry and were right wing members of Adair and other fascist groups under the control of the government.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has backed Ukraine’s revised plans for an anti-corruption court , which is one of the conditions for unlocking the next installment from the stalled $17.5bn support programme agreed with Kyiv in 2015. "The legislative framework for the high anti-corruption court, once the recently adopted amendments are signed into law, will be consistent with the authorities’ commitments under Ukraine’s IMF-supported programme," an IMF spokeswoman told Reuters. The statement followed the adoption of amendments to the new law necessary for establishing the nation's anti-corruption court, which is a crucial condition for a new tranche from the support programme.
13 UKRAINE Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com