Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group, owned by businessman Rinat Akhmetov, transferred $500,000 to a targeted charity fund for the purchase of protective ammunition and first-aid kits for the Territorial Defense Forces of Zapoprizhia.
“By uniting for the sake of defending the independence of Ukraine and Ukrainians, we are bringing victory closer. The army and the Territorial Defense Forces protect the civilian population, and we are trying to protect and support them in the struggle for state sovereignty, our freedom and independence,” head of the Metinvest Humanitarian Mission Coordination Center in Zaporizhia, director general of Zaporizhstal, Oleksandr Myronenko, who is quoted by the press service of the steel plant, said.
At the same time, it is noted that the Vadym Novynsky Foundation also transferred $500,000 in support of Zaporizhia Territorial Defense Forces.
The total contributions transferred to Zaporizhia Trust Charitable Fund will be used to purchase bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets and NATO-standard first-aid kits for the defenders.
According to a press release, Metinvest Group has been supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces in the cities where the company operates since the first days of the war. Since the beginning of hostilities, more than 35,000 anti-tank hedgehogs, as well as spiked chains against wheeled vehicles and anti-landing hedgehogs, have been made from Metinvest steel. With the support of the company, the construction of the city’s fortifications continues. Metinvest enterprises provide heavy special equipment and vehicles for the needs of defenders, as well as fuel, batteries and walkie-talkies.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria there is a Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. In the UK, the company owns the Spartan UK plant, which can produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel per year.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadym Novynsky, who jointly manage the company.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved amendments to the technical regulations for construction products, simplifying their provision to the Ukrainian market during martial law and within three months after its cancellation.
Corresponding resolution No. 347 of March 22 was posted on the government website.
According to it, before the termination of the martial law and within three months after it, the manufacturer of construction products can use other conformity assessment modules in agreement with the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, if it is impossible to conduct an assessment according to the updated technical regulation.
In this case, other assessment modules are determined in accordance with Cabinet resolution No. 95 of January 13, 2016.
In addition, changes to the technical regulations provide for simplified import of construction products from the countries of the European Union during martial law and within three months after its cancellation. Thus, it is allowed to import products on the basis of a declaration of indicators issued by a foreign business entity and confirming compliance with the requirements of EU Regulation 305/2011 on harmonized conditions for the provision of construction products.
At the same time, drawing up a declaration and applying a mark of conformity in accordance with the Ukrainian updated technical regulations is not required.
The resolution also establishes that construction products put into circulation before the entry into force of the updated technical regulation cannot be prohibited or restricted in sale due to non-compliance with all or part of the requirements of the previously approved regulation, including the adopted changes.
As reported, in September 2021, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the introduction of a technical regulation on construction products, which will ensure the implementation of the provisions of the European Union regulation on the quality of construction products into Ukrainian legislation.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) made two more EUR100 million payments to Ukraine this week, the bank said on its website.
With these two disbursements, we have provided EUR629 million of our initial support package of EUR668 million, and that’s not all. These funds will help cover urgent financial needs in the face of Russian aggression, the bank said.
As reported, on March 4, the EIB Board of Directors at an extraordinary meeting approved an emergency solidarity package for Ukraine in the amount of EUR2 billion, including the provision of EUR668 million in the form of immediate liquidity support to the Ukrainian authorities. As part of this package, the bank is also accelerating the allocation of additional commitments of EUR1.3 billion taken on infrastructure projects. In parallel, the bank is developing a multi-billion-dollar package for the EU’s Eastern and Southern Neighborhood, the EU Enlargement Region and Central Asia to mitigate the effects of the refugee crisis and help deal with the social and economic impacts caused by the war.
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union. Its owners are the member states of the European Union.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will address the Japanese Parliament on Wednesday, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister of Defense Kono Taro said.
“Ukrainian President Zelensky will address Parliament today at 18:00 [11:00 Kyiv time],” Taro wrote on Twitter.
The Times of Israel reports that Zelensky “is set to virtually deliver an address to the Japanese parliament to rally international support for his country’s [Ukraine] fight against Russian invasion.”
“Zelensky’s speech, expected to be about 10 minutes, will be shown in a meeting room at the lower house – the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber parliament which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida belongs to,” The Federal notes.
As reported, Zelensky made virtual appeals to the U.S. Congress, as well as to the parliaments of European countries, Canada and Israel.
As of March 22, 2022, Ukrposhta delivered almost 80% of pensions (UAH 8.4 billion), delivery is carried out in all regions.
As the press service of the national postal operator reported on Wednesday, in most regions the rate of pension payments fluctuates between 93-99%. So far, it has not been possible to fully pay pensions in zones where active hostilities are taking place.
So, in Chernihiv region 16% was paid, in Zaporizhia region – 48%, Kharkiv region – 50%, in Kherson region – 57%, in Sumy region – 60% of pensions.
Ukrposhta noted that as soon as green corridors to cities temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation or under shelling are formed, the company will immediately deliver payments. In addition, the percentage of pension payments is lower than usual at present, partly due to the fact that many Ukrainians have changed their place of residence due to hostilities and have not yet completed the redirection.
“For three weeks in a row, together with our colleagues, we have been constantly in touch with the Ukrainian military, rebuilding routes, looking for strong-willed and creative solutions to bypass enemy checkpoints, find cash in a surrounded city or region, and provide people with basic necessities. Unfortunately, there are still separate areas where we cannot reach, but our defenders are doing their job every day, retaking our cities and villages from the invaders, and we at Ukrposhta are already starting cars to quickly do our job after,” the Ukrposhta general director Igor Smelyansky said.
The national postal operator notes that the majority of Ukrainians who received pensions for February received them locally – at Ukrposhta offices in the city or by targeted delivery. Also, Ukrposhta received about 22,000 applications for redirecting payments.
Nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereschuk said.
“Nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed, Donetsk region from Mariupol to Zaporizhia… Berdiansk – Zaporizhia. Some 24 buses are now at the entrance to Berdiansk. From 10 o’clock they will be brought to start the evacuation,” Vereschuk said at a briefing on Wednesday.
According to her, humanitarian corridors are also planned in Zaporizhia region: Polohy – Zaporizhia, Huliaipole – Zaporizhia;
in Kyiv region: Velyka Dymerka – Brovary, Bohdanivka – Brovary, Borodianka – Bila Tserkva, Svitylnia- Brovary;
in Luhansk region: Rubizhne – Bakhmut, Nyzhnie – Bakhmut.
“These routes will also pass through other cities, where stops will be made to collect people, Lysychansk, Severodonetsk…,” Vereschuk said.
