Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Tuesday his country has lost 25 percent of its economy because of the conflict in Donbass
This article originally appeared at Peacekeeper
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Tuesday his country has lost 25 percent of its economy because of the conflict in Donbass, hundreds of businesses have been closed.
“We have lost a quarter of the Ukrainian economy. Because of the war…hundreds of companies have been closed, but we were able to collect more taxes than last year,” Yatsenyuk said at a meeting with governors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $17.5-billion financial aid for Ukraine. In exchange for money Kiev committed to implementing deep political, social and financial reforms.
Yatsenyuk said Ukraine needs a new constitution, the main provisions of which should be approved in a referendum: “The will of the people, expressed through a referendum, should define Ukraine’s new constitution.” Yatsenyuk said the new constitution would give the Ukrainian regions more powers, and would introduce a European legal system. Earlier in March, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to set up a commission to amend the country’s constitution.