Donbas war continues

Макроэкономика 22.01.2015 Social media sources report that 37 Ukrainian soldiers were killed during Russian army supported military attacks at Donetsk airport yesterday. In a speech delivered to world leaders in Davos, President Poroshenko reiterated that the Russian army is behind the deaths of both Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who are defending the nation. Later that day in Berlin, late evening meetings of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia yielded no progress toward a resolution, while an official session on Ukraine of the UN assembly yielded the same. However, on a more positive note, after Poroshenko met with IMF head Christine Lagarde in Davos, the IMF announced that it would issue an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) as an emergency funding vehicle to relieve Ukraine in its current deep economic crisis. A 4-year program instead of the previous stand-by arrangement, a total of US$12-14bn could be issued. Poroshenko also met negotiated a deal with China's prime minister to extend a FX swap line as of up to US$2bn to the NBU. In sum, Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to secure all possible sources of external financing to stabilize the economy.