A year or so on from the last coup in Ukraine, Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Sergey Arbuzov told TASS, with growing popular discontent, "another state coup can’t be ruled out in Ukraine." As the cease-fire deal hangs torn and tattered in the Debaltseve winds, the nation is a mess: a new gas dispute looms as Gazprom demands upfront payments; capital controls have been tightened as the $17.5bn IMF loan may not be enough; and the central bank governor faces prosecution as the economy craters. All of these factors have driven massive outflows from Ukraine and the Hryvnia has crashed to over 33 to the USD - a record high (and 70% devaluation from the last coup).
The Hryvnia has crashed...
[7]
As EmergingEquity reports, [8] another state coup can’t be ruled out in Ukraine, with growing popular discontent, including among the leaders of the last year’s protests, Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Sergey Arbuzov told TASS on Friday.
“It is not ruled out that another state coup might occur in Ukraine,” Arbuzov said following a meeting of the Center for Studies of Economic and Socio-cultural Development of CIS Countries, Central and Eastern Europe.
“Maidan leaders and field commanders are voicing their discontent more and more loudly,” he said.
The current situation in Ukraine is characterized by an atmosphere of fear and repressions, Arbuzov said, adding that “people are afraid to voice their opinion.”
Sergey Arbuzov was the Prime Minister of Ukraine between January 28, 2014 and February 27, 2014 following the resignation of Mykola Azarov. Prior to that, he was the governor of Ukraine’s Central Bank.
* * *
A new Gas Dispute looms...
Russia demanded Ukraine pay for natural gas shipped directly to rebel-held areas of the country, re-igniting a long-running dispute over energy supplies and raising the prospect of a total halt.
Without cash upfront, OAO Gazprom will cut off Ukraine when prepaid supplies run out, which the Russian exporter said could be a matter of days. There will be no more advance payments until Gazprom follows all its supply agreements, Ukraine’s state energy company said Tuesday in a statement.
“A new gas dispute is inevitable before the end of this week,” said Alexander Paraschiy, an analyst at Ukrainian Concorde Capital in Kiev.
* * *
Capital Controls tighten...
- *GONTAREVA SAYS PRESSURE ON UKRAINE HRYVNIA FROM BUSINESSES
- *GONTAREVA SEES NO PRESSURE ON HRYVNIA FROM CITIZENS' OPERATIONS
- *GONTAREVA:UKRAINE BANS BANKS FROM GIVING CLIENT LOANS TO BUY FX
- *GONTAREVA SAYS NEW LIMITS FOR IMPORTERS TO CURB FX OUTFLOWS
Help can’t come fast enough for Ukraine.
Conditions are deteriorating so quickly that the International Monetary Fund’s $17.5 billion bailout, pledged less than two weeks ago, may no longer be sufficient.
While Ukraine waits for the IMF loan, central bank Governor Valeriya Gontareva is tightening the amount of foreign currencies available to importers and banning banks from lending money for clients to buy currencies other than the hryvnia. More restrictions may follow as the country’s economy contracts amid a deadly conflict with pro-Russian rebels in the country’s east, Gontareva said Monday.
With its foreign reserves dropping 61 percent to $6.4 billion in the four months through January, the “cupboard is basically bare,” said Timothy Ash, Standard Bank Group Plc’s London-based chief economist for emerging markets. The hryvnia has fallen 71 percent against the dollar over the past year.
* * *
And, echoing Turkey, the central bank governor faces prosecution...
Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a criminal cases against National Bank governor Valeriya Gontareva, the Vesti publication said on Tuesday.
[9]
The Vesti said the case had been launched on February 16, 2015. An entry to this effect was put on the unified register of pre-trial investigations.
Kiev’s Pechersky district court on December 1, 2014 bound prosecutors to launch a criminal case against Gontareva on charges of office abuse to derive unlawful profits.
The Vesti claimed that the charges referred to the National Bank’s currency interventions in August 2014.
* * *
But do not worry American taxpayers... your politicians will merely provide more of your government-debt-guaranteeing money to prop up the regime they installed... until they need a new one...
