On December 24, Zaporizhzhia utility Zapoprozhelektrotrans announced a tender for compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles, according to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system.
The expected cost of the services is UAH 423.3 thousand.
The tender proposal is not required to be secured.
The deadline for submitting bids is January 1.
As reported, the winner of a similar tender a year earlier was VUSO Insurance Company.
Ukraine has received $1 billion from Japan and the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“The tranche was received under the guarantees of the governments of these countries under the World Bank’s DPL program,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to him, the funds will be used to strengthen the Ukrainian economy and finance priority expenditures in the social and humanitarian spheres.
About 2 million artillery shells will be produced in the EU in 2025, the newly appointed European Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, told Hromadske.
Answering a question about whether Europe has enough production capacity to increase military aid to Ukraine, the official noted that only 20-25% of weapons are produced in the EU, and the rest are bought abroad. According to Kubilius, increasing arms production in the EU requires orders from European governments, which are lacking, and without long-term contracts with arms manufacturers, Europe should not be expected to produce more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine in the coming years.
“Money from the EU budget cannot be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine. There are a number of restrictions on investment in the defense industry outside the EU. However, money from the European Peace Fund or frozen Russian assets can be used to purchase weapons,” the European Commissioner said.
At the same time, Kubilius explains, next year Ukraine will receive about EUR 30 billion from the EU and will decide how much of this amount to use for defense purposes. The EU is currently implementing a new mechanism to integrate the Ukrainian military-industrial complex into the European defense industry.
The final communiqué of the EU summit held on December 18-19 emphasizes that the European Council “plans to intensify its efforts to further support and develop Ukraine’s defense industry and deepen its cooperation with the EU defense industry.”
One of the largest grain market operators in Ukraine, Nibulon JV LLC, intends to focus on systematic demining of agricultural land and waterways in 2025, the agricultural holding’s press service reported on Facebook.
“First of all, we are going to work with the authorities to develop a new approach to creating arrays of plots for all stages of land clearance: from non-technical surveys to mechanized and manual demining. In addition, together with the demining community, we are working to improve mine action processes and increase the availability of technical inspection equipment, etc. All of this will make the demining process faster, more efficient and more accessible for Ukraine,” said Mykhailo Rizak, Director of Government Relations.
“Nibulon is also planning to expand the certification of its demining unit to a full cycle, including explosive ordnance disposal and underwater demining.
“We continue to invest in development and are ready to provide services to everyone,” said Rizak.
He emphasized that Nibulon is ready to continue demining Ukrainian agricultural land and waterways, but would like to receive the government support it has already earned.
“We draw the state’s attention to the fact that we have not yet received reimbursement for the demining projects we have already implemented,” he stated.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, capacity for simultaneous storage of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
During the full-scale war, the staff of Kharkivoblenergo JSC decreased by 20%, which the company replenishes through various forms of training, Energoreforma reports .
This was announced by the company’s HR Director Serhiy Vovk during the first meeting of the Energy Development League of Ukraine in Kyiv, dedicated to personnel in the energy sector.
“We are a frontline zone, along the entire perimeter of which there are constant hostilities. As a result, a significant number of employees have left the region and we are facing a staff shortage. Out of an estimated 6,000 employees, we lost 1,200, meaning that the team was reduced by 20%. As a result, today we are in demand for absolutely all field-based specialties, including, in particular, electricians and cable network maintenance specialists,” said Vovk.
According to him, Kharkivoblenergo trains its personnel in the format of dual education under signed agreements with Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics, and the company’s own resources.
According to Vovk, in 2023, almost 1,500 employees of the company were trained, including 1,000 specialists at the Personnel Training Center and more than 400 people at specialized educational institutions. In the first 10 months of 2024, nearly 1,500 more employees have undergone relevant advanced training.
“An important problem is the significant deterioration in the educational level of schoolchildren and students after the transition to distance learning. In addition, a huge number of school and college-age children have left the country. We have lost a large pool of future specialists that we need to catch up with. Therefore, we are actively looking for employees through the State Employment Service and social networks,” explained the HR Director.
He added that the company hires for certain positions even without work experience.
“If a person is ready to work, he or she undergoes training, passes exams, and then can take a higher position than the one we offer them at the beginning,” Vovk said.
As noted during the meeting of the Energy Development League, the labor market in the energy sector will require, according to various estimates, 60 to 80 thousand new employees in the next 10 years, while current educational opportunities allow for training only 10 thousand specialists.
“When I talk to energy professionals, I hear about the enormous demand for already trained specialists who can quickly adapt and work actively. One of the important ways to train such specialists is dual education, but it needs support from the state. It is necessary to quickly remove any legislative obstacles and facilitate procedures, because future energy specialists should study at universities and work at enterprises at the same time, gaining experience and receiving a salary,” said Maksym Urakin, Development Director of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency and founder of the NGO Club of Experts .
For reference: The League of Energy Development of Ukraine (LERU) is a non-governmental organization founded by journalists and communicators Oleksandr Holizdra and Serhiy Shevchenko to improve the efficiency of communications and dialogue between all stakeholders of the energy market.
Energoreforma, Kharkivoblenergo, SHEVCHENKO, URAKIN, Vovk, ГОЛІЗДРА
Vehicle manufacturer Etalon Corporation has released a prototype of the Malva Electro A08611 electric city bus, which has now passed all tests and is being prepared for certification, said Volodymyr Butko, president of Etalon Corporation.
“We want to be in the European Union, and electric buses are an environmental requirement, so we need to move with them, make technological changes in production and design. This is our first electric bus model, and we believe that it will be in demand,” Butko said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
At the same time, he noted that although tenders for electric buses are currently held mainly for 12-meter vehicles, he believes they will not be as efficient as 9.5-10-meter ones. “And this is supported by those who started producing electric buses before us,” Butko supported his position.
According to the presentation of the electric bus, the electric bus was created on the basis of the Malva city diesel bus, which debuted last year, in cooperation with the company Informservice (Moldova), which supplies high-voltage traction equipment. The electric bus has a range of up to 200 km.
The main difference from the basic bus model is the superstructure on the roof of the electric bus, where the batteries are located.
The electric bus is designed for 24 seats (plus two folding seats) and 29 standing seats, and there is also a place for a wheelchair.
The exterior lighting is LED, manufactured by European companies. There is also a possibility of installing a liquid heater for the passenger compartment, which runs on Euro 6 diesel fuel.
“This solution makes it possible to better adapt to the conditions of winter operation in Ukraine and provides a longer mileage on a single charge,” the video presentation says.
Among the external features is a door for connecting a charger, which is typical for all electric buses.
“The characteristics of the new electric bus generally correspond to those of foreign analogues, and their further improvement will be achieved through the use of the latest batteries and traction drives, as well as some traditional units and components for electric buses,” the presentation says.
Speaking about the price of an electric bus, Butko noted that it is about three times higher than the cost of a diesel bus.
“The price of a diesel bus is about 100-110 thousand euros (excluding VAT), and an electric bus will be three times more expensive. But if we compare it with European analogues, for example, Polish Solaris or Turkish Otocar with almost the same functionality and length will cost EUR530-550 thousand (excluding VAT). That is, we understand that electric transport is not a cheap story,” said the president of the corporation.
He also cited the prices of trolleybuses for comparison: while the corporation sells ordinary 12-meter trolleybuses for EUR300 thousand and autonomous trolleybuses for EUR400 thousand, the Czech Republic sells Skoda trolleybuses for more than EUR700 thousand (all excluding VAT).
“That is, we have, let’s say, a gap due to the probably lower cost of electricity than in Europe, lower wages… And we probably don’t have the profit margin that they put into their production and sales. Ours is 10%, and that’s still good,” Butko summarized.
Etalon Corporation comprises 12 enterprises, including Chernihiv Automobile Plant (ChAZ), which produces buses of various classes and trolleybuses. The main areas of activity are vehicle manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and warehouse logistics.
