The European Investment Bank (EIB), which already approved a EUR668 million immediate financial support package for Ukraine on March 4, may increase assistance and develop an additional support package for the country’s reconstruction after the war end, bank president Werner Hoyer said.
“We are working hard to provide more support — I envisage a package for a total of EUR2 billion from the EIB — for critical infrastructure and to rebuild what the Russian army has knocked down, in a free and independent Ukraine. We also hope to announce in the coming days further financing to support Ukraine’s neighbors in and outside the European Union as they offer shelter and protection to refugees fleeing war,” he said.
“The European Investment Bank made the first two disbursements totaling EUR129 million to the government of Ukraine for the most urgent needs. These funds are part of the EIB’s Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response of which EUR668 million was approved by the EIB Board of Directors on March 4. The financing benefits from the EU guarantee under the External Lending Mandate and complements other initiatives announced by EU institutions,” the report says.
“We are grateful to the European Investment Bank for close cooperation and efficient use of existing mechanisms to support Ukraine in these difficult times. We appreciate the swift actions, which allowed us to get essential funds for meeting the country’s urgent financial needs. We also hope to discuss new projects aimed at rebuilding economic and social infrastructure in the country in the near future,” Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
Over 200 enterprises have applied for assistance in evacuating to the west of Ukraine, some are already in the process of moving, member of parliament and head of the committee on finance, taxation and customs policy (the Servant of the People faction) Danylo Hetmantsev has said.
“As of March 10, there are over 200 applications. There are enterprises that are already in the process of moving,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
The parliamentarian clarified that the appeals come from representatives of the food, woodworking, textile, fuel chemical industries, medicine and mechanical engineering.
The State Customs Service will confiscate goods and vehicles when trying to smuggle under the guise of humanitarian aid instead of a fine, as it was in peacetime, first deputy head of the department Oleksandr Shutsky said.
“The state customs and the military administration warn: if earlier it was just a protocol on violation of customs rules and a fine, now the goods will be confiscated, and vehicles will also be confiscated,” he said during a press briefing in Zakarpattia region on Thursday.
Shutsky added that the confiscated property would subsequently be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the military administration.
The official specified that since the beginning of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation, there have been few attempts to pass off smuggling as humanitarian aid. Thus, the smugglers tried to carry household chemicals, food, hygiene products, and luxury goods under a simplified procedure without customs payments.
“We see that attempts have begun to cover (commercial deliveries) with public organizations and humanitarian supplies. Therefore, we warn,” he stressed.
Ukraine’s losses from destruction due to a full-scale war against Russia amount to at least $100 billion, the war has led to a complete shutdown of half of Ukrainian enterprises, Oleh Ustenko, adviser to the President of Ukraine, said.
“Currently, about 50% of our business is not working. The rest of the enterprises are operating at the limit of their capabilities,” Ustenko said during an online discussion hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics on Thursday.
According to preliminary estimates, the cost of destruction, including infrastructure, hospitals, residential buildings, has reached $100 billion, but this is a rough estimate, he said. According to Ustenko, Russian assets frozen in various countries, including the reserves of the Russian central bank, should be used to finance the restoration of these destructions in Ukraine.
The adviser to the President of Ukraine also noted that the possibility of using the arrested assets of Russian oligarchs for these purposes is being calculated.
Earlier, deputy head of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk, in an interview with Bloomberg, also estimated the fall in the country’s GDP in the days after the war started by Russia on February 24 at 50%.
According to head of the NBU Kyrylo Shevchenko, in an interview with Dzerkalo Tyzhnia on Thursday, the territories of more than 10 regions, as well as the city of Kyiv, which accounted for more than half of the country’s GDP, are currently covered by hostilities and massive shelling.
“An accurate forecast of GDP can only be made after the end of hostilities,” he said.
Shevchenko pointed out that the impact of the war across sectors is uneven: the service sector suffered the most, while some sectors reoriented production under martial law to the production of products for the needs of the country’s defense (food and textile industries, engineering, production of building materials). In his opinion, this can to a certain extent reduce the impact of the war on the economy.
As reported, Ukraine’s GDP in 2021 for the first time amounted to about $200 billion.
Lithuania’s Seimas has adopted a resolution in which it invited all member states of the European Union to support Ukraine’s aspirations to become a full member of the EU as soon as possible and to agree on granting Ukraine the status of an EU candidate.
“The Lithuanian Seimas unanimously adopted a resolution, which invites all member states of the European Union to support Ukraine’s aspiration to become a full member of the European Union as soon as possible, and to agree on granting the EU candidate status to Ukraine,” the Lithuanian Seimas tweeted on Thursday.
“The Seimas resolution also states that “Ukraine should be subject to an accelerated procedure for accession to the European Union without reservation”,” LRT.LT reports.
“Granting Ukraine the candidate status at this time would be an important sign of moral support for its people, who are defending their homeland and their right to decide their country’s future, without sparing their lives,” the resolution reads.
“The Seimas also maintains that admitting a country whose people have shown “incredible will and determination in their fight for European values” to the European Union “will inspire and strengthen the Union itself”,” it reads.
The resolution notes that Ukraine has been seeking EU membership for more than a decade and that Ukraine and the EU have been bound by the Association Agreement for the past five years. Thus, according to the resolution, Ukraine’s application to join the EU is the result of its strong commitment to European integration.
Also in the resolution, the Lithuanian Seimas confirms its readiness to provide Ukraine with all possible assistance in its quest for EU membership.
Accor, operator of the Novotel and Ibis brands; Hilton; and Hyatt will not be opening any new hotels in Russia, and they are suspending all partnerships with Russian companies, though they will continue to operate existing hotels, the hotel chains said in their respective statements.
“The French owner of the Novotel and Ibis hotel chains said that it has suspended all planned openings and developments in Russia and any partnerships with Russian companies, though it will continue to operate its more than 50 hotels in the country in order to support its 3,500 Russian employees,” the Financial Times wrote.
Accor was the first international hotel chain to announce a halt, followed by Hilton, operator of the LXR Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria, Hilton brands and others, and Hyatt. Neither Marriott nor IHG has issued a statement regarding the matter.
“We have now taken the decision to suspend our development activities and any new investment in Russia, and the decision is effective immediately,” the Hyatt hotel chain posted on its official news site.
Hyatt also notes that it will continue to monitor the situation in Russia, while complying with the directives of the U.S. government, as it hopes for a resolution to the crisis.
The Hilton hotel chain said late on Wednesday that it had closed its corporate office in Moscow and would suspend construction of hotels in Russia. The company said in a statement that it would also continue to monitor the situation in Russia.
Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin had previously canceled a meeting scheduled for this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Accor’s plans for 2022 had included the opening of five new hotels in Russia. Overall, there are 50 hotels open in the country, with 21 of them operating in Moscow.
The online booking services of Airbnb and Booking.com have also ceased operations in Russia.
The Radisson hotel chain has stated that it would remain in Russia. “All Radisson Hotel Group hotels in Russia will continue to operate. We are closely monitoring the situation in the region, we care about the well-being of all guests and team members, and continue to adhere to all instructions,” the company said in a statement.
