Tymoshenko plans presidential bid
Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine, said on Thursday that she would run for president in elections to be held in May, making clear that after two and a half years in prison she intends to play an active role in her country’s struggles. Tymoshenko, a charismatic but also potentially polarizing figure, ran unsuccessfully for president in 2010 against her archrival, Viktor Yanukovych. Tymoshenko was jailed on charges that were criticized by the West as politically motivated and as stemming from her rivalry with Yanukovych, who was ousted in February.
New York Times
The world rushed Thursday to help Ukraine, with the International Monetary Fund pledging up to $18 billion in loans, the U.N. condemning the vote that drove Crimea into Russian hands, and the U.S. Congress approving aid and backing even harsher sanctions against Russia.
Yet even with such intensive help to prop up the teetering economy, Ukraine’s prime minister warned of painful times ahead from economic changes that were sure to drive up energy prices.
President Barack Obama called the international support a “concrete signal of how the world is united with Ukraine.”
In a passionate address to parliament in Kiev, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned that Ukraine was “on the brink of economic and financial bankruptcy” and laid out the fixes needed to put the country back on track.
“The time has come to tell the truth, to do difficult and unpopular things,” Yatsenyuk said, adding that Ukraine was short $25.8 billion — “equivalent to the entire state budget for this year.”
The IMF loan, which is expected to range between $14 billion and $18 billion, hinges on structural reforms that Ukraine has pledged to undertake.
Ukraine’s new government finds itself caught between the demands of international creditors and a restive population that has endured decades of economic stagnation, corruption and mismanagement.
The reforms demanded by the IMF — which include increasing taxes, freezing the minimum wage and hiking energy prices — will hit households hard and are likely to strain the interim government’s tenuous hold on power.
Ukraine, a nation of 46 million, is battling to stabilize itself since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February after months of protests ignited by his decision to back away from closer relations with the European Union and turn toward Russia. Over the last few weeks, an interim government has formed and Ukraine lost Crimea to Russia. Now Ukraine fears further military incursions by Russia.
“This is a kamikaze government that perfectly well understands that there is no other way to stabilize Ukraine,” said Viktor Zamyatin, analyst with the Kiev-based Razumkov Center think tank.
But he said it could pay a steep price.
“It is hard to explain to the voter that the worsening of the economy has happened not because of the revolution, but because of Viktor Yanukovych’s policies,” he said.
In Washington, Congress overwhelmingly backed legislation in the House and Senate to aid cash-strapped Ukraine and punish Russia for its annexation of Crimea.
On a voice vote, the Senate approved a measure that would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine and give Obama broad authority to impose more sanctions on Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
The House endorsed a different version on a 399-19 vote that also provides assistance to Ukraine and penalizes Russia. Lawmakers hope to send a single bill to the White House for Obama’s signature by week’s end.
Meanwhile, in a rebuke of Moscow, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and deemed the referendum that led to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal. The resolution has no enforcement power.
Russia shrugged off the torrent of criticism, announcing it would set up its own payment system to rival Visa and MasterCard after the two companies pulled their services from some Russian banks in the wake of international sanctions.
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