Ukraine receives first payment as part of Russian bailout

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich on Dec. 17 accepted a deal by Russian President Vladmir Putin. Russia agreed to buy $15 billion of Ukrainian debt and reduce the price the country pays for Russian gas supplies by one-third.

Russia transferred $3 billion to Ukraine Tuesday as the first payment of a $15 billion bailout. The debt deal, offered last week along with a significant discount on the cost Kiev pays for Russian gas supplies, is the latest development in the economic trade negotiations occurring in the ex-Soviet republic.

President Viktor Yanukovich’s decision to suspend a free trade deal with the EU in favor of Russian aid has simultaneously helped the country avoid bankruptcy and sparked major protests. Many had hoped that Ukraine’s acceptance of a free trade deal with their European neighbors would bring a more secure economic future and promote accountability within the government. While EU officials maintain that the deal is still on the table, acceptance of this Russian bailout suggests that Kiev is leaning towards signing a Kremlin-led customs union. Fellow post-Soviet states including Belarus and Kazakhstan have already joined or plan to join the union, but Ukraine has so far resisted.

Yevgenia Tymoshenko, daughter of the imprisoned Ukrainian former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, urged the EU to not turn its back on Ukraine. “In the name of my mother, I ask you not to leave Ukraine without your protection. Without your support, we don’t even have a chance for relatively honest elections, a partly independent press, the remains of political and economic competition and most importantly there will be no hope for positive change,” she said.

Tens of thousands have protested in major cities across Ukraine in the past two months, condemning the Yanukovich administration for bowing to the whims of the country’s Soviet era ties. The protesters, while still turning up in large numbers, face an uphill battle as they struggle to maintain the momentum of the uprisings through the holidays.

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H/T Jordan Vesey