The Ukrainian government approved a list of debt that should be restructured under an IMF program to save the nation US$15.3 billion, including US$3 billion in Eurobonds sold to Russia.
Ukraine’s sovereign and corporate debt incurred before Feb. 28 last year is included, Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance said on Saturday on its Web site. The last category covers state banks, the railways operator and the city of Kiev, according to the statement.
Ukraine is trying to reach an agreement with creditors including Franklin Templeton — which holds about US$7 billion in the debt — to save US$15.3 billion through the restructuring.
Russia said it bought the Eurobonds in 2013 to support the government of then-Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and is already contributing by not demanding early repayment.
“Up to now, we’ve been repeatedly saying that Russia doesn’t plan to restructure the Ukrainian debt and isn’t in talks on the issue,” Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov’s aide Svetlana Nikitina said on Saturday by telephone.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has not seen the Ukrainian decision yet, she said.
The list of debts included might be published as soon as today, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance said in response to questions from reporters.
The decision on debt comes amid a relative lull in the military conflict in two eastern Ukrainian regions that led the government in Kiev to seek assistance from the IMF.
While casualties have waned following a ceasefire agreed on Feb. 12, Ukraine still has to complete negotiations on losses for international bondholders by next month to keep funds flowing from the IMF.
On Saturday, the situation “worsened” in the conflict area, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said. Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two were wounded by a mine explosion in the east of the nation near Donetsk.
Pro-Russian “militants attacked our positions near Donetsk airport, in the areas of Avdiyivka and Opytne,” he told reporters in Kiev on Saturday.
Half of the ceasefire violations were registered in those areas.
Ukraine said separatists used heavy weapons — which both sides were supposed to pull back under truce accords — to attack government troops at least five times yesterday. Militants in Donetsk also accused government forces of breaches, according to a statement released by the rebel-controlled DAN news agency.
Russia is taking part in talks on the possibility of the conflicting sides withdrawing some weapons of calibers under 100mm Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday in Bratislava.
An agreement on that would bolster previous ceasefire agreements and help build trust, he said.
Ukraine, the US and the EU accuse Russia of supplying weapons and personnel to insurgents. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the conflict.
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