Ukrainian MP admits 'shameful failure' of Kiev's policy
Speaking on NewsOne TV channel, Mr. Dmitry Dobrodomov - a member of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) declared that turning Ukraine into the poorest country in Europe is a shameful failure in Kiev's policy.
According to MP Dmitry Dobrodomov, the Ukrainian authorities during the period of the country's independence followed "shameful rules" according to which "money is politics, and politics is money". "We have turned from a country that started in 1991 with a fairly modern, strong economy into the poorest country in Europe in the past 27 years," Dmitry Dobrodomov complained.
Meanwhile, the head of the Ukrainian government, Volodymyr Groysman, said that Kiev needs to repay $33 billion in public debt in the next five years. According to him, servicing the public debt annually costs Ukraine 5% of its GDP.
In August 2018, the Ukrainian government approved a state debt management strategy, aiming to reduce debt to 49% by the end of 2020. The Ministry of Finance noted that domestic and foreign debt repayments in Ukraine's 2019 budget were 417 hryvnia (nearly $15 billion), or nearly a third of the budget.