The European Union has allocated EUR2m for a new humanitarian demining program in Ukraine, under which Ukrainian cynologists with specially trained dogs will search for and clear unexploded ordnance, the press service of the EU Delegation in Ukraine has reported.
According to the report, the project is funded by the European Commission’s Foreign Policy Instruments Service (FPI) and is being implemented jointly with humanitarian mine action organizations APOPO, which specializes in the use of animals for demining, and Mines Advisory Group (MAG).
“The 16 Belgian Malinois will be the first technical reconnaissance dogs to be deployed in Ukraine. Together with their eight guides, all of whom are Ukrainians, they underwent extensive training in Cambodia for five months before returning to Ukraine,” the statement said.
The EU Delegation in Ukraine specified that many of the dog handlers had previously studied dog training at the Sumy National Agrarian University and were trained in manual demining.
The dogs will be used to complement the MAG’s manual and mechanized demining efforts in liberated Ukrainian territories, including in the Mykolaiv, Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
“We are pleased to be able to fund this initiative as part of the EU’s support to improve and scale up humanitarian mine action in Ukraine. We believe this innovative project can significantly accelerate the cleanup of contaminated land and its release for civilian use,” said FPI Director Peter M. Wagner.
Under certain conditions, teams of technical reconnaissance dogs can survey large tracts of land much faster than bomb squads, identifying explosive hazards and helping to confirm the safety of an area. If teams with dogs find a mine or unexploded ordnance, MAG deminers will be tasked to defuse the item, the EU Delegation to Ukraine explained.
MAG Ukraine Director John Cunliffe believes that dogs have the potential to significantly speed up the cleanup of certain types of terrain and contamination. “They can be a really important tool in combination with traditional manual and mechanized demining teams,” he added.
“The EU commitment will allow us to return supposedly contaminated land to the Ukrainian people much more quickly than would otherwise be the case. We will be recruiting and training new handlers in the coming months as we scale up our operations,” said APOPO Ukraine Program Manager Nick Gest.
The European Commission’s Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) service implements the EU’s foreign policy. Humanitarian mine action is a key element of the support FPI has mobilized for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Its total funding to date amounts to EUR55 million.
APOPO is a global provider of mine detection animals that has developed effective mine clearance technology that is implemented in low-income countries. The organization protects people from the risk of landmines and other consequences of war. APOPO employs more than 450 people in 10 countries.
Ukrainian restaurant chain Lviv Croissants has entered the US market, where together with a partner it invested $220 thousand in opening a bakery and production of frozen croissants in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
“Lviv Croissants is now in America! The first Lviv Croissants bakery in the United States is located in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia and is already receiving its first guests. Locals love quality healthy food, and we know how to cook it, so it’s a total match. And we also know how to surprise with a variety of flavors, create a friendly atmosphere and a sense of place where you can be yourself,” the company’s website says.
Lviv Croissants founder Andriy Galitsky told Forbes Entrepreneurs Forum that the company spent two years preparing to enter the U.S. market, while it took about five months to prepare to enter the European markets. This is the third expansion of the Ukrainian chain abroad after Poland and Slovakia.
The co-owner and CEO of the American restaurant is local entrepreneur Brett Larrabee, whom Galitsky met at a franchising expo in New York in 2018. Larrabee has been working in restaurant franchising for 37 years, notably developing the American brands Five Guys, Famous Daves BBQ, Little Caesars, Subway and Pancheros, Forbes writes.
Lviv Croissants is a Ukrainian international franchise restaurant chain founded in 2015. It specializes in making croissants, has 177 establishments in Ukraine, 11 in Poland and 1 in Slovakia. It is a part of Fast Food Franchising Group.
Fast Food Franchising Group LLC was founded in 2015 in Lviv.
The company’s net loss in 2023 amounted to UAH 598.3 thousand, compared to UAH 483 thousand net profit a year earlier. Income for last year increased by 55.1%, to UAH 6.939 million, debt obligations – by 9.7 times, to UAH 188.9 thousand, while assets decreased by 19%, to UAH 1.89 million.
Beneficiaries of the company are PE Firma Infobud, which owns 50% of shares, Eugene and Andrei Galitsky (20% each), as well as Yuri Zagrodsky (10%).
bakery opening, frozen croissants, Lviv Croissants, restaurant chain, US MARKET
Ukraine’s Iryna Kolyadenko has won a silver medal in the 62kg freestyle wrestling final at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Kolyadenko competed against Sakura Motoki, representing Japan, and lost to her with a score of 1:12.
Irina Kolyadenko is the silver medalist of the Olympic Games 2024, bronze medalist of the Olympic Games 2020, silver medalist of the World Championships, three-time European Champion, Champion of Ukraine.
Commissioning of housing in Ukraine, mln sq m
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
The State Property Fund (SPF) realized at the privatization auction SE “Odessa Research and Design Institute of Land Management” for 25.8 million UAH, said the head of the agency Vitaly Koval.
“The price for EMK SE “Odessa Research and Design Institute of Land Management” increased in 5.17 times. Almost from UAH 5 million to the victorious UAH 25.8 million,” he wrote in Telegram.
The buyer is also obliged to pay an additional UAH 5.16 million of VAT. Accordingly, the total economic effect from the privatization of the enterprise will be 30.96 million UAH.
The complex of the Institute is located in the center of Odessa. The new owner will receive a share of 81/100 of the engineering and laboratory building with utility buildings and structures, motor vehicles and other property.
According to the terms of sale, the buyer is obliged to repay overdue accounts payable and not to allow the dismissal of employees within six months.
Monica Barbara Spadlo-Coliano headed PJSC “Insurance company “MetLife” from July 2018 to October 2020 was appointed head of the Supervisory Board of the company.
As reported in the information of the insurer posted in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, such a decision was taken by shareholders at the meeting on August 6.
The message notes that she is the representative of the shareholder MetLife Global Holding Company II LLC, during the last five years held the following positions: from May 1, 2022 to date – general manager of MetLife Hungary, from October 9, 2020 to May 2022 – general manager of MetLife Poland (a division of MetLife Europe d.a.c.). (MetLife EMEA).
In addition, Pawol Dorczak and Blair John McAuliffe were elected as members of the Board of Directors.
As reported, MetLife PJSC is the leader in the life insurance market of Ukraine. The company’s share in the volume of insurance reserves at the end of 2023 is 31.3%.
According to the statements, for 2023 the volume of insurance premiums amounted to UAH 2,489 billion, insurance reserves – UAH 6,186 billion.
For 2023 the insurer has paid insurance indemnities in the amount of UAH 516,6 mln.
PJSC MetLife is a part of the leading world corporation MetLife. The company has been operating in Ukraine since 2002. The main lines of business are accumulative life insurance, accident and critical illness insurance, corporate insurance and bank insurance.
