Ukraine welcomes the decision of European states to create a platform for joint gas purchases and is ready to provide its underground storage facilities to form a strategic resource reserve, Energy Minister German Haluschenko said.
“Ukraine has significant natural gas storage capacity – our underground storage facilities are the largest in Europe. In our Regional Energy Partnership initiative, RESP, we propose to use our underground gas storage facilities to create a strategic gas reserve for European countries,” he wrote on his Facebook on Saturday.
According to him, despite the full-scale military aggression by Russia, Ukraine continues to be a powerful and reliable partner of Europe in matters of energy security.
“Joint purchase of gas and its storage in Ukrainian gas storage facilities will allow us to get rid of the dictates of a terrorist state and ensure reliable energy supplies for the entire European continent,” the Minister of Energy said.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that in the conclusions of the European Council meeting, the initiative to create a platform for the joint purchase of gas, on which the European countries began work, is open to Ukraine.
As reported, the system of 12 underground storage facilities of Ukrtransgaz, 100% owned by NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine, with a total design capacity of 31 billion cubic meters, includes Bilche-Volytsko-Uherske UGS (17.05 billion cubic meters), Uherske (1.9 billion cubic meters), Dashavske (2.15 billion cubic meters), Oparske (1.92 billion cubic meters ), Bohorodchanske (2.3 billion cubic meters), Krasnopartyzanske (1.5 billion cubic meters), Solokivske (1.3 billion cubic meters), Olishevske (0.31 billion cubic meters), Proletarske (1 billion cubic meters), Kehychivske (0.7 billion cubic meters), Krasnopopivske (0.42 billion cubic meters) and Verhunske (0.4 billion cubic meters) located on the temporarily occupied territory.
Ukrainian athlete Olena Kostevych won golden medal at the European Shooting Championship in 10m Air Pistol Women in Norway.
“At the European Shooting Championship, Ukrainian athlete Olena Kostevych won gold! Thank you for the victory, thank you for the emotions, thank you that during the war we can still be proud of the results,” the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports said in a statement.
Dynamics of balance of payments of Ukraine (USD mln)
NBU
U.S. President Joe Biden will join on Saturday a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with their Ukrainian counterparts Dmytro Kuleba and Secretary of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, U.S. media said, citing the White House pool.
“This morning, President Biden will drop by a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Ukrainian Defense Secretary Oleksiy Reznikov,” according to the statement.
Biden is in Poland and will deliver a speech on the situation in Ukraine on Saturday evening in Warsaw.
A field hospital manufactured in Estonia with the financial support of Germany has opened in Ukraine, the Estonian Ministry of Defense has said.
“The military field hospital sent to Ukraine is now working as intended. This small and mobile hospital can quickly get to where it is needed. Made in Estonia with German financial support,” the ministry said on Saturday.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a loan from the French Development Agency for a total amount of up to EUR 300 million in 2022.
“State external borrowing in 2022 is carried out by raising a loan from the French Development Agency for a total amount that does not exceed EUR 300 million and is provided in accordance with a loan agreement between Ukraine represented by the Finance Minister as a borrower and the French Development Agency as a creditor, within provided for by the law on the 2022 national budget of Ukraine,” the government said in resolution No. 358 dated March 24.
According to the terms, the loan amount bears interest at a fixed annual interest rate of 1.04%, which is paid every six months.
The final repayment of the loan is carried out after 15 years from the date of conclusion of the loan agreement (taking into account the grace period for deferring loan repayment for a period of five years from the date of conclusion of the loan agreement).
