Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said the federal government of Canada will change its sanctions law to allow seized and sanctioned foreign assets to be redistributed as compensation to victims or to help in rebuilding a foreign state from war, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has reported.
“Today, we are seeking the capacity to not only seize but to allow for the forfeiture of the assets of sanctioned individuals and entities and to allow us to compensate victims with the proceeds… These changes would make Canada’s sanctions regime the first in the G7 to allow these actions,” Joly said in a statement on Tuesday.
The CBC said that Canada is among a number of countries to have imposed sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine on February 24. The changes that Canada aims to bring to its sanctions law will mean that funds or property seized from Russia could be paid out to help rebuild Ukraine or go to those affected by Russia’s invasion.
The text of the bill says the seized assets can be used for “the reconstruction of the foreign state adversely affected by a grave breach of international peace and security.” The funds could also be used for “the restoration of international peace and security” and to compensate victims when that security is breached.
A similar bill that would allow Canada to seize and confiscate Russian assets for the purpose of supporting victims of Russian attacks was already tabled by Sen. Ratna Omidvar and is poised to be approved by the upper chamber.
According to the CBC, the Ukrainian Embassy to Canada has urged lawmakers to quickly enact Omidvar’s bill. “We believe it is absolutely fair that Russian state property or ill-gotten assets of Russian oligarchs must become a part of reparations by the aggressor state to the victim of the aggression… By passing the Bill S-217 Canada will demonstrate leadership and could set an example for others to follow and show that the Russian kleptocratic corrupt regime will pay the full cost of its crimes against Ukraine,” the embassy said in a statement.
Vasyl Khmelnytsky, the founder of the UFuture holding, is considering the creation of an industrial park on the territory of the Syhnivka industrial zone in Lviv for the relocation of Ukrainian enterprises.
“We are considering the option of creating an industrial park here [in Lviv] so that our production facilities do not go abroad, but remain in Ukraine and create jobs in our country,” the entrepreneur said on Facebook after a meeting with Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy on Tuesday.
According to Khmelnytsky, the possibility of implementing the project is currently being discussed.
UFuture is a holding company that brings together Khmelnytsky’s business and social projects. It has a diversified portfolio of assets in real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and IT. The value of UFuture’s assets is estimated at $500 million. The total capitalization of the businesses in which it has invested is up to $1 billion.
Representatives of the US Embassy in Ukraine are preparing to return and resume work in Kyiv.
“It’s great to be back! Today, members of the Embassy team traveled to Lviv to meet with key partners, including the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. This visit was the first step towards more regular travel in the near future. Preparations are underway to resume work in Kyiv as soon as possible,” it said. in a tweet from the US Embassy on Wednesday night.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of April 27
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 27/04/22
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
The total amount of direct documented damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure as a result of the Russian military invasion has reached almost $88 billion, Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak said in a telegram.
“Over the past week, direct losses to the Ukrainian economy due to destruction and damage to civilian and military infrastructure have increased by $3.1 billion,” he wrote, referring to the “Russia will pay” project implemented by the KSE Institute with the support of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Reintegration and the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Yermak noted that the total losses of the Ukrainian economy – direct and indirect – due to the war range from $564 billion to $600 billion.
“Russia must be responsible for all crimes and destruction in our state, and it is at the expense of the aggressor, in addition to international assistance and money from our budget, that Ukraine must be restored,” the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine stressed.
He clarified that this estimate of the cost of losses from the ongoing war has so far been made only on the basis of public sources.
According to the data he cited, as of today, at least 23 thousand km of roads, 277 bridges and bridge crossings, 11 military airfields, 1 airport have been destroyed or seized.
In addition, 535 kindergartens, 866 institutions of secondary, higher and higher education, 231 medical institutions, 173 factories and enterprises, at least 75 administrative buildings were damaged or destroyed.
