The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Valery Pustovoitenko, has ordered a cut in the salaries of state tax officials because they have not collected enough taxes this year.

The Minister of Finance Ihor Mitiukov said the state had only collected 82% of its revenue targets in the past three months.

Mr Pustovoitenko said he blamed Mr Mitiukov for the poor performance, and ordered the salary cut.

Correspondents say tax collection in Ukraine has been far below target for years because of the government's failure to implement market reforms. Instead, the government has withheld salaries and pensions to compensate for the revenue shortfall.