Russia was the sole creditor to not consent to an $18 billion restructuring deal agreed in September as part of a $40 billion IMF-led support package for Ukraine, which is still mired in recession. Russian officials had repeatedly threatened litigation if an agreement on restructuring could not be made.

Adding to Ukraine’s claims

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said the country was prepared for Russian legal proceedings and warned that a legal battle over the debt would add to the country’s litigation claims over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and alleged backing of a separatist uprising in east Ukraine.  

Suspend free trade zone

Although the east Ukrainian conflict has waned since September, trade and financial frictions with Russia have intensified. President Vladimir Putin said this week that Moscow would suspend the country’s free trade zone with Ukraine from January, when a Ukraine-EU trade agreement is set to be fully implemented. Sources: Financial Times; RT