KUCHMA AIDE SOUNDS ECONOMIC ALARM.

An industrial advisor to President Leonid Kuchma yesterday declared that "Ukraine is in an extremely difficult economic situation and is gradually descending to the level of colonial countries." According to advisor Serhy Pohorelov, only 25 percent of Ukrainian enterprises are stable and industry overall is facing the threat of paralysis. In the absence of radical measures, he warned, Ukraine could lose not only its external but internal markets by the end of the year. He noted that no hint of economic recovery justified implementation of monetary reform. In related news, parliament returned from recess this week to condemn Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk’s proposed 1996 budget as "destructive." All parliamentary commissions criticized the underfunding of their areas of oversight, with the commission on defense and state security claiming Ukraine could erect a cross over its military-industrial complex should its 1996 budget allocation of 15 trillion karbovantsy remained unchanged. (14)

Russia Resumes Pressure On Ukraine.