Ireland’s low cost Ryanair to launch flights from Kherson to Vienna
Ireland’s low cost airline Ryanair (Dublin) from March 30, 2020 will launch direct flights from Kherson to Vienna (Austria).
In the airline’s booking system, the start of flights is announced on March 30.
Kherson-Vienna flights will be operated twice a week – on Mondays, departure from Kherson at 18:15 and on Fridays with departure at 21:50.
Travel time is 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The flights will be served by subsidiary of Ryanair – Lauda (formerly Laudamotion).
As reported, earlier Ryanair announced the start of flights from Kherson to Krakow (Poland).
Kherson became the fifth city in Ukraine, where the Irish low-cost airline operates.
In 2020, Ryanair intends to increase passenger traffic on Ukrainian flights by 33% to more than 2.1 million people.
The crisis in Ukraine and around Ukraine is the key problem of security on the European continent, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák said in an interview for the Faces of Peace project.
“The number of casualties we have seen in eastern Ukraine in the past five years is higher than anything we have seen elsewhere in Europe this century,” he said.
Lajčák said the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), which is made up of more than 1,300 members, has done extremely important work since it was deployed in Ukraine during the spring of 2014.
“Our monitors are in the field observing and reporting on ceasefire violations, monitoring the latest developments and the hardship faced by people,” he said.
Lajčák evaluated the current situation in eastern Ukraine, noting that the ceasefire agreement starting on July 21, 2019, was a positive development leading to a significant decrease in the number of casualties among the civilian population and ceasefire violations.
“Nevertheless, unfortunately recently (As at October 11, 2019) there were days when there were more ceasefire violations than before recommitment,” he said.
Lajčák focused attention on the fact that “positive dynamics between Russia and Ukraine led to the exchange of prisoners” and noted important steps in taken under the aegis of the Trilateral Contact Group on regulating the situation in Donbas, where the sides agreed to the process of withdrawing forces and the so-called Steinmeier Formula. He also noted repair work done to help people crossing the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska.
Lajčák expressed the hope that there would soon be a summit of Normandy Four leaders (Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia).
“There have been very good discussions within the Normandy Format that will, I hope, lead to a long-awaited Summit of the Normandy Four leaders,” he said.
Slovakia has had the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE since January 1, 2019, when Lajčák became Chairperson-in-Office. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has invited him to jointly visit Stanytsia Luhanska and inspect infrastructure repairs there.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved the provision of a credit line of EUR 450 million to finance the construction of Lviv Northern bypass and the rehabilitation of sections of M-05 highway in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions in Ukraine.
According to the report of the bank, its Board of Directors approved the project on October 15, 2019.
The EIB said that the investments will improve the quality of the extended TEN-T network (Trans-European Transport Network) by creating safer road conditions and reducing environmental pollution. In addition, the Lviv Northern bypass will shorten travel time and divert traffic from the city of Lviv.
The bank said that the EIB will require the Promoter to ensure that any procurement procedures are done in accordance with the Bank’s Guide to Procurement and the relevant applicable EU public procurement rules.
According to the report, the total cost of the framework project is around EUR 1.05 billion. Other sources of financing are not disclosed.
As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and JSC Ukrzaliznytsia intended on October 21, 2019 to announce tender procurement of materials for modernization of TEN-T tracks for $100 million raised by the company from the bank.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 23/10/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of October 23
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
During a working visit to Japan Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Shinichi Kitaoka, the press service of the head of state reported on Wednesday. “Cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is extremely important for our country, especially in the context of implementing large-scale reforms that are taking place now. Recently, the government approved an action plan for the next five years. We really believe that this program will not be implemented in theory, but in practice. This includes the development of human capital and economy, European integration and improving the security and welfare of Ukrainian citizens,” Zelensky said during the meeting, adding that the implementation of this plan will create a million additional jobs in the country.
The head of state said that the priorities of the current authorities of Ukraine include launching the land market, large-scale privatization, deregulation and simplification of all procedures with the transition to online services, elimination of the shadow economy and corruption schemes, solving infrastructure problems, optimizing the tax system, quickly and comprehensively introducing European and international standards.
The president thanked the agency for supporting Ukraine under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program.
“We appreciate the technical assistance of Japan to support democratic institutions, ensure macroeconomic stability and concessional lending for important infrastructure projects in Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
The president said that one of the striking results of Ukraine’s joint work with JICA was the successful completion of the modernization of the Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv) through a soft loan. At the same time, Zelensky noted the importance of implementing the second project, namely, the modernization of the Bortnychi wastewater treatment plant, which will help prevent environmental pollution and increase the safety of people’s lives.
“I hope that in the near future a contract will be signed with the general contractor and construction work at the facility will begin from early next year,” he said.
The president announced Ukraine’s interest in continuing fruitful cooperation with JICA. Important promising infrastructure projects, in particular, may be the construction of a bridge over the Pivdenny Buh River in Mykolaiv as part of the improvement of the southern transport corridor; and preparing a project for the processing of solid household waste.
