Ukraine's GDP contraction slows down in the second quarter

The contraction of Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) has slowed down in the second quarter of 2015 for the first time in six quarters, official figures showed Friday.

The State Statistics Service said in a report that the Ukrainian economy plunged 14.7 percent year-on-year in April-June after falling 17.2 percent in the first quarter.

On a quarterly basis, the country's GDP dropped 0.9 percent in April-June, compared with 6.5 percent in January-March.

The Ukrainian economy sunk into recession in the first quarter of 2014 after street protests toppled the previous government, provoking a deep economic crisis in the East European country.

Since then, the pace of GDP contraction had been accelerating quarter by quarter.

The Ukrainian government forecast that the country's economy will bottom out in 2015 with a contraction of 5.5 percent before beginning to recover in 2016.