New Year gift: how parliament adopted budget for 2016. PHOTOS

Verkhovna Rada MPs traditionally adopted the next year budget in the dead of night.

The new budget was adopted at around 4 a.m. on Dec. 25 - the eve of the Catholic Christmas, Censor.NET reports.


The budget night began at 11 p.m.



Mustafa Nayyem (Poroshenko Bloc) and leader of Samopomich Oleh Bereziuk literally rushed to the session hall for the voting which preceded the adoption of the budget.


Oles Dovhyi (non-affiliated) consulted with someone on phone during voting.


The first results - parliament supported government bill on public procurement.


Svoboda MPs asked not to give preference to the Cherkasy region in terms of road reconstruction, claiming other regions in Ukraine experience the same troubles.


Hroisman urged the parliament to congratulate the Catholics on Christmas.


On the sidelines, Volodymyr Parasiuk is indignant about the document being "another budget of wastage rather than development" and predicts UAH 27 per $1 rate by the end of the year. "90% of MPs just do not understand what they are voting for," Parasiuk said.


"The budget provides that about 3,000 enterprises should be sold for UAH 17 billion (approx. $682.67 million), while Roshen [Ukrainian confectionery manufacturing group controlled by Petro Poroshenko - ed.] is put up for sale for UAH 72 billion (approx. $2.89 billion)," the MP outraged.


Head of the National Security and Defense Committee is on the whole satisfied with the proposed budget.


At around 2 a.m., the deputies took a hiatus for the last technical preparations. Persistent smell of alcohol filled the sidelines.


Legislators are acquainting themselves with fresh figures in the draft budget.



Someone is about to fall asleep.



As well as are some journalists and ministers.



MP Korolevska (Opposition Bloc) is also tired of the process.


Poroshenko Bloc leader Yurii Lutsenko complained to reporters about "immoral" behavior of Samopomich which did not want to vote for the budget.



At around 3 a.m., Speaker Hroisman, looking quite sleepy, entered the hall after the break and the draft budget discussion kicked off.


It took Finance Minister Jaresko no more than five minutes to present the budget.





Lutsenko asks to support the budget.


Liashko, who spent last week criticizing the draft budget, suddenly declares his faction will vote for the "shameful budget." "We are in opposition to the authorities, but not in opposition to Ukraine," he said.


Liashko explains his position to the former Party of Regions deputies.


Yulia Tymoshenko urges MPs to abstain from voting.


Samopomich is firm in its line to abstain from "blind" voting.




Presenting the bill, the prime minister thanked the parliament for helping make the budget better. He also admitted it was not the best budget and called on the parliament "to continue working on the reforms."




The moment of truth. At 4:04 a.m., the budget was adopted by 263 votes.




Now that the budget has been adopted, it is time to think of changes in the Cabinet, - the Rada speaker said at a briefing, summing up the fruitful parliamentary night.