Crude oil transit through Ukraine by pipelines to European countries and Belarus in January-September 2020 increased 5.5% (by 517,200 tonnes) compared to the same period in 2019, to 9.885 million tonnes, according to the data of JSC Ukrtransnafta.
The volume of oil transportation to refineries of Ukraine during this period amounted to 1.911 million tonnes, which is 8.7% (153,600 tonnes) more than in January-September 2019. Including oil transportation along the Odesa-Kremenchuk pipeline amounted to 839,000 tonnes (a rise of 32.2%).
Thus, in the first nine months of this year, the share of transit volume of the total oil transportation (11.796 million tonnes) amounted to 83.8%, the share of pumping to the country’s refineries – 16.2%.
In September 2020, oil transit through Ukraine by pipeline transport decreased 6.7% (by 90,200 tonnes) compared to the same month last year, to 1.255 million tonnes.
Pumping to Ukrainian refineries last month decreased 13.6% (by 32,100 tonnes),to 204,000 tonnes, including transportation of Ukrainian oil amounted to 112,100 tonnes, Azerbaijani oil – 76,800 tonnes, WTI oil – 15,100 tonnes.
Windrose Airlines (Kyiv) will start operating flights on the Kyiv-Ljubljana route from Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv region) from October 24.
The flights will be operated twice a week on board Embraer-145 and ATR72-600 aircraft, the company’s press service said.
In addition, Windrose offers transit to Ljubljana from Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odesa.
The company notes that from October 1, Ukrainians can cross the border with Slovenia without observing a ten-day self-isolation period if there is a negative PCR test for COVID-19, made no earlier than 48 hours.
Windrose was founded in 2003. In 2007, it received an operator certificate and began to perform regular and charter flights under the Windrose Airlines brand.
In 2019, Windrose carried 1.4 million passengers with an average of 28 daily flights.
The Ministry of Health, with the involvement of the British procurement agency Crown Agents, will purchase 1.41 million doses of influenza vaccines to vaccinate medical workers, educators, police and border guards, the press service of Chief Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko has reported.
The changes to government resolutions No. 255 dated March 13, 2019 and No. 129 dated February 19, 2020 were approved by the government at a meeting on Monday.
The agency will procure vaccines at the expense of the remaining balance of funds for 2019, provided for the procurement of drugs to accompany patients with cancer.
“All available vaccines have passed WHO prequalification and confirmed their safety. The countries of origin are the leaders in the production of vaccines in the world – France, the Netherlands and South Korea,” the press service said.
The Ukrainian-Indonesian company Pravitna Genius Sel in partnership with the Canadian company Immunitor (Vancouver) plans to launch pharmaceutical production in Kyiv region by the end of the year.
Freddy Cahyono, the CEO of Provitna Genius Sel, told Interfax-Ukraine that the respective agreement of intent was signed on October 7 by the representatives of the companies with the participation of the Indonesian Embassy in Ukraine.
Pravitna Genius Sel’s investments in launching production in Kyiv region amounted to about $1 million. By the end of 2020, the company plans to obtain a GMP certificate.
One of the first drugs, the production of which is planned by Pravitna Genius Sel, will be a drug that will stimulate the immune system, which will not only treat diseases, but also prevent their occurrence.
For the production of the drug, Canadian raw materials will be used. Freddy Cahyono noted that the drug, which will be produced in Ukraine, is to be exported abroad, in particular to Indonesia. By the end of the year, the company intends to register the medicine in Ukraine.
In turn, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Ukraine Yuddy Chrisnandi noted the high export potential of the drugs produced in Ukraine.
“These drugs will be able to be used not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world, including in Indonesia. I hope that they will contribute to the fight against epidemics,” he said.
KYIV REGION, PARTNERSHIP, PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION, PRAVITNA
SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv) will launch flights from Kyiv to Kayseri (Turkey) from December 27, 2020.
The airline’s press service said on Thursday that the flights will be operated twice a week: on Thursdays and Sundays.
The round-trip will cost at least UAH 5,400 without luggage. The duration of the trip is any of the passenger’s choice.
As reported, SkyUp will launch the Kyiv-Sofia (Bulgaria)-Kyiv flight for the period from December 23, 2020 to January 30, 2021.
Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on further economic integration and regulatory convergence in a number of areas.
A joint statement by the leaders of Ukraine and the EU, adopted at the end of the summit in Brussels, says.
“We looked forward to further enhancing economic integration and regulatory approximation within the framework of the Association Agreement in the following fields: on digital, we took note of the on-site assessment of the implementation of Ukraine’s commitments in the AA/DCFTA. We also discussed the EU’s engagement in further supporting Ukraine and its institutions in approximation with and gradual implementation of the EU Digital Single Market acquis and institutional capacities, to fully benefit from the Association Agreement. We agreed to prepare by the end of 2020 a joint working plan for co-operation between EU and Ukraine on electronic trust services with a view to a possible agreement which must be based on approximation to the EU legislation and standards,” the statement reads.
The leaders welcomed progress on the update of the Annexes on telecommunication, environment, climate and financial cooperation of the Association Agreement. “Welcoming Ukraine’s ambition to approximate its policies and legislation with the European Green Deal, we stressed the importance of progress in Ukraine’s commitments in the areas of climate change, environment, marine ecosystem, education, energy, transport and agriculture, building on existing established sectoral dialogues, and agreed on a focused dialogue on the necessary steps in these areas,” the statements says.
In addition, they acknowledged the importance of fully complying with DCFTA commitments, notably in the areas of intellectual property rights, public procurement, trade defence, and sanitary and phytosanitary standards with a view to building an open and predictable business and investment climate in Ukraine. “We agreed to further discuss and review the ways to improve DCFTA implementation in order to further develop and facilitate bilateral trade,” the leaders said.
They also welcomed the launch of the pre-assessment on Ukraine’s preparedness on an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products.
The EU also welcomed Ukraine’s willingness to associate to the incoming EU’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon Europe and EU4Health Programme, which will be a significant enabler for green and digital post-COVID recovery.
“We recalled the importance and reaffirmed our commitment to concluding the Common Aviation Area Agreement at the earliest possible date,” the statement notes.
What is more, the EU reaffirmed Ukraine’s role as a strategic transit country for gas and welcomed the agreement on gas transit to the EU after 2019. “We underlined the importance of pursuing the modernization of the Ukrainian national gas transmission system and further cooperation on strengthening European energy security. We stressed the importance of Ukraine’s cooperation with the EU, with a view to its integration with the EU energy market based on effective implementation of the updated Annex XXVII of the Association Agreement as well as coordination of further steps for the integration of gas and electricity markets,” it says.
The parties also agreed to improve connectivity between Ukraine, the EU and other countries of the Eastern Partnership with a view to facilitating trade, further developing safe and sustainable transport links and supporting people-to-people contacts.
“We welcomed the participation of Ukraine in EU programmes and underlined the importance of Erasmus+ for education, training, youth and sport and Creative Europe for culture. We looked forward to intensifying the relevant cooperation in the framework of current and future programmes,” the leaders said.