A meeting of the Capital Region discussion club was held at the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency to discuss the vision of Ukraine’s victory and present the TOP-100 Most Influential People 2024 project.
During the meeting, the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group were presented, which showed that the idea of victory is transforming. The club members discussed the mood of Ukrainians and residents of Kyiv region, in particular in the context of the third year of full-scale war. Key issues included assessing the performance of local authorities, what people are willing to do to win, what victory means to them (return of borders, surrender of the enemy or ceasefire), and what hopes and fears people have for the so-called post-war day.
“Studies show that Ukrainians expect the war to continue for at least another six months. Amid talks of a truce after November 2024, the number of people willing to negotiate with Russia without conditions as soon as possible is falling, while at the same time, people’s desire to negotiate is growing, provided that the fighting stops completely. According to respondents, the Armed Forces are responsible for the success of the counteroffensive and defense, while international partners and allies and the President are responsible for the failure,” said Andriy Yeremenko, head of the sociological company Active Group.
Oleh Ivanenko, a member of the Kyiv regional council, said there are two ways to end the war quickly. The first, in his opinion, lies in the plane of Ukrainian politics, the second in American politics.
“The American option is the George Washington, the largest aircraft carrier, entering the Black Sea, and the war ends. The Ukrainian option is to declare a state of war. And then we will have no problems with demobilization, mobilization, because all MPs, officials, and the presidential administration are going to war,” he emphasized.
Oleksandr Magdych, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and head of the Bila Tserkva Volunteer Corps, added that to achieve peace and victory, a general mobilization of the economy and citizens is needed, as well as a law on demobilization and rotation for the military.
“The unity of our society, our work to defend our country, starting with volunteers, soldiers, the government, the opposition – everyone is working for the result. Everyone wants the war to end on Ukrainian terms as soon as possible. This is very important, and my communication with our citizens confirms this. We communicate in different regions, on the contact lines with soldiers and volunteers of the volunteer battalion,” said Volodymyr Kreidenko, MP, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport.
Serhiy Guliyev, a member of the Vyshneve City Council and entrepreneur, said that the Safe Region community on Viber and Telegram, which he runs, already has more than half a million members from 41 countries.
“When the full-scale invasion began, the Sergey Guliyev Foundation was created, which is now recognized as the most powerful. I am pleased that a large percentage of the efforts to win are made by volunteers. We have been working around the clock for three years now. We have raised and sent hundreds of millions of hryvnias and thousands of trucks with aid to the frontline,” added Guliyev.
The discussion club also presented the project “TOP 100 Most Influential People of 2024”. The rating includes representatives of government, business, culture, science, and the public.
The top ten are Ruslan Kravchenko, former head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration and head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine; Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Oleksiy Kuleba, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development, former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Yaroslav Dobriansky, acting head of the Kyiv Regional Council; Oleh Tatarov, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine; Anatoliy Shchadylo, head of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv Region; and Anatoliy Shchadylo, former deputy head of the National Police in Kyiv.
According to the authors of the rating, they do not focus only on positions. The main thing for them is the real impact of a person on the region, his or her contribution to the development of Kyiv region, initiatives and actions that change the life of the community.
The project “TOP-100 Most Influential People” has been implemented since 2017 by the creative team of the Moya Kyivshchyna News Agency and the editorial board of the independent newspaper Slovo i Dilo with the participation of experts from the Institute of Ukrainian Politics.
The rating is based on information and analytical research on the socio-political situation in the region. The publication is available both in print and online on the project’s website: https://top-100.kyiv.ua.
The Discussion Club is organized by the Moya Kyivshchyna News Agency, the Institute of Ukrainian Politics, and the sociological company Active Group. It brings together experts, politicians, MPs, academics, military and public figures.
At a meeting on Friday, April 18, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine allocated a subvention of UAH 829 million. 245,663 thousand UAH for the construction of shelters in general secondary education institutions, said Taras Melnychuk, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, in a telegram channel.
According to Melnychuk, the funds will be transferred from the state budget to local budgets for the implementation of a public investment project to equip safe conditions in general secondary education institutions, including military (naval, military sports) lyceums and lyceums with enhanced military and physical training, in 2025.
The state-owned Ukrgasbank (Kyiv) has put up for sale via the OpenMarket platform (SE SETAM of the Ministry of Justice) an administrative and production complex at 2-b Kurenivska Street in Obolon district of Kyiv with a starting price of UAH 240.2 million.
According to the press service of SETAM, the lot consists of an administrative building (4.8 thousand square meters), a brick garage (49.8 square meters) and warehouse buildings (15.9 thousand square meters in total). The total area of the complex is 20.9 thousand square meters.
It is noted that the components of the complex are under five arrests in criminal proceedings, and there is a dispute over the ownership. Other restrictions include the bank’s right to use utilities, the absence of contracts for the supply of utilities, including electricity, gas, and water.
The auction based on the Dutch model is scheduled for April 22.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, Ukrgasbank was ranked fifth in terms of assets (UAH 213.72 billion) among 61 banks at the beginning of this year.
The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) imposed a final anti-dumping duty of 35.7% on imports of household matches to Ukraine on April 16.
According to the ICIT’s announcement in the Uryadovyi Kurier newspaper on Friday, the decision will enter into force 30 days after the date of publication of the announcement.
The ICIT reminds that the anti-dumping investigation was initiated by the decision of April 12 against imports of matches from India and Pakistan at the complaint of Ukrainian Match Factory LLC, which has a share of more than 50% in the total production of matches in Ukraine.
At the same time, it was found that during the investigation period (April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024), imports of matches from India were carried out at dumping prices, while there were no imports from Pakistan.
The ICIT found that during the study period (January 1, 2021 – March 31, 2024), the volume of dumped imports decreased by 47.3% in absolute terms, while increasing by 27.8% in relation to the total production of the product in Ukraine and by 26.4% in relation to consumption.
In addition, the national producer’s production volumes decreased by 58.7%, the level of production capacity utilization by 58.7%, domestic sales by 58.1%, financial result from domestic sales in dollar terms by 229.4%, in hryvnia terms by 275.3%, and profitability from domestic sales by 390.4%, which was negative.
The number of production workers also decreased by 2.4%, wages by 32.1%, labor productivity by 57.7%, investment by 100%, and warehouse balances increased by 134.1%.
The Commission found that the Republic of India has a significant export potential, which indicates the likelihood of a significant increase in the volume of dumped imports of matches from this country in the future.
The anti-dumping measures are applied to matches, except for pyrotechnic products of heading 3604, classified under code 3605 00 00 00 according to the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity.
Ukrainian Match Factory LLC was founded in 1995, with production facilities located in Rivne region. The design capacity of the factory is 630 million boxes of matches per year. The products are supplied to all regions of Ukraine and abroad.
According to opendatabot, in 2024, the factory suffered a loss of almost UAH 26 million (3% more than a year earlier), while net income increased by 9.7% to UAH 175.2 million. At the same time, in 2022, it had a profit of UAH 38 million and revenue of UAH 373.5 million.
The founder of the company is listed as British Paxstone Limited, and the ultimate beneficiary is Maria Fursina from Kyiv.
Molton Brown is a British luxury cosmetics brand that has been impressing the world with its unique fragrances and environmental responsibility for over 50 years. Founded in 1971 in London, the brand combines the traditions of British perfumery with innovation and sustainability, which allows it to remain relevant in the global market.
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Environmental responsibility is a key principle of Molton Brown. The brand has never tested its products on animals and has been certified Leaping Bunny since 2012. The company’s production is carbon-neutral, using 100% renewable electricity since 2016 and recycling 97% of waste since 2021. By 2030, Molton Brown plans to have 50% of its packaging reusable or recyclable.
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Company history and structure
Molton Brown was founded in 1971 by Carolyn Burstyn and Michael Collis as a beauty salon on South Molton Street in London. Over time, the brand expanded to focus on the production of natural cosmetics and perfumes. In 2005, the Japanese company Kao Corporation acquired Molton Brown for £170 million, which allowed the brand to expand its presence in the international market.
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The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects a significant increase in grain, oilseeds and vegetable harvests in 2025, in the range of 10-17%.
“As for grains, we expect a 12% increase in harvests, 10% in oilseeds, and 17% in vegetables and potatoes,” said NBU Deputy Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk at a press briefing on Thursday.
According to him, spring frosts and potentially prolonged periods of drought could negatively affect the yields of certain crops and put some pressure on prices, and this is considered a risk.
At the same time, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, there is no significant damage to crops from frost, the NBU Deputy Governor noted.
“Therefore, I would like to reiterate our thesis that a significant slowdown in food inflation in the second half of the year is one of the important factors behind the overall slowdown in inflation in the second half of the year. And, in fact, this is our baseline scenario,” Mr. Nikolaychuk emphasized.
According to him, after the prices for agricultural products rose quite significantly last year, the potential for further price increases, even if negative risks materialize, will be limited by the relevant imports.
The NBU deputy governor added that the current harvest forecast is not much different from the one published in January.
Mr. Nikolaychuk emphasized that according to the operational data coming from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, no serious damage to crops due to frost has been recorded so far.
As reported, this year’s planting season is 20.6% behind last year’s. As of April 11, Ukraine sowed more than 1 million hectares of spring grains and legumes.
