The Government of Ukraine has canceled the ban on the termination of housing and communal services to the population in case of non-payment or incomplete payment, as well as the ban on the accrual and collection of fines and penalties, inflationary charges on debts for non-payment of such services, introduced at the beginning of the full-scale aggression.
According to the Cabinet of Ministers’ Decision No. 1405 of December 29, 2023, published on the government’s website, such moratorium is maintained only for the territories where hostilities are taking place according to the list of the Ministry of Reintegration.
In addition, in the rules for the provision of housing and communal services, this decree introduced a norm on the need to provide utility providers with a statement and documentary evidence in electronic or paper form of the temporary absence in the residential premises of the consumer and other persons for more than 30 calendar days. It is specified that this may be certificates from the place of temporary residence, work, treatment, education, military service (including those received in a foreign country), serving a sentence, traveling abroad.
It is also established that such confirmation must be updated every six months.
As reported, the government, by its decision of March 5, 2022, introduced a ban on the termination of housing and communal services to the population in case of non-payment or underpayment, as well as a ban on the accrual and collection of fines and penalties. At that time, its term was set until the termination or cancellation of martial law in Ukraine and it was applied from the first day of the invasion of the Russian Federation – from February 24, 2022.
Number of dead and wounded civilians in Ukraine from 24.02.2022 till 15.11.2023 un data
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Podorozhnik pharmacy chain plans to expand its network to 2000 pharmacies by summer 2024, CEO of the chain Taras Kolyada said.
“Currently we have 1763 pharmacies. In 2023 we have reached 400 new pharmacies. By the summer of 2024 we will grow to 2,000 pharmacies,” he said in an interview with Forbes.
Kolyada said that the network is currently expanding at a fairly active pace: “In 2019 we opened 486 pharmacies, now 400 pharmacies per year is a habitual rhythm for us.”
At the same time, he noted that “we usually have 150 outlets in back closer – somewhere we are doing repairs and looking for people, somewhere we are signing a contract or waiting for the lease from the previous owner of the premises to expire.”
“Landlords see pharmacy as a stable business and are willing to cooperate. We are building coverage of the country. For us, the key is to penetrate the regions, small towns from Chop to Seredina Buda, from Reni to the north of Chernihiv region,” he said.
In addition, Kolyada said that in 2023, in all channels sales of “Podorozhnik” increased by 40-50% in relation to the data of 2022.
At the same time, Kolyada predicts that in general in Ukraine “the trend for network expansion remains, but the market redistribution will be in favor of system operators”.
According to Kolyada, the average investment in opening a pharmacy is up to UAH 3.5 mln.
Net sales of dollars by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) last week fell to $789.3 million from $891.8 million in the last week of last year, data on the regulator’s website showed on Friday. In the first half of the week, for which the central bank has already published the data, the purchase of currency by bank clients was growing: from a minimum of $56.52 million on Monday to $202.69 million on Wednesday.
As a result, the NBU on Wednesday weakened the official hryvnia exchange rate by 0.08%, or 3 kopecks, to a new low of UAH 38.1159/$1.
Nevertheless, on Thursday the demand weakened slightly, as a result the exchange rate strengthened by 0.20%, or by 7 kopecks, to 38.0412 UAH/$1, and on Friday, the last day of trading, the hryvnia weakened again slightly – by 0.10%, or by 3 kopecks, to 38.0775 UAH/$.
Overall, since Monday, the dollar has appreciated by 0.20%, and since the National Bank’s transition to the regime of managed flexibility on October 3, 2023, the dollar has become more expensive by 4.13%, or 1 UAH 51 kopecks. A pronounced trend towards weakening of the national currency began on November 26 last year, and since then the hryvnia has devalued by 5.73%.
In the cash market on Friday, the dollar rose by 1% to UAH 39.49/$1, returning to the pre-New Year dynamics after a rebound in the first days of the year.
Overall, the NBU’s net sales in December rose to about $3.57 billion from $2.46 billion in November, $3.34 billion in October and $2.69 billion in September. Last month, the Finance Ministry raised $5 billion in external financing, which boosted international reserves by 4.4% in December to $40 billion 507.9 million, the second highest in history after July 2023.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in December fined five banks – Oxy Bank, Accordbank, Universal Bank (mono), MTB Bank and Cominbank – for a total amount of over UAH 66.74 million, the regulator said on its website on Friday.
The largest fine of UAH 20.05 million was imposed on Oxy Bank for improper verification of clients and their financial transactions, violations of financial monitoring, currency control and the bank’s obligation to use a risk-oriented approach in its activities.
According to the release, Accordbank has to pay UAH 18.84 mln for improper risk management system and check of the payer for transfer of funds, submission of unreliable information by the bank to the regulator, as well as for violations in the sphere of currency legislation.
Universal Bank was fined UAH 10.45 mln for improper customer verification, online monitoring and application of risk-oriented approach.
Similar reasons caused almost the same fine – UAH 10.40 mln – to MTB Bank.
The National Bank also fined Cominbank UAH 10m due to its late and incomplete submission of documents to the regulator regarding the bank’s compliance with the legislation on preventing money laundering.
Accordbank, COMINBANK, NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE, Oxy Bank, МТБ Банк, Універсал Банк (mono)
The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for continued mask-wearing and social distancing to avoid COVID-19 infection, these recommendations are linked to an upward trend in many countries where coronavirus cases have been observed, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Many countries have seen an increase in respiratory illnesses caused by COVID-19, influenza and other pathogens for several weeks and this trend is expected to continue after the recent holidays,” he wrote on social media X.
Gebreyesus called for mandatory testing and seeking medical attention if necessary, as treatment for COVID-19 can prevent severe illness and death.
He also mentioned the need to use masks, ventilation and social distancing to reduce the risk of infection. In addition, recalled COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations.
In turn, governments need to ensure access to reliable tests, treatment and vaccines, especially for those most at risk of severe infection.
“Continue surveillance, sequencing and reporting to track the evolution of the COVID-19 virus, and clearly communicate risks and risk reduction measures to your population,” the WHO chief emphasized.
According to him, these recommendations provide more information on what governments need to do to combat the ongoing global COVID-19 threats.
A new sub-variant of the Omicron coronavirus strain, JN.1, has reportedly been discovered in many countries around the world, including China, India, the UK and the US, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it as a “variant of interest” because of “its rapid spread,” the BBC reported Wednesday.
