Ukraine has recorded 16,993 new cases of COVID-19, in addition to 9,338 recoveries and 142 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Health Ministry said on Monday.
“Over the past day, February 13, Ukraine has recorded 16,993 new cases of COVID-19, including 1,447 children and 252 medical workers, while 18,938 persons have been vaccinated for COVID-19, including 5,658 who received the first dose, 8,981 who received the second dose, 95 who received an additional dose, and 4,204 who received a booster shot. In the past 24 hours, 2,270 persons have been hospitalized, 142 have died, and 9,338 have recovered,” the ministry said on Telegram.
There were 24,518 new cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine the day before, on February 12, 38,212 new cases of the disease were detected per day, on February 11, some 41,229 new cases of COVID-19 were detected per day, on February 10, some 41,694 new cases of diseases were detected.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ukraine has seen a total of 4,542,693 COVID-19 cases, including 3,788,395 recoveries and 102,950 deaths.
Ukraine is not planning to halt air traffic and is working to prevent risks for airline, the Ukrainian authorities said.
Reports about Ukraine closing its airspace are not true, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said in a statement on Sunday. The closure of airspace is Ukraine’s sovereign right; no such decision has been made, the ministry said.
“Today [on February 13], there was a working meeting in the Ministry of Infrastructure. Senior officials of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, state-owned enterprise UkSATSE, Boryspil International Airport and Ukrainian airlines attended the meeting dedicated to the situation on the air transport services market. A solution preventing any further exacerbation of the situation was elaborated at the meeting,” the ministry said.
A majority of airlines are continuing operations without any restrictions, it said.
“Some carriers face difficulties associated with fluctuations on insurance markets. The state, for its part, is ready to support air carriers and is planning to provide additional financial guarantees to support the aviation market,” it said.
Ukraine is currently in consultations with international partners, and the Ukrainian government is preparing relevant decisions, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said.
“The markets for insurance services, as well as capital markets, are vulnerable to the information space. We expect the situation to stabilize soon. In order to do that, the government, the President’s Office and our international partners are designing general decisions. If necessary, the state will ensure repatriation of all Ukrainian citizens from abroad,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
Later, Deputy Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Tymoshenko confirmed that the sky over Ukraine remains open, and the authorities have not taken any decisions to close the airspace.
EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) also made no recommendations to restrict flights in Ukrainian airspace, he said on Facebook.
“Most airlines continue to operate without restrictions. What is happening? Some airlines are experiencing difficulties due to insurance markets. So that passengers do not experience the inconvenience associated with this, today, together with the Minister of Infrastructure, we met with the leadership of the State Aviation Service, UkSATSE, Boryspil airport and Ukrainian airlines,” the deputy head of the President’s Office wrote.
According to Tymoshenko, Ukraine is ready to support air carriers and the necessary government decisions will be initiated in the near future.
Earlier a source in the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said that Ukraine had no plans to halt air traffic in its airspace at the level of the state, but airlines themselves could decide to suspend flights.
Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada member (European Solidarity) Oleksiy Honcharenko said earlier, citing his own sources, that air traffic could be halted in Ukraine on Monday afternoon following an insurance company’s decision to stop insuring civil aircraft.
The Council of the European Union approved on Friday the decision of the European Commission to provide additional macro-financial assistance worth EUR 1.2 billion to Ukraine.
“The current geopolitical tensions are having a severe economic impact on Ukraine. Member states are ready to provide EUR 1.2 billion macro-financial assistance. We decided to support the Commission’s proposal today, so that the financial help can reach Ukraine without delay,” President of the EU Council, French Minister for Economic Affairs, Finance and Recovery Bruno Le Maire said.
The decision will come into force after approval by the European Parliament, which should happen in the near future. The emergency macro-financial assistance is set to have a duration of 12 months and it would consist of two disbursements. The disbursement of the second tranche would be linked to the continuous satisfactory implementation of both an IMF programme and the policy measures agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding.
“Persistent security threats have triggered a substantial outflow of capital. Against the backdrop of the loss of access to international capital markets due to the heightened geopolitical uncertainty and its impact on the economic situation in Ukraine,” the EU Council press service said, justifying the urgency of providing additional assistance.
The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which entered into force on September 1, 2017, brings the Ukraine and the EU closer together. In addition to promoting deeper political ties, stronger economic links and the respect for common values, the agreement has provided a framework for pursuing an ambitious reform agenda, focused on the fight against corruption, an independent judicial system, the rule of law, and a better business climate.
Among other support instruments, between 2014 and 2021 the EU supported Ukraine through five consecutive Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) operations that totalled EUR 5 billion of loans.
On February 1, 2022, the Commission submitted a proposal for an additional 1.2 billion macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the form of loans to strengthen stability.
The same amount of assistance, but from France, was announced by President Emmanuel Macron during a recent visit to Kyiv. He called it “state guarantees for financing Ukrainian projects of French companies” within the agreement reached back in May.
The White House calls on the Americans in Ukraine to leave the country within the next 24-48 hours, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a briefing on Friday.
“We are continuing to reduce the size of our embassy footprint in Kyiv. And I want to take a moment to echo what both President Biden and Secretary Blinken have already said: We encourage all American citizens who remain in Ukraine to depart immediately,” he said at a briefing at the White House.
“Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event, in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Sullivan said.
He added that Washington would not send troops to Ukraine to evacuate citizens.
“If you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion,” Sullivan said.
Earlier this week, a White House official said that the United States was not planning a mass evacuation of American citizens from Ukraine with the help of the military, and Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the U.S. military deployed to Europe, if necessary, could help in the evacuation of American citizens without appearing on Ukrainian territory.
Mining company Ferrexpo with assets in Ukraine has reshuffled its board of directors, changing the scope of responsibility and status of some of its members, the company said in a press release on Friday.
In respect of the role of Senior Independent Director, the Board has elected to appoint Independent Non-executive Director Fiona MacAulay into this role in place of Vitalii Lisovenko, who has completed two and half years in this position.
In turn, Lisovenko will remain as an Independent Nonexecutive Director of the Group, and maintains a strong presence in Ukraine for the Board.
In addition, Independent Non-executive Director Ann-Christin Andersen has been appointed as Chair of the Group’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Committee, with this change effective as of today.
According to the press release, the Board announced the appointment of Natalie Polischuk as an additional Independent Non-executive Director, increasing the Group’s Independent Non-executive Directors to five. As part of the changes announced Friday, Polischuk has been appointed as a member of both the Audit Committee and HSEC Committee.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Lucio Genovese welcomed McAulay’s appointment as Ferrexpo’s Senior Independent Director amid an uncertain backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“As part of the rotation of roles announced today, Ann-Christin Andersen is appointed to the role of Chair of HSEC Committee, which we feel is an excellent fit given Ann-Christin’s background in renewable energy, circular economy sectors and industrial digitalisation. Finally, we are pleased to confirm the appointment of Natalie Polischuk to the Audit and HSEC Committees, who brings a wealth of experience of the Ukrainian business environment,” Genovese said, quoted in the press release.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
Ferrexpo owns 100% of the shares of Poltava Mining, 100% of Yeristovo Mining and 99.9% of Belanovo Mining.
U.S. Bechtel Overseas Corporation with a price offer of UAH 5.3 billion won the competitive selection of the contractor for the construction of the first section of the Kyiv bypass road.
As reported by the State Road Agency of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) on its Facebook page on Friday, in particular, it is about the first 18-kilometer section of the upcoming bypass road from the M-07 Kyiv-Kovel-Yahodyn highway to M-06 Kyiv – Chop.
It will be a new category I-a bypass road with bridges, overpasses, green bridges for animals and a flyover. In addition, open parking lots will be built, weighing platforms in motion, noise screens and modern lighting will be installed. The construction of a modern autobahn will start after the conclusion of the contract.
Bechtel Overseas Corporation is a world leader in engineering, procurement and construction. The company was founded in 1898 and is the largest construction company in the United States with projects in 160 countries on seven continents. Bechtel has built more than 24,000 km of roads in its history.
As reported, the first stage of selecting a work contractor for the construction of the first section of the Kyiv bypass road was held among three companies: Avtomagistral-Yug LLC, U.S. Bechtel Overseas Corporation and Turkey’s Onur.
