Ukraine has completed dredging of the mouth of the Bystroe River Danube, bringing the draught of vessels at the section from the 0th kilometer of the mouth of the Bystroe River to the 77th kilometer of the Kiliya mouth to 6.5 meters, the Ministry of Restoration said on Friday.
According to its release, the section from the 77th kilometer to the 116th kilometer of the Kili estuary has a passing draft of 7 meters, whereas at the beginning of the full-scale intrusion, the maximum draft was only 3.9 meters.
“This is the first time we have been able to increase the allowable draught of vessels under independent Ukraine. Thanks to this we will be able to provide more efficient and safe navigation between the Black Sea and the Danube River, as well as increase the cargo flow through the Danube ports,” the report quotes Deputy Prime Minister – Head of the Ministry of Reconstruction Alexander Kubrakov as saying.
He added that since March 2022, transshipment of cargo in the ports of Izmail, Reni and Ust-Dunaisk has increased by three times. In general, more than 17 million tons of products, including more than 11 million tons of food products were exported from them.
According to the department, an increase in the draft for the passage of ships through the mouth of the “Bystroe” to the specified level became possible thanks to the elimination of the consequences of drift, the removal of sediment from the soil, the elimination of rollovers and the restoration of passport characteristics within the water areas of sea ports of Ukraine.
As reported, the passage of ships through the mouth of the “Bystroe” was opened on July 9, 2022 after the liberation of the Snake Island from the occupants.
Kyiv-based industrial and construction group (ICG) Kovalska raised EUR32 mln credit from Invest International (the Netherlands) to build two factories in Lviv region, according to group general director Serhiy Pylypenko.
Kovalska started construction of two new factories (for dry mixes under Siltek trademark and for concrete production) in Lviv region at the beginning of 2022, with total investments supposed to exceed EUR60 mln just for the first stage. According to Pilipenko, as of February 2022, more than EUR15 million had already been invested for the purchase of equipment and building structures, but with the outbreak of war, the project was frozen.
“Finding funding under war conditions was a “starry-eyed” task. During shelling and air raids, we continued to negotiate with international financial institutions, but in response we heard only words of support and compassion. No one was prepared to give real money. But we got the result we needed. Invest International (the Netherlands) decided to grant EUR 32mln project financing to Kovalska”, Mr. Pilipenko said on Facebook.
According to him, the construction of the plants will start “closer to summer”.
PSG Kovalska has been working on the construction market of Ukraine since 1956. It combines more than 20 enterprises in the sphere of extraction of raw materials, production and construction. The production is presented by brands “Concrete from Kowalska”, “Avenue”, Siltek and others. The enterprises of Kowalska operate in Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Kherson and Chernihiv regions.
In addition, the group includes Kovalska Real Estate, which is engaged in construction of residential buildings in Kiev. In its portfolio – more than 20 completed residential projects.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and U.S. President Joseph Biden will discuss the course of hostilities and further measures aimed at supporting Ukraine during a meeting in Kiev on Monday, February 20, the press service of the Office of the President reported.
As specified, Zelensky met with Biden at the Mariinsky Palace. After introducing the members of the Ukrainian and American delegations, the presidents of Ukraine and the United States talked in a face-to-face format.
Zelensky noted that Biden’s visit was an extremely important signal of support for Ukraine and Ukrainians, and stressed that Biden personally and the entire American society have been with Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war unleashed by Russia.
“The first phone call of support for Ukraine was from the White House. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you also for the bipartisan support, for the support from Congress,” he said.
The president of Ukraine said he would talk to the U.S. president about the situation on the front lines and also about the Ukrainian people, who are going through a very difficult time.
“What we have to do to stop the war, to have success in this war, to make Ukraine even stronger and how to win this year,” he said.
For his part, Biden noted the importance of his presence in Ukraine today, which demonstrates U.S. support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“I think it would be critical to leave no doubt that the U.S. supports Ukraine in its war against brutal aggression,” he said.
The U.S. president described his intention to discuss how the United States and allies can effectively help Ukraine fight for freedom and independence. He also conveyed greetings from members of Congress. According to Biden, they were very impressed by Zelensky’s recent speech to Congress.
He also said he was glad to visit Kiev again.
“A lot has changed since the last trip. Terrible things have happened, the invasion, but at the same time, the Ukrainians have shown themselves in a way that very few nations have ever shown themselves in their defense. And they helped us understand the importance of democracy,” Biden stressed.
Commodity output of Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill, Obukhiv, Kyiv Oblast), the industry leader in Ukraine, in January made UAH 625.54 million, which is 6.4% less than in prewar January 2022.
According to the statistics from UkrPapir Association, provided to Interfax-Ukraine news agency, the corrugated board production increased by 9.3%, to 17.12 mln sqm.
At the same time, cardboard production decreased by 7.6% – to 16.47 tons, including container board production increased by 15.6% to 14 thousand tons, while the production of cardboard boxes decreased by 2.3 times to 2.5 thousand tons.
Production of base paper for sanitary products decreased significantly – more than twice, to 3.6 thousand tons – while production of toilet paper in rolls halved to 16.6 million pieces.
According to statistics from the profile association, received from the branch enterprises, in January this year they produced 48.08 thousand tons of paper and paperboard – 24% less than in prewar January 2022, and 39.33 million square meters of cardboard boxes – 18.2% less.
Kiev KBC is one of the largest cardboard and paper companies in Europe, employing about 2.5 thousand people.
As it was reported, in 2022 the mill produced 7 billion 432 million UAH, which is 3.5% less than in 2021.
At the beginning of February this year, Yuriy Golovchenko, the former director of the recycled materials procurement department, was appointed the chairman of the board of Kyiv KBC JSC instead of Alexander Kravchenko, who had been chairing the board for half a year.
Pulp Mill Holding (Austria) owns 100% of the company.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has satisfied a lawsuit filed by the Ukrainian Justice Ministry to hand over to the state ownership the enterprises belonging to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
“The court’s decision concerns the Nikolaev Alumina Plant LLC, as well as the non-mining companies Glukhovsky Quartzite Quarry LLC (Sumy Region), Hust Quarry PJSC (Zakarpattia Region) and Zhezhelovsky Quarry PJSC (Vinnitsa Region). The value of the property transferred to Ukraine is more than 10 billion hryvnias,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Justice clarified that in all these cases we are talking about 100% of the shares or stakes.
In addition, the ministry said, 100% of LLC “Company “Aluminii Ukrainy”, LLC “Guardon Ukraine” (both – Kiev), LLC “Zaporozhalyumintorg” (Zaporozhye), LLC Service Center “Metallurg”, LLC “Chas IT”, LLC “Accounting Center Nikolaev” (all three – Galitsinovo village, Mykolaiv region) and 99% of LLC “Security NGZ” located in the same Galitsinovo were nationalized.
The list of those nationalized also includes 100% of the Mykolaiv charitable foundation “The Center of Social Programs” and 29,5363% of the joint-stock company “Zaporizhzhya Production Aluminum Plant” as well as over 300 items of movable and immovable property.
The SBU notes that Deripaska, who is a member of the inner circle of Russia’s military and political leadership, managed the enterprises through controlled commercial structures in different regions of Ukraine. “Thus, the Russian oligarch tried to conceal his relation to the Ukrainian assets,” the SBU specifies.
Measures to nationalize enterprises of the aggressor country were carried out by employees of the Main Department of counterintelligence support of critical infrastructure facilities and countering the financing of terrorism SBU with the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General, specified in the special service.
In its turn, the Ministry of Justice pointed out that Deripaska is one of the richest Russian oligarchs, a billionaire and close to the President of Russia, controls and owns significant stakes in groups of companies RusAl, Basic Element and EN+ Group.
The combined company RusAl is the second largest producer of aluminum in the world and also controls Russian companies that produce armored vehicles, which the Russian armed forces will later use in the war against Ukraine.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will pay an official visit to Kiev on Tuesday, February 21, during which he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, il Fatto Quotidiano reported.
“The visit was announced and postponed several times. But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants to demonstrate unconditional support for Ukraine (by Rome – IFU) outside of Italy,” the report says.
It notes that during his visit Meloni is likely to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine.
Reuters, in its turn, wrote that Meloni will go on a visit to Kiev on Monday, February 20.
