Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal warns representatives of the fuel business against abuses in the market.
“Denis Shmihal stressed that due to the destruction of the oil refining infrastructure and oil storage facilities by the Russian aggressor, a shortage of fuel arose in Ukraine. The authorities represented by the Cabinet of Ministers, all central executive authorities, customs and border services fully support and help businesses to overcome this crisis in the fuel market. In particular, the state has already reduced VAT from 20% to 7% on gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied gas and agreed on a zero excise rate for these items,” the government’s press service said following an online meeting between the prime minister and representatives of the fuel business.
Schmihal also said that he had negotiations on the liberalization of logistics routes with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“The European Union has introduced the so-called “corridors of solidarity” for Ukraine. A similar tool worked during a pandemic inside Europe, when vaccines and medicines were delivered. The authorities are doing and are ready to do everything necessary to give businesses the opportunity to import fuel into the country. At checkpoints, automobile and rail transport with fuel is given absolute priority. We are also negotiating other supply routes to expand our logistical capabilities,” the prime minister added.
The State Border Service also noted that vehicles with fuel pass the border from the Ukrainian side without queues.
Also, First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko noted that the number of fuel trucks crossing the border every day has grown by almost a third compared to the beginning of May.
“Representatives of the fuel business, for their part, noted the high level of cooperation with the government and noted the importance of joint communication on the situation that is currently happening on the market,” the message says.
During a conversation with market participants, the head of government stressed that the main task is for people to have fuel and for there to be no abuses in the market. According to him, the state will respond to such manifestations in wartime.
Following the meeting, Shmyhal gave the task to the Ministry of Economy, together with the Ministry of Energy and the relevant association, to work out proposals to overcome the crisis in the oil market and eliminate the shortage of fuel.
The volume of electricity exports from Ukraine to the European Union can replace approximately 17% of the Russian gas consumed by European countries, the Ministry of Energy believes.
“According to our estimates, electricity from Ukraine can replace approximately 17% of Russian gas exported to the EU,” Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Mykola Kolesnyk said during a speech at the 25th Gazterm-2022 conference held in Poland on May 16-17.
According to the ministry, Ukraine submitted its proposals to the European strategy REpowerEU, which provide for practical steps to use the export capacity of the Ukrainian energy system.
“The new REpowerEU strategy should provide clear solutions in three aspects: how to replace Russian energy, how to end Russian control over energy assets in Europe, and how to ensure that this situation does not happen again,” the official said.
At the same time, the deputy minister emphasized the need for decisive action by the governments of European states regarding the complete rejection of Russian energy sources, noting that Ukraine remains a reliable partner of Europe in the energy sector and is ready to make a significant contribution to the reliability of natural gas supplies to European countries.
In particular, he drew attention to the possibility for European companies to use half of the capacity of Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities (about 15 billion cubic meters) for seasonal or strategic gas reserves, which Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko announced in early May.
As reported, the Ukrainian government plans to resume the operation of additional transmission lines with Poland for the export of Ukrainian nuclear energy.
Ukraine has already agreed with the EU countries on the creation of alternative routes for the supply of Ukrainian food exports to world markets, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said.
“Ukraine, the EU, the US, Canada, the UK and other partners are working together to avoid a global food crisis provoked by Russian aggression and blockade. This is a very difficult task, but we are working on it,” the press service of the Foreign Ministry quoted Kuleba as saying. Tuesday.
As the minister stressed, the only reason for the restrictions on Ukrainian food exports is Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its illegal blockade of Ukrainian seaports.
“With its criminal actions, Russia undermines global food security. But even in such difficult conditions, Ukraine is making every effort to fulfill contractual obligations and supply food to foreign consumers, in particular using the EU infrastructure,” he said.
Kuleba once again warned foreign consumers against being drawn into illegal Russian schemes to sell food stolen in Ukraine and urged them to buy Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products through the European logistics system.
The Foreign Ministry recalled that on May 12, EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Velyan presented in Brussels an action plan called “Solidarity Lanes” aimed at helping Ukrainian food exports. As part of this project, 20 million tons of grain will be shipped from Ukraine using EU infrastructure in less than three months.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry warned consumer countries that the batches of grain sold to the Russian Federation may partially or completely contain grain stolen as a result of marauding actions of Russian occupiers. The facts of the theft of Ukrainian grain by Russia are confirmed by both numerous testimonies of Ukrainian farmers and documentary evidence, the ministry said.
Foreign direct investments in the economy of Ukraine in the iii quarter of 2021 (operations, $ million)
NBU
During an online communication with the US university community, President Volodymyr Zelensky invited scientists to join the program to restore schools and universities in Ukraine, the press service of the President’s Office reported on Monday.
As the head of state said, a big plan for the restoration of Ukraine is being developed, which, in particular, provides for the restoration of schools, universities, institutes and other educational institutions.
“Thousands of educational institutions have been destroyed. For us, this is a great tragedy. Therefore, we will only be grateful to you if we have such restoration projects at the level of ministries of education, the level of educational programs, the level of universities,” the president said.
“When we talk about resumption, it is not only a question of money, but also of specialists. Because we can build some kind of institute, university, but it is very important that there are people who are carriers of knowledge and specialists. Therefore, we are ready for such joint work and will be very grateful if you help us develop new educational programs,” he added.
Zelensky stressed that the plan for the restoration of Ukraine provides for programs for the restoration of various sectors of the economy and public life.
“We are forming partnerships with this or that institution, with this or that state. We even have patronage. We already have several examples. I know that the United States will choose for itself a suitable region for the restoration of our country, Canada, European states,” the President said.
For the first time in history, the head of the Ukrainian state addressed the students and leaders of major universities under the auspices of the American Association of Universities. Representatives of about fifty institutions joined the meeting, including Yale University, Harvard University, Boston University, Duke University, Cornell University, Brown University. About 5.5 thousand students watched the live broadcast on campuses, the press service reports.
The negative balance of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-March 2022 decreased by 40 times compared to the same period in 2021 – to $31.6 million from $1271.6 million, the State Statistics Service reported.
According to its data, the export of goods from Ukraine for the reporting period increased by 2.9% compared to January-March 2021, to $14.101 billion, while imports decreased by 5.6%, to $14.132 billion.
The State Statistics Service clarifies that in March, compared to February 2022, the seasonally adjusted volume of exports decreased by 57.9%, to $2.483 billion, and imports, by 75.8%, to $1.663 billion.
The seasonally adjusted foreign trade balance in March 2022 was positive and amounted to $0.819 billion, while in February 2022 it was negative – $0.969 billion.
The export-to-import coverage ratio in the first quarter of this year amounted to 1.00 (in the first quarter of 2021 – 0.92).
The State Statistics Service specified that foreign trade operations were carried out with partners from 214 countries of the world.
