From RFE/RL's news desk:

Ukraine’s parliament has passed all the laws necessary to receive a second tranche of financial aid from the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine’s deputy minister announced on July 16.

The IMF tranche is worth $1.7 billion, Artem Shevalev said in a Facebook post.

Lawmakers voted for a series of laws including legislative changes to the banking system and energy sector.

Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk dismissed legislation in Ukraine's parliament that would have watered down economic reforms demanded by the West in exchange for loans, saying it was sponsored by "lunatics."

Based on reporting by Reuters