Groysman confirms gas price hikes, won’t specify rates

The Ukrainian government will be raising natural gas
prices to satisfy IMF requirements for the next loan tranche, Prime Minister
Volodymyr Groysman confirmed on Sept. 15 at the 15th annual Yalta European Strategy
conference. Groysman declined to specify by how much prices will rise for
households when asked by the pravda.com.ua news site.

When addressing the war in Donbas, Groysman said what’s
lacking most is leadership from Western powers in challenging Russia. “The
aggressor will keep going further until it won’t be allowed to,” he said. “The
displays of this aggression will be so diverse that it will be harder and
harder for all countries of the democratic world to fight the consequences with
every year.”

Yalta European Strategy (YES) is an annual gathering
of key politicians, diplomats, entrepreneurs and civil leaders involved with
Ukraine. It is hosted and sponsored by oligarch Victor Pinchuk. It was held at
Yalta until Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, after which it was moved to
Kyiv.

Zenon Zawada: It’s positive to see Groysman preparing for the gas price hikes,
confirming that they will happen and Ukraine will likely receive the next IMF
loan tranche. Besides his comments at the YES conference explaining his
political burden of having to raise gas prices, he has also launched a
billboard campaign in the capital to promote his accomplishments among the
public. Groysman is trying to prevent the gas price hikes from destroying his
political career, and we believe he could pull off, largely owing to such
efforts as widescale repairs of Ukraine’s dilapidated roads conducted in recent
months.