A rise in prices for natural gas and housing and utility services could be stopped only by radical changes after the parliamentary elections, Ukrainian Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko has said.

According to the press service of the Communist Party, Symonenko said at a meeting with voters in Kirovohrad region that the authorities were preparing for the privatization of regional gas supply companies in the near future.

He said that this could only mean uncontrolled growth in tariffs and a continuous rise in tariffs every month.

"Before the elections the authorities convince the people of some changes, the growth of wages and stopping the growth of prices for gas and utility tariffs. But if we look at their promises, it's possible to say that a slight increase sometimes results in a huge amount of damage," Symonenko said.

In this context, he said that the development of the coal industry in Ukraine was urgent as never before.

Symonenko said that Ukraine should develop a program of transition to coal, as is being done in all civilized countries that are trying to become less dependent on gas.