Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia started the war against Ukraine, to 24:00 on May 11 amounted to 7,326 civilians (a day earlier – 7,256), including 3,541 dead (3,496), reports the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Thursday.
“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are much higher as information is delayed from some areas of heavy fighting and many reports are still awaiting confirmation,” the UN data document notes.
According to him, this applies, for example, to Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region) and Popasna (Luhansk region), where there are reports of numerous civilian casualties. They are subject to further verification and are not included in the above statistics.
“The majority of civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive devices with a wide area of effect, including shelling from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the report says.
According to confirmed UN data, 1,300 men, 844 women, 93 boys and 77 girls died, while the sex of 69 children and 1,158 adults has not yet been determined.
Among the 3,785 injured were 98 boys and 90 girls, as well as 167 children whose gender has not yet been determined.
Compared to the report the day before, one child died and seven more were injured.
OHCHR indicates that in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as of midnight on May 12, there were 1,781 (1,750) dead and 1,473 (1,466) injured in government-controlled territory, and 116 (115) dead and 476 (462) injured in territory controlled by self-proclaimed “republics”.
In other regions of Ukraine under government control (in Kyiv, as well as in Zhytomyr, Zaporozhye, Kyiv, Sumy, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Chernihiv regions), the UN recorded 1644 (1631) dead and 1836 (1832) wounded .
The daily summary has traditionally stated that the increase in numbers from the previous summary should not be attributed only to the May 11 cases, since during this period the Office verified a number of cases from previous days.
Due to the armed invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine and the shutdown of part of the country’s economy, a decrease in the welfare and purchasing power of the population is expected, due to which, in particular, consumers of high-mountain water will switch to cheaper bottled water, while consumers of bottled water will mainly switch to filtered tap water.
Dmitry Nikiforov, the owner and founder of AT Market LLC (Kyiv), engaged in bottling high-mountain Carpathian water under the trademarks Voda UA, Goryanka, Karpatska Vysokogyrna, told Interfax-Ukraine about the inevitable narrowing and decline of the water market.
“Narrowing and shrinking of the market will occur, because we objectively understand that the well-being and purchasing power of people are declining, and the consumer will save as much as possible on all consumer goods,” he said.
“A priori, our water cannot be cheap. This is Carpathian water, which, by definition, will be more expensive than all the others, thanks to the logistics and complexity of its production. We work in the “medium plus” segment, and it will sag significantly. This is inevitable,” stated Nikiforov.
As reported with reference to the new forecast of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the fall in Ukraine’s GDP in 2022 will be 30%. If large-scale efforts of the world community to restore the country’s economy take place, next year its economy is expected to grow by 25%. In March, the EBRD estimated this decline at 20% with an increase of 23% in 2023.
The state should immediately stop the practice of registering tax invoices in Ukraine, including the assessment of criteria for classifying enterprises as those with risky activities, and also replacing value added tax (VAT) with a tax on withdrawn capital.
Dmytro Nikiforov, the owner and founder of AT Market LLC (Kyiv), which is engaged in bottling high-mountainous Carpathian water under the trademarks Voda UA, Goryanka, Karpatska Dzherelna Vysokohirna, expressed such an opinion in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
At the same time, he believes that the rate of taxes levied in the country is feasible for business and does not need to be reduced.
“We need to immediately kill this ‘hydra,’ which is called the registration of tax invoices. This is the tool by which thieving tax officials and MP who back them ‘wash out’ the turnover from businesses in the amount of VAT. The state must immediately stop the practice of registering tax invoices, which does not exist anywhere in the world,” Nikiforov said.
According to him, the practice of registering tax invoices and the procedure for determining the criteria for classifying the activities of enterprises as risky harm business, washing out its working capital, and should be stopped immediately.
“There is no need to lower taxes, they are feasible. By and large, VAT should be abolished in principle, and a clear and understandable turnover tax and non-refundable sales tax should be introduced. Because any refundable tax like VAT is a so-called square tax and creates corruption risks, but such people control this issue that it is impossible to move it,” the businessman specified.
“Therefore, the abolition of VAT and income tax with a replacement for a tax on withdrawn capital is what the state should do for business. Without this, business will not be cured, no matter how it is stuffed with loans. All funding is broken down by the fact that in the existing paradigm it simply cannot work,” Nikiforov added.
As reported, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko supports restoring the VAT administration system with automatic cash reimbursement, “even if it is painful and requires payment deferral.”
“For some reason, decisions were made that actually broke the current system of registering tax invoices, checking risks and automatic budgetary VAT refunds. In fact, since March, our system for registering tax invoices has not been working … I am a supporter of the system of automatic VAT refunds working, and business receiving funds,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
On February 28, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine established the possibility of automatic registration of tax invoices for certain types of agribusiness and food industry enterprises, which will allow them to submit documentation without bureaucratic delays.
According to Roman Leschenko, who at that time was the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, after February 28, tax invoices of legal entities growing crops, farm animals and poultry, engaged in fishing, and processing milk, butter and cottage cheese are automatically registered.
In addition, the list includes all enterprises producing meat, fruit and vegetable juices, vegetable oil, animal fats, edible fats; products of the flour-grinding industry; bread and bakery products, flour confectionery, cakes and pastries; cocoa, chocolate, sugar confectionery; tea and coffee; spices and seasonings; prepared food and dishes; baby and dietary food; prepared feed for animals kept on farms; soft drinks and other bottled waters.
Consumer price growth in Ukraine in April 2022 slowed to 3.1% from 4.5% in March, but exceeded 1.6% in February and 1.3% in January, the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) reported on Tuesday.
In April last year, inflation was 0.7%, so in annual terms in April this year it rose to 16.4% from 13.7% in March, 10.7% in February and 10% in January, the agency said.
Core inflation also eased to 3% last month from 3.8% in March. However, taking into account 0.7% in April 2021 in annual terms, it increased to 13% from 10.5% in March, 8.2% in February and 7.6% in January.
Since the beginning of this year, for its first four months, inflation in Ukraine amounted to 10.9%, and the base – 8.1%, said the State Statistics Service.
The National Bank of Ukraine, as reported by its head Kirill Shevchenko, expected an increase in inflation in April to 15.9%.
As reported, in 2021 inflation in Ukraine rose to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019, while core inflation rose to 7.9% against 4.5% a year earlier.
The Austrian company HEAD Group has resumed the construction of a plant in the industrial park (IP) “Winter Sport”, Deputy Mayor of Vinnytsia Andriy Ocheretny said.
“Today we visited a construction site. On the territory of the industrial park, builders resumed foundation work and are building a temporary reinforced concrete shelter for safety during air raids. They plan to complete the construction of foundations by the end of June this year,” Ocheretny wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
He recalled that according to the project, the plant will include production and storage facilities, an administrative building, a sewing workshop. The production building will house workshops for the manufacture of skis, boots and bindings, as well as warehouses for raw materials and finished products.
As reported, at the beginning of this year, HEAD Group received permission from the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine to begin construction of the Head Vinnitsa plant on the territory of Winter Sport.
The total area of industrial premises will be 43 thousand square meters. m.
The company plans to invest about EUR80 million in the creation of production, administrative and storage facilities. It is expected that the plant will be one of the largest plants of the company in the world and will provide jobs for more than 1,200 residents of Vinnitsa.
The total area of the industrial park “Winter Sport” is 25 hectares. The start of construction of the plant took place in May 2021.
Head International Holding GmbH manufactures sports equipment for winter sports, tennis and scuba diving. The company’s production facilities are located in Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, China. The company is present in 85 countries around the world.
Ocheretny also reported on Facebook that eight enterprises from Mariupol have been moved to Vinnitsa so far.
“Forcedly displaced business from Mariupol. We already have eight such enterprises: Mariupol Investment Group, Ukrtransagro, UTA Logistic, Airiel, Maritime Logistic, Aitraks, Donbass Construction Alliance, First Fumigation Company,” the deputy mayor said.
According to him, the Vinnitsa City Council is currently working on finding premises to accommodate production facilities and provide IDPs with housing.
“We plan to use the possibilities of the Industrial Park as well – all conditions have been created there for the production and release of products with high added value, as well as the integration of production into clusters. In turn, this will lead to the development of smart specialization in the Vinnitsa region,” notes Ocheretny.
Mariupol Investment Group (UTA Group) today is a group of companies that provides the entire logistics cycle in the agricultural sector of Eastern Ukraine. According to the information on the website of the group, it includes, among other things, the Ukrtransagro company, a grain transshipment complex that provides services for transshipment, accumulation, storage and shipment to sea vessels, as well as forwarding and customs clearance of grain and oilseeds.
It also includes the companies UTA Logistics – (logistics of grain and oilseeds), Maritime Logistics (comprehensive services for the management of sea vessels).
The Aitrax company specializes in transport services, the First Fumigation Company specializes in the production and sale of pesticides and other chemical products, the Construction Alliance of Donbass LLC specializes in the wholesale trade of timber and building materials and sanitary equipment.
President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (IPMA) Dr. Menon R.U.P. said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine how Indian pharmaceutical companies provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine during the war
– India, like many other countries of the world, helps Ukraine. What kind of humanitarian assistance is already being provided from India to Ukraine?
– Taking into account the humanitarian crisis caused by the events in Ukraine, India has decided to expand humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighboring countries:
Since February 24, the Government of India has sent more than 90 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and its neighboring Western countries, while private companies and agencies in India have also donated a similar amount of aid, consisting of medicines, blankets, tents, tarpaulins, eye protection, water storage tanks, sleeping mats, surgical gloves, etc.
The Government of India is expected to provide Ukraine with another tranche of essential medicines and medical supplies soon.
Another batch of medical equipment and medicines was also sent to Ukraine as a humanitarian aid by Ocean Philanthropic Center Private Limited (Mumbai, India) in cooperation with the local Rotary Club. In the near future, new shipments of humanitarian aid from the mentioned Indian partners are expected.
– It is known that IPMA, as well as leading Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers, hand over significant humanitarian aid to Ukraine. What has been transferred?
– Almost all members of our association have been living in Ukraine with their families for a long time, their life destiny is connected with Ukraine, and we all believe that it is time to repay the debt.
Members of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s Association (IPMA), to date, have already donated medical assistance to Ukraine in the form of drugs valued at over UAH 84.8 million and $250,000, and in the form of financial assistance in the amount of more than $500,000 and UAH 11.5 million.
IPMA members provide charitable assistance with medicines, mainly antibiotics, analgesics, hemostatic, anti-allergic, restorative drugs and vitamins.
In addition, many Indians permanently residing in Ukraine are actively involved in providing food and immediate care to the Ukrainian population.
Volunteers from IPMA members are engaged in the delivery of food, medicine and necessary goods that the military and evacuated citizens need. Vehicles were also organized to evacuate people from different areas (from places where fighting was taking place at the time when the evacuation was needed) to the western regions of Ukraine, and many gave their storage facilities to the authorities for humanitarian purposes.
Our members continue to help the people of Ukraine.
Many pharmaceutical companies that cooperate with our association are also involved in providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. In particular, the pharmaceutical company Cipla donated a batch of medicines, including urgently needed antibiotics and inhalers worth $120,000. This was also noted with gratitude by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India.
The Indian company Intas Pharmaceuticals, through Accord Healthcare in Poland, donated medicines worth more than UAH 59 million for the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, including antiemetics, diuretics, antibiotics, antiepileptics, local anesthetics, painkillers and antipyretics.
In the near future, we are waiting for the delivery of humanitarian cargo from India to Ukraine (via Poland) from M.Biotech Limited with medicines, including anesthesia, tranquilizers and hormonal drugs.
– What is the position of India regarding the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine? What does India say about this?
– India has expressed serious concern about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine in various statements.
Elaborating on India’s position regarding the conflict, External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar told the Indian Parliament on April 6 that India is “strongly opposed” to the conflict and “if it chooses a side, it is the side of peace and an immediate end to violence.” He stated: “We believe that no solution can be achieved through the shedding of blood and the cost of innocent lives. Dialogue and diplomacy are the right answers to any dispute these days. And it should be borne in mind that the modern world order is built on the UN Charter, respect for international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. This is our principled position.
India has consistently encouraged talks between Ukraine and Russia. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has spoken to President Putin and President Zelensky (separately with each of them) several times since February 24. He called for an immediate end to violence and a return to the path of diplomatic negotiations. He also suggested a direct talk between the two presidents.
In addition, during Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to India on 1 April, Prime Minister Modi reiterated his call for an end to violence and expressed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to the peace effort. Dr. S. Jaishankar reiterated the need to respect international law, the UN Charter, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
Deeply alarmed by the killings of civilians in Bucha, India “unreservedly condemned” these killings and supported the call for an “independent investigation.”
Also, earlier on March 16, Indian ICJ Judge Dalveer Bhandari voted against Russia in a 13-2 verdict that the ICJ is “profoundly concerned about the use of force by the Russian. Federation in Ukraine, which raises very serious issues of international law.”
It is noteworthy that in India, a “candle ceremony” is held daily near the Ukrainian Embassy and candles are lit in memory of the victims of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
– How would you comment on India’s position?
– I am not a politician, but as a citizen of India, although I have been living and working in Ukraine for more than 40 years, I would like to emphasize that India’s neutrality in the United Nations does not negate the fact that India is seriously concerned about the situation in Ukraine and Russian aggression in general, the need to comply with the UN Charter, international law and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. India also called for a return to dialogue as a single path forward in its statements and clarifications.
– What are the work plans of Indian pharmaceutical companies in Ukraine?
– All our members, Indian pharmaceutical companies, continue to work in Ukraine, do their best to ensure access to medicines from all distributors and pharmacies in Ukraine, and support Ukrainian patients with their efforts by providing high-quality and safe medicines both at affordable prices and by helping comprehensively as charity.
Our companies are planning to resume imports already in May, to find ways of deliveries through the Polish and Romanian borders.
We believe in the victory of Ukraine and the world!
The official page of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of India states that the Embassy of Ukraine in India expresses its gratitude to the Indian pharmaceutical companies – members (participants) of the Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IPMA) and their partners, in particular the companies: AbrylPharma, DiaPharmaLTD., DR. Reddy`s, EuroLifecareLtd./Konark, HeteroLabsLtd., MacleodsPharmaceuticalsLtd., MegaLifesciences, OrganosynLtd., SunPharmaceuticalIndustriesLtd., and IPMA President Dr. Menon R.U.P. for support and assistance to the Ukrainian people.
