http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aD2z.pQP1flo&refer=home May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Ukraineâs economy probably shrank as much as 23 percent in the first quarter of the year as the global financial crisis took its toll on the eastern European nation, President Viktor Yushchenko said. âThe economic contraction is expected between 20 percent to 23 percent in the first three months of the year,â said Yushchenko today, according to a statement posted on his Web site. âThe pace of the decline is one of the fastest in Europe.â WoW!