Ukraine refuses to repay $3 billion debt to Russia

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced Friday that his country will not be repaying its $3 billion debt to Russia by the Sunday deadline, citing Moscow's refusal of a repayment offer that international creditors had deemed acceptable. The prime minister's imposition of a "moratorium," The Associated Press reports, "effectively means that Ukraine is defaulting" on its debt. Yatsenyuk gave no indication as to when Ukraine would pay, and Russia has previously threatened court action if the country failed to meet the deadline. Moscow and Kiev have been in an ongoing spat ever since Russia annexed Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.
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