Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said again that particular political forces "are artificially destroying" the exchange rate of the hryvnia against the U.S. dollar with the goal of declaring a state of emergency in the country.

She said this while opening a government meeting on Wednesday.

Tymoshenko said that the government could not influence Ukraine's banking system and added that the "exchange rate of the hryvnia against the dollar is being destroyed deliberately, based on sabotage."

She expressed confidence that there are no grounds in Ukraine to have such a high hryvnia exchange rate.

"If the hryvnia is being destroyed deliberately, proceeding from political grounds, these people should then recognize that all goods used by the population … and all goods imported to Ukraine double in price. If this rate is set by the National Bank, inflation will certainly hit Ukraine," Tymoshenko said.

She reiterated that the policies carried out by the central bank on the hryvnia/U.S. dollar exchange rate are the desire of certain political forces to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and ensure "no elections are held and a state of emergency is declared in the country."