Mykola Solsky submitted a letter of resignation from the post of Minister of agrarian policy and food of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada will consider it at one of the next plenary sessions, said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.
“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine received a statement from Mykola Solsky on resignation from the post of Minister of agrarian policy and food of Ukraine. The statement will be considered at one of the next plenary sessions,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The Ministry of agrarian policy and food in turn published a comment from Solskiy about the application submitted to the Parliament.
“Yes, I wrote a letter of resignation from the post of Minister. In such a situation, I believe it is the right step. The Verkhovna Rada will decide to accept my resignation – I will be grateful for such a decision, will decide that I should work further – I will continue to work”, – he explained.
As reported, on April 23, the NABU notified Solsky about suspicion in the possession of state land for 291 million UAH and an attempt to seize land for another 190 million UAH.
The Minister denied the accusations and stated that “the events, which, according to NABU, are reported in the suspicion to me, relate to the period 2017-2018, that is, at the time when I was a lawyer and was neither the Minister of agrarian policy and food of Ukraine, nor the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on agrarian and land policy”.
According to his information, the circumstances of seven years ago concern a dispute between state enterprises and individuals, in particular ATO military personnel, over lands granted to them in possession in accordance with the law.
On April 25, leading agrarian associations petitioned the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court to take Solskyy on bail, and also expressed confidence in the work of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
The HACC heard the prosecution and defense sides during the trial on Thursday. SAP demanded for the current Minister of detention, and in case of a decision to release on bail two representatives of agrarian associations – chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation Maria Didukh and deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada Denis Marchuk – to prohibit Solskiy communication with other suspects, travel from Kiev, obliged to wear an electronic bracelet and bail 200 million hryvnia.
According to the broadcast of the meeting, the court declared a break and will continue consideration of the motion SAP on Friday morning.
State enterprise “International Airport “Boryspil” (Kiev) on April 25 announced a tender for the purchase of services of compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles (OSAGO), reported in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro.
As noted, the expected cost of the purchase of services is UAH 157 thousand.
Security of the tender offer is not required.
The deadline for submission of bids is May 3
Kyivstar’s Home Internet has the largest gigabit network among Ukrainian Internet providers. The company has invested more than UAH 44 million in Gigabit development during the full-scale invasion alone.
At the beginning of 2024, the number of Kyivstar fixed-line subscribers reached 1.15 million, and more than 70% of them have access to gigabit tariff plans.
Thanks to the rapid modernization of gigabit equipment, Kyivstar Home Internet subscribers can increase the speed from the standard 100 Mbit/s to 1 Gbit/s. In particular, this became possible in big cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Rivne, Khmelnytsky, Lutsk, Ternopil, and cities of regional significance: Bila Tserkva, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Netishyn, Drohobych, Mukachevo, Novovolynsk, Boryspil, etc.
“With the number of gadgets and users in Ukrainian homes constantly growing, increasing the standard speed from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps is a hygienic improvement in the convenience of Internet access. That is why our focus in 2021 is to modernize our equipment in different cities of Ukraine for the qualitative development of Gigabit,” commented Sergiy Sukhoruk, Head of Fixed Line Communications at Kyivstar.
Subscribers can choose a tariff plan, and instead of the standard 100 Mbit/s speed, they can receive Internet at up to 1 Gbit/s. This allows users to download large files faster, connect more devices without sacrificing speed and watch videos on large screens in the best quality.
Before upgrading to a gigabit plan, users should make sure that their router is capable of supporting it. If it does not, they should replace it.
Gigabit speed from Kyivstar is available in most tariff plans of the Home Internet service. To test it, current subscribers can change their tariff to one that allows them to use speeds up to 1 Gbps, try it for 50 UAH/month or connect the appropriate Superfast. New Kyivstar fixed-line subscribers can use the Try Gigabit service and test gigabit speeds for free for the first 3 months.
For more information about Kyivstar’s gigabit speed, please follow the link.
In addition, Kyivstar continues to connect shelters across the country to the Internet free of charge. During the full-scale invasion, 1490 shelters were connected, and the company invested over UAH 700 thousand in this initiative. The company has also provided free Internet connection to 1550 modular houses for IDPs and will continue to do so upon request to wifi@kyivstar.net.
About Kyivstar:
Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving about 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers as of December 2023. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, etc. Kyivstar is developing new telecom technologies in Ukraine and plans to invest USD 600 million in this area over the next three years. The company helps Ukraine overcome the challenges of wartime and has allocated over UAH 1.8 billion over the past two years to support the Armed Forces, subscribers, and social projects. Kyivstar’s shareholder is the international VEON Group. The Group’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam) stock exchanges. Kyivstar has been operating in Ukraine for 26 years and is recognized as the largest taxpayer in the telecom market, the best employer and a socially responsible company. For more information: pr@kyivstar.net, www.kyivstar.ua
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Arvid Türkner, who has held a similar position in Turkey since November 2017, as its new Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova from May 1, 2024, the bank said in a press release on Wednesday.
“Ukraine is a priority area for EBRD investments, with EUR4.1 billion sent there during the wartime period. Türkner will replace Matteo Patrone, who after five years of work (in Ukraine) will hold the position of EBRD vice president for the banking sector,” the release stated.
The EBRD notes that future wartime and reconstruction investments in Ukraine will be underpinned by the EUR4bn paid-up capital increase approved by shareholders late last year.
“Arvid Türkner’s outstanding performance in his previous role in Turkey gives us great confidence that this vital portfolio is in safe hands,” the statement quotes EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink as saying.
It is indicated that Türkner will oversee the development of the EBRD’s program for Ukraine, focusing on five wartime investment themes: support for energy security, vital infrastructure, food security, trade and the private sector, as well as political dialogue to help Ukraine and Moldova move towards EU membership.
It is reported that Türkner, a German national, joined the EBRD in January 2009 from the German development bank DEG as a senior banker in the financial institutions group in Moscow. In October 2013, he was promoted to regional development director and deputy head of the Moscow office, and became head of the office in April 2015.
After moving to London in early 2017 as director of corporate debt, Turkner was appointed to his current role as managing director in Turkey in November 2017, where he successfully led the bank’s crisis response to the devaluation of the lira in 2018. Under his leadership and despite recurring macroeconomic volatility, the bank’s business in Turkey has continued to grow significantly: the portfolio is currently valued at EUR7.5bn, with 246 active projects and EUR5.8bn of operating assets. In 2023 alone, the bank signed 48 projects worth EUR2.48bn.
The Danish government has decided to allocate additional EUR380m for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure and construction of wind farms, Danish Business Minister Morten Bedskou said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
According to the press service of the President, during the meeting, the Danish Minister of Entrepreneurship noted the opportunities for strengthening cooperation between the countries and informed about the decision of his government to allocate additional funding for the Ukrainian mechanism of the Danish Export and Investment Fund.
As noted, this mechanism fully covers the risks of Danish exporters and investors, as well as provides financing to Ukrainian private companies and state institutions.
For him, the Danish government will allocate almost EUR380 million more for the restoration of critical infrastructure and construction of wind farms.
At the meeting, Zelensky and Bedskou paid special attention to the prospects of expanding Danish business and attracting new investments in Ukraine.
In turn, the President of Ukraine emphasized the importance of the fact that the Minister of Entrepreneurship of Denmark during his visit to Kiev is accompanied by the heads of Danish companies – the largest investors in the economy of Ukraine.
“Your activity in the Ukrainian market is striking. With your investments you set an example for other partners and investors”, – emphasized Zelensky.
As reported, during the recent visit of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska to Denmark, she asked Danish partners for additional funding for the Danish Export and Investment Fund, the funds from which come to help Ukraine.
DENMARK, INFRASTRUCTURE, Morten Bedskow, RECONSTRUCTION, UKRAINE
On April 18, 2024, “BLACK SEA GRAIN. KYIV” – took place one of the largest grain forums in Ukraine, which provides exclusive analytics of the agricultural market from world experts, discusses global macroeconomic and regional trends, long-term forecasts, effective communication and contacts with international industry leaders.
The event brought together hundreds of leading international producers and processors of grains and oilseeds, traders, agricultural holdings, banks and investment funds, trading exchanges, government representatives and industry associations, logistics, brokerage, insurance, surveying, legal and other companies.
The opening remarks were delivered by Sergiy Feofilov, CEO of UkrAgroConsult, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Immediately after the greetings, the “HARD TALK” started on the topic: Future EU agricultural policy (Green Deal, Deforestation Law). Impact on the production of grains and oilseeds in the EU and Ukraine and margins/profitability of farmers.
The panel was moderated by Leonid Kozachenko, President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation.
The President of the UAC outlined the situation on the grain market in the extremely difficult conditions of the war and emphasized such important issues as transport and logistics, problems of financial support for agricultural market participants, European integration processes and challenges.
Leonid Kozachenko also emphasized the importance of river navigation, in particular, the importance of rebuilding the Kakhovka dam and building more modern locks than those that existed before.
Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club, focused on trade barriers and disputes and negotiations with Poland and the EU.
The UCAB CEO noted: “Yesterday, in an interview, the Polish president said that there is an American farmer in Ukraine, that our land owners are Americans. How absurd is it that such issues are discussed at the level of presidents? And yet everyone realizes that this is not the case. If we are talking about large agricultural companies, if we analyze our market structure in the State Statistics Committee, we have only 10% of land in large agricultural companies.”
He added that there are important events to come in the EU, such as the European Parliamentary elections and the appointment of a new European Commission. In addition to this, the EU Council presidency will be assumed by Hungary in July and Poland in January.
Volodymyr Pugachev, Executive and Regional Director for Eastern Europe of the Danube Soybean Association, spoke about the innovations in the EU for soybean producers.
“The supply of soybeans or its products to the European Union from January 1, 2025 (pay attention here, as it already affects this year’s harvest, which will be) will require a traceability certificate along with the geo-coordinates of the field and confirmation of the absence of deforestation… That is, it is necessary to somehow confirm that after 2020 there was no deforestation on the field where the soybeans imported to the EU were grown.
In practice, this means a change in the whole classical approach to the supply of agricultural products, as they cease to be a “bulk commodity” and require full traceability, what is called “hard identity preservation.”
“The main problem is that the European bureaucracy has not been able to introduce clear implementation rules so far,” said Pugachev about the EU EUDR regulation.
Mykola Gorbachev, President of the Ukrainian Grain Association, spoke about logistical problems and solutions and predicted the price situation on the grain market: “We predict that we will harvest somewhere around 76-77 million tons of grains and oilseeds next year. This is a bit less, of course, than before. Our forecast is based on the fact that weather factors will not be as favorable as last season. We forecast exports of grains and oilseeds at around 43 million tons. This season, we forecast about 53 million tons, which means we will have a 10 million ton decrease – 6 million tons less corn and 4 million tons less wheat exports. Soybeans will increase slightly, and other crops will increase slightly. Due to this decrease, I think that the norms set by Europe for us will be enough for us to trade corn with Europe within the limits without additional costs.
Our forecast is that the price will increase slightly. At the end of the season, we will see that the price will go up a bit in Ukraine. By the end of May, Ukraine will be able to export almost all of its stocks, and in June we will have almost nothing. The global price will go up a bit. In Europe, the yields will be lower. That’s why prices will be a bit better for our farmers.”
