Ukrainian Yuriy Zakhareev has won a gold medal at the European Boxing Championship among athletes under the age of 22, which takes place in Croatia.
“On March 23, the final bouts of the European U22 Boxing Championship took place in Croatia. Ukrainian Yuriy Zakhareev became the European champion in the weight category up to 71 kg. In the fight for the gold our boxer defeated an opponent from Wales, Garan Croft,” the press service of the Ministry of Youth and Sports said in a statement.
Earlier silver medals were won by Andriy Yefymovich (weight category up to 48 kg), Maksym Vlasiuk (weight category up to 60 kg) and Ivan Sapun (weight category up to 86 kg).
According to the results of the continental championship competitions, the Ukrainian boxing team won ten medals: two gold, three silver and five bronze.
Fires near the Chornobyl nuclear power plant cannot be completely extinguished, and some increase in cesium concentrations has been recorded in Kyiv and west of Chornobyl, the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) said, citing the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s regulatory authority informed the IAEA that firefighters were trying to extinguish wildfires near the Chornobyl NPP, an area which has seen such outbreaks also in previous years. The fire brigade from the town of Chornobyl has extinguished four fires, but there are still ongoing fires,” the IAEA said on its website on Wednesday in the evening.
According to the release, the local fire station does not currently have access to the electricity grid, the regulator said. In the meantime, the station is relying on diesel generators for power, for which fuel is required, it added.
The IAEA also draws attention to the fact that, in the Exclusion Zone, the regulator said radiation measurements are not currently being performed. It said slight increases in caesium air concentrations had been detected in Kyiv and at two NPP sites west of Chornobyl, but the regulator told the IAEA that they did not pose significant radiological concerns.
At the same time, in a video message posted on the IAEA website on Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called the situation when major nuclear facilities operate in an armed conflict zone “dramatic and unique,” and noted that the situation remains distressing, and “the need to prevent a nuclear accident becomes more pressing with each day that passes.”
According to him, “intensive consultations have been ongoing for many days now, but a positive outcome still eludes us.”
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved amendments to the technical regulations for construction products, simplifying their provision to the Ukrainian market during martial law and within three months after its cancellation.
Corresponding resolution No. 347 of March 22 was posted on the government website.
According to it, before the termination of the martial law and within three months after it, the manufacturer of construction products can use other conformity assessment modules in agreement with the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, if it is impossible to conduct an assessment according to the updated technical regulation.
In this case, other assessment modules are determined in accordance with Cabinet resolution No. 95 of January 13, 2016.
In addition, changes to the technical regulations provide for simplified import of construction products from the countries of the European Union during martial law and within three months after its cancellation. Thus, it is allowed to import products on the basis of a declaration of indicators issued by a foreign business entity and confirming compliance with the requirements of EU Regulation 305/2011 on harmonized conditions for the provision of construction products.
At the same time, drawing up a declaration and applying a mark of conformity in accordance with the Ukrainian updated technical regulations is not required.
The resolution also establishes that construction products put into circulation before the entry into force of the updated technical regulation cannot be prohibited or restricted in sale due to non-compliance with all or part of the requirements of the previously approved regulation, including the adopted changes.
As reported, in September 2021, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the introduction of a technical regulation on construction products, which will ensure the implementation of the provisions of the European Union regulation on the quality of construction products into Ukrainian legislation.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) made two more EUR100 million payments to Ukraine this week, the bank said on its website.
With these two disbursements, we have provided EUR629 million of our initial support package of EUR668 million, and that’s not all. These funds will help cover urgent financial needs in the face of Russian aggression, the bank said.
As reported, on March 4, the EIB Board of Directors at an extraordinary meeting approved an emergency solidarity package for Ukraine in the amount of EUR2 billion, including the provision of EUR668 million in the form of immediate liquidity support to the Ukrainian authorities. As part of this package, the bank is also accelerating the allocation of additional commitments of EUR1.3 billion taken on infrastructure projects. In parallel, the bank is developing a multi-billion-dollar package for the EU’s Eastern and Southern Neighborhood, the EU Enlargement Region and Central Asia to mitigate the effects of the refugee crisis and help deal with the social and economic impacts caused by the war.
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union. Its owners are the member states of the European Union.
Sharp Group is suspending shipments to Russia due to the situation in Ukraine, the Japanese electronics manufacturer said.
“Sharp Group is currently suspending shipping into Russia with the conflict’s impact. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and make adequate measures based on the spirit of our Sharp Group Charter of Corporate Behavior,” the company said.
A day earlier, Japanese information technology company NEC also announced that it has suspended new sales of products and services, as well as investment in Russia.
Japan, along with a number of other countries, imposed sanctions against Russia over the events in Ukraine, after which a number of Japanese companies announced the suspension of shipments to and production in Russia, including due to logistics problems. They include Panasonic, Hitachi, Yamaha Motor Co., Tadano Ltd. and Komatsu Ltd.
More than half (53%) of Ukrainians who worked before the war are currently unemployed, 22% work as usual, 21% work remotely or partially, and only 2% have found a new job, according to a nationwide survey “Adaptation of Ukrainians to the conditions of war”, conducted by the Rating sociological group on March 19.
As noted in the results of the study, most of all the loss of work affected the residents of the east of the country (74%), young people under 35 years old (60%) and those who left their city (66%).
The economic situation as a result of the war did not change only for 18% of citizens, for 52% it deteriorated significantly, for 28% it rather worsened.
Some 40% of respondents believe that their savings will last only a month. However, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic taught Ukrainians how to save money and the percentage of those who increased their material security during the crisis grew: the Rating reminded that during the first quarantine in April 2020, 55% believed that they had enough savings just for a month.
In the course of the study, 1,000 respondents over the age of 18 were interviewed using the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews) method in all regions, except for the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, and type of settlement. The error of the representativeness of the study with a confidence probability of 0.95: no more than 3.1%.
