The European Union has transferred the first EUR300 million to Ukraine from a EUR1.2 billion macro-financial assistance package, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter on Friday.
“Putin’s war exerts brutal military and economic pressure on the brave people of Ukraine. Europe stands firmly by their side. Today we disbursed EUR300 million in emergency Macro-Financial Assistance to Ukraine. This is the first payment of a EUR1.2 billion package. So more will come,” she said.
As reported, the decision to provide macro-financial assistance was made by the European Parliament and the European Council on February 24, 2022 and agreed by the European Commission on March 1.
The assistance is divided into two equal tranches: the first is provided without any conditions, and the second after Kyiv fulfills a number of agreements with the EU.
Ukrposhta resumed delivery from the largest marketplaces and online stores: OLX, prom.ua, Rozetka, eva.ua, as well as online clothing stores, in particular, children’s clothing, consumer goods, children’s toys, goods for the home, etc., the company’s press service said on Friday.
“Now many Ukrainians are faced with the fact that it has become a problem to buy ordinary things in a store: due to logistical restrictions, when the store simply cannot deliver products on time, or due to a sharply growing demand due to internal migration, some groups of goods have temporary shortage. Ordering goods on the marketplace can partially solve the problem. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that Ukrposhta has resumed the delivery of online orders. Gradually, we will resume delivery from all sites that we worked with before the war, because we understand how important it is for our customers. In addition, the resumption of delivery from marketplaces will allow Ukrainian entrepreneurs to return to work, earn money and strengthen the economy,” Ukrposhta Deputy Director General for Business Development Olena Stepina was quoted as saying.
It is said that as of March 11, some 4,783 branches of Ukrposhta are operating. In addition, mobile departments leave for routes where it is safe.
Minister of Education and Science Serhiy Shkarlet says there will be no entrance exams to universities, and enrollment will take place through a special electronic system.
“There will be no exams at universities, in order to avoid manifestations of corruption. A mechanism similar to external independent assessment will be created, but without the participation of a child. Everything will be transparent, since the computer does not take part in any corruption schemes,” Shkarlet said on Ukrainian TV channels.
Shkarlet said that entry into universities will be carried out according to some kind of electronic system.
He also said that a bill has already been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, which cancels the final certification in the external independent assessment for graduate students for 2022.
The Minister is confident that the Parliament will adopt this bill in the near future.
Capacity utilization of Ukraine’s transit corridor on Friday remains at the same high level, in line with the long-term contract volumes of 40 billion cubic meters per year or 109 million cubic meters per day.
European buyers have increased nominations for Gazprom’s gas after prices soared due to the imposition of sanctions on Russia. Gas prices at the TTF hub were $1,383 per thousand cubic meters on Friday morning.
“Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit via Ukraine as scheduled in accordance with the requests of European consumers – 109.5 mcm on March 11,” the company’s official spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov told reporters.
As confirmed by data from the Ukrainian GTS Operator, the nomination for March 11 is 109.4 mcm, while that for March 10 was also 109.4 mcm.
Since February 24, when Russia launched a war against Ukraine, the number of refugees from Ukraine to Poland has reached 1.52 million, the Polish Border Guard Service reported on Twitter on Friday.
According to it, on March 10, some 87,000 people from Ukraine crossed the Polish border, and on March 11, as of 7:00, another 25,400.
According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at 13:00 Kyiv time on March 10, in general, the Russian military offensive against Ukraine forced 2.473 million people to leave the country in 15 days of the war in search of security, protection and help.
The department clarifies that 60.6% of all refugees fell on the share of the Ukrainian-Polish border, while Hungary received 225,050, Slovakia – 176,090, Moldova – 104,930, Romania (data as of March 8 ) – 84,670, and other European countries (data as of March 9) – 258,840.
According to the OHCHR, 99,300 arrived in Russia from Ukraine, and 860 arrived in Belarus.
The department indicates that after a slight decrease, the flow of refugees has increased again: if, after a peak of 208,940 on March 6, the next day it decreased to 200,900, on March 8-9 – to 185,180 and 174,620, respectively, then on March 10 it jumped again to 190,430.
“As the situation continues to evolve, about 4 million people may leave Ukraine,” the OHCHR notes.
According to it, as of mid-2021, there were 53,470 Ukrainian refugees in the world who applied for the appropriate status, of which 36,490 were in Europe.
As of mid-2020, the OHCHR estimated the Ukrainian diaspora in the world at 6.1 million, including 5 million in Europe.
The organization clarifies that the right to free movement within the Schengen area means that there are very few border controls in the European Union, so arrivals in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia only reflect border crossings in these countries, however, according to the UN, a large number of people moved to other countries.
In addition, the OHCHR does not take into account persons from border countries who leave Ukraine and return home.
The Australian authorities have decided to soon impose a ban on the import of oil, gas, coal and oil products from Russia, The Guardian reports on Friday, citing a representative of the Australian Foreign Ministry.
“This decision does not threaten Australia’s energy security. Australia has diversified and sustainable oil supply chains and adequate oil reserves thanks to the government’s comprehensive energy security policy,” he said.
The ban will take effect no earlier than in 45 days. In this regard, the representative of the ministry specified for The Guardian, ships carrying already paid energy carriers from the Russian Federation will be able to arrive for shipment in Australian ports.
He noted that Australia does not import these goods from Russia in significant volumes. At the same time, the diplomat expressed the opinion that since energy resources are the largest source of export earnings to the Russian Federation, restrictions on their acquisition by Australia and its allies will reduce Moscow’s ability to operate in Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a decree banning the import of oil, oil products, as well as liquefied natural gas and coal from Russia, which led to another jump in prices on the global energy market.
The British authorities also announced their intention to stop buying Russian oil within the next few months.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times said that the U.S. authorities are actively looking for new energy supplies after the refusal to import Russian oil, trying to prevent further growth in fuel prices at American gas stations.
