George Bush will make his first official state visit to Ukraine at the end of this month. He will arrive in Kiev on March 31 and spend two days in the capital before departing for the NATO summit in Bucharest. During the visit he will meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. Ukraine’s proposed membership of NATO will be discussed by the two leaders.
Russian state-run gas company Gazprom cut gas supplies to the Ukraine by 25 percent yesterday after Ukraine failed settle its debts by the deadline announced last week.
Russian gas supplier Gazprom has threatened (yet again) to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. The move comes just 2 weeks after the Russian and Ukrainian governments had appeared to reach an agreement over unpaid debts. The state-run supplier says that supplies will be reduced from March 3 unless Ukraine signs agreements to settle debts estimated at over $1 billion.
UEFA President Michel Platini has given Euro 2012 hosts Ukraine and Poland 6 months to get their preparations for the competition on track. He was speaking yesterday after a meeting of UEFA’s executive committee in Zagreb, Croatia, where a report on the lack of progress being made by both countries was discussed. Officials have stopped short of saying an alternative host is being considered, but say the situation will be reviewed in the summer.
Projects to construct stadiums and infrastructure have suffered due to political instability in both countries. The countries were chosen as joint hosts in April last year. Neither country has hosted a major football competition before.
Ukraine will become a full member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on February 7 2008. Membership of the WTO, an international organisation promoting free trade and the lowering of trade barriers, has long been a key foreign policy objective of the Ukrainian government.
Steve Edwards will be appearing in concert at Arena on February 1 2008. The house music singer/songwriter is best known for providing the vocals for Bob Sinclair’s massive single ‘World, Hold On’ (which incidentally can be heard on this video taken at Shooters nightclub in Kiev). The show starts at 10 pm, with ticket prices starting at 50 hrv.
American singer and songwriter Lenny Kravitz will play a concert in Kiev this summer. The musician, winner of four consecutive Grammy Awards from 1998 to 2002, will appear at the Palats Sportu on June 16 at 7 pm.
The concert is part of his worldwide Love Revolution Tour and will feature songs from his latest album of the same name, as well as his best known hits.
A charter plane flying from the Czech Republic to Kiev’s Zhulyany Airport, crashed in a field outside the Ukrainian capital yesterday. All 5 passengers, believed to be Czech nationals, died at the scene.
Thirty percent of Ukrainians pay bribes to officials according to a survey released yesterday by Transparency International, the global organisation dedicated to fight corruption. The Global Corruption Barometer placed Ukraine in the second quintile of countries most affected by bribery, along with Lithuania, Moldova, and Serbia. The most corrupt European countries were Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Romania.
In the Ukraine, most bribes were paid for educational qualifications, health services, to police and legislators, and to the tax authorities. The survey also revealed that 82 percent of respondents thought corruption in Ukraine would increase or stay the same.
East German trance music DJ Paul van Dyk will be performing in Kiev on December 14. The gig, part of his In Between Album tour, will be held at the International Exhibition Centre, 15 Brovarskly Prospect, and starts at 9 pm.