Situation in Ukraine's economy extremely difficult - Shmyhal

He said this live on the Freedom of Speech program on the ICTV channel late on Monday, May 4, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The situation in the economy is extremely difficult. We do not underestimate the impact of the economic crisis in the situation with a lockdown in Ukraine," Shmyhal said.

He said that lockdown measures had the greatest impact on micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

"We do not underestimate the situation regarding how many people lost their jobs today, and we have 100,000 unemployed registered at employment centers. We are ready to support low-income families," Shmyhal added.

He said that the government was in dialogue with small and medium-sized businesses on keeping people at work and on possible compensation for this in the form of interest rates in banks.

Earlier, Shmyhal said that the Cabinet of Ministers would soon present a phased business support plan.

On March 12, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced the lockdown in Ukraine to combat the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown in Ukraine was subsequently extended until May 22, 2020, and it will be gradually relaxed from May 11.

According to the Public Health Center, 12,697 COVID-19 cases, including 316 deaths and 1,875 recoveries, were laboratory confirmed in Ukraine as of May 5. Some 366 new cases have been recorded in Ukraine in the past 24 hours.

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