KIEV, November 12 (RIA Novosti) - The number of deaths in Ukraine from flu viruses has risen to 239, with 26 passing away over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said earlier that 15 regions in the ex-Soviet republic had already crossed the flu epidemic threshold, while 11 provinces were close to it. The Ukrainian government imposed quarantine in nine western provinces in late October in an attempt to curb the spread of flu.

All educational establishments in the capital Kiev were closed, and people were obliged to wear medical masks in all catering establishments, shops and social services facilities across the former Soviet republic.

Eighty-five cases of swine flu (H1N1 strain), including 16 deaths, have been confirmed in the country.

Ukrainian parliament has approved the allocation of 1 billion hryvnias ($125 million) for measures to fight swine and seasonal flu.