Ukraine risks losing int'l aid over slow reform progress: central bank chief

Ukraine risks losing vital aid from international financial organizations due to its slow progress in implementing key reforms, the country's central bank chief said Thursday.

"Ukraine is in danger of being left without the support from the international financial organizations," Valeria Gontareva, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, said during a meeting with the central bank's officials.

The government's failure to adopt farmland and pension reforms, which it had agreed to with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has hindered the release of the fourth fund's tranche of aid for Kiev, Gontareva said.

By the end of this year, Ukraine is also unlikely to receive a loan worth 600 million euros (about 634 million U.S. dollars) from the European Union, she added.

The possible suspension of the financial aid may endanger the "fragile stability" in the East European country, she said.

Earlier this month, a working mission of the IMF left Kiev, saying Ukraine, which has received 7.7 billion dollars from the 17.5-billion-dollar bailout program, should intensify its efforts in implementing requirements needed for obtaining fresh aid. Endi