President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will take part in a virtual meeting of G7 leaders on Sunday, May 8, where they will discuss Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The date of the meeting was chosen on purpose, and on May 9, US President Joseph Biden will sign the Lend-Lease Act, the US administration said.
“On Sunday morning, President Biden will participate in a virtual meeting of G7 leaders chaired by German Chancellor Scholz. Ukrainian President Zelensky will join the leaders. They will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war against Ukraine, the global implications of Putin’s war, demonstrate support for Ukraine and the future of Ukraine, and will demonstrate the continued unity of the G7 and our collective response, including ramping up our unprecedented sanctions…,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on Friday.
She indicated that Biden will sign the Lend-Lease Act of 2022 on Monday, May 9.
“Well, I think one should not lose sight of … the meaning of the schedule is … when this G7 meeting will take place, which is the day before Victory Day in Russia, which Putin wanted to mark as the day of victory over Ukraine. Of course, this is not so. Although he expected to march through the streets of Kyiv, this is clearly not going to happen,” Psaki said.
“But, of course, this meeting and conversation on Sunday is an opportunity not only to show how united the West is in confronting the aggression and invasion of President Putin, but also to show that unity requires work; it requires effort; it requires blood, sweat and sometimes tears. And President Biden is determined to keep working to keep the people united – to keep these leaders united as they move forward,” the White House press secretary added.
She also clarified that on May 10, Biden will receive Italian President Mario Draghi, and support for Ukraine will also be discussed at this meeting.
A situation at the customs has somewhat improved, the volume of customs clearance of goods by businesses is increasing, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko has said.
“Compared to March, customs added a little: in March, the drawdown of customs revenues was 80%, now it is about 75%. There are some improvements. Taking into account the current benefits for customs clearance of imports, we can say that the situation has improved somewhat and business is increasing the volume of goods cleared,” the minister said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, adding that the data require a deeper analysis.
According to him, customs revenues to the budget amounted to UAH 8.3 billion in April, while tax revenues almost reached UAH 45 billion, and another UAH 22 billion went to the budget as grant assistance.
A conference in support of Ukraine will be held in Slovakia in early June under the auspices of GLOBSEC, President of the organization Róbert Vass (Slovakia) said.
“GLOBSEC is preparing a large conference in Bratislava for June 2 to June 4 to mobilize military, humanitarian, economic and financial support for Ukraine, where prime ministers, presidents are invited and offered Ukraine the chairmanship of the event,” the Verkhovna Rada said on its website on Friday, citing the words Vass at the meeting of the delegation of parliamentarians of the EU Member States (GLOBSEC) with heads of the Verkhovna Rada committees and First Deputy Chairman Oleksandr Korniyenko.
Vass said that an international group of European parliamentarians, created under the auspices of GLOBSEC, came to Kyiv to support Ukraine in its struggle for sovereignty and independence.
Vass said Ukrainians are not just fighting for its soil, but also for Europe. These are the fundamental foundations of international law, so it is GLOBSEC moral duty to help Ukraine so that Ukrainians are not alone in this struggle. Today, the future of the West is determined in the East. Ukraine has shown that its place is in Europe, in the world of Euro-Atlantic values. GLOBSEC will help in Ukraine’s official accession to Europe, the president of the organization said.
Kornyienko urged European colleagues to involve their parliaments and governments in the restoration of Ukraine, to become partners of Ukrainian regions and cities.
“We heard your message about the conference and our participation in it. We will form both government and parliamentary delegations at the highest level in order to substantively discuss all issues, in particular, specific restoration projects,” Kornienko said.
A delegation of European parliamentarians, together with MPs of Ukraine, visited Bucha and Borodianka destroyed by the Russian Nazis in Kyiv region.
GLOBSEC is an analytical center in Central Europe and organizer of the annual Bratislava Forum.
US President Joseph Biden announced another security assistance package that will provide Ukraine with additional artillery ammunition, radars and other equipment.
“Today, the United States continues to provide strong support to the courageous people of Ukraine defending their country. I am announcing another security assistance package that will provide Ukraine with additional artillery ammunition, radar and other equipment,” he tweeted on Friday evening.
The White House website also indicates that there are almost no funds left to send aid to Ukraine and prompt approval of funding by Congress is required.
“With today’s announcement, my administration has nearly exhausted the funding that can be used to send security assistance to Ukraine through a reduction authority. For Ukraine to succeed in this next phase of the war, its international partners, including the US, must continue to demonstrate our unity and our determination to ensure a continuous flow of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. Congress must quickly provide the requested funding to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
On Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously supported a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, UN Secretary General António Guterres said.
“Today, for the first time, the Security Council has unanimously spoken out for peace in Ukraine. As I have often said, the world must come together to silence the guns and uphold the values of the UN Charter,” he tweeted Friday night.
As of May 1, 2022, according to preliminary data, Ukraine’s international reserves amounted to $26 billion 944.9 million (in equivalent), which is 4% less than at the beginning of April ($28.107 billion), according to the data National Bank of Ukraine, released on Friday.
“As of May 1, 2022, Ukraine’s international reserves, according to preliminary data, amounted to $26.945 billion. According to the results of April, they decreased by 4%, taking into account sales by the National Bank, which was partially offset by foreign exchange earnings in favor of the government,” the regulator explained.
He noted that the dynamics of reserves in April was affected by public debt management operations: the total volume of payments for servicing and repaying state and state-guaranteed debt in foreign currency amounted to $614 million in equivalent.
It is specified that $420 million of them were directed to servicing and redemption of domestic government bonds denominated in foreign currency, $78 million – to redeem Eurobonds.
At the same time, in April, foreign exchange receipts in favor of the government amounted to $1 billion 887 million in equivalent, including EUR629 million and $93 million received from the World Bank, EUR300 million from the French government, $236 million from the Government of Canada and EUR120 from the EU.
In addition, the NBU and the government of Ukraine paid $84 million in favor of the IMF in April.
The NBU operations on the interbank market also affected the dynamics of reserves. In April, the regulator sold $2.244 billion in the foreign exchange market and bought $43 million. In general, by the end of April, the volume of net sales of foreign currency by the National Bank in the interbank foreign exchange market amounted to $2.2 billion.
In addition, the dynamics of the indicator was affected by the revaluation of financial instruments (changes in market value and the exchange rate of the hryvnia against foreign currencies): last month their value decreased by $150.3 million in equivalent, according to NBU data.
The regulator also clarified that the net international reserves (NIR) of Ukraine in April decreased by $791 million, or 4.5%, to $16.779 billion.
As reported, at the beginning of 2022, Ukraine’s international reserves amounted to $30.941 billion, NIR – $20.767 billion.
