President Poroshenko’s stated goals to rebuild the economy and make it attractive to outside investors appear overly ambitious at best, and utterly impossible at worst
Ukraine is on the brink of committing economic suicide after imposing a crippling 55 percent tax on private gas producers, while parliament prepares to vote on next year’s budget, which aims for a continuation of the same.
The Oct. 14 budget vote—which is already a month late—is a major condition for Ukraine’s next credit tranche from the European Union, but if the 2015 budget goes through as proposed, it will decimate independent gas production, remove any potential for Ukrainian energy independence and deal a further blow to the already struggling economy.