Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that, according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer, the ICRC will return its representative to Kyiv.
“Had a telephone conversation with the President of the ICRC Peter Maurer. Received positive signal! The Red Cross representatives are returning to Kyiv. Our top priority now is to deliver humanitarian aid to the surrounded cities and evacuate people urgently,” Shmyhal said on Twitter.
Writer J. K. Rowling will donate around GBP 1 million to Lumos, a charity that raises funds to send aid to children in orphanages in Ukraine.
“I will personally match donations to this appeal, up to 1 million. Thank you so, so much to all who’ve already donated, you’re enabling Lumos to do crucial work for some of the most vulnerable children in Ukraine,” Rowling said on Twitter.
English ex-footballer David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, have made a donation to help Ukrainian children, the footballer said.
“Mothers are forced to flee with their children. Families are separating… The war in Ukraine has been going on for the second week, the needs of families are great, and 7.5 million children are now at risk … Victoria and I donated on behalf of our family to the @UNICEF 7 Fund Emergency Appeal,” Beckham said video message on Instagram on Tuesday and called on everyone to provide immediate assistance.
“The situation in Ukraine is truly heartbreaking. Please consider making a donation to the @UNICEF 7 Fund Emergency Appeal, if you have the opportunity, to provide immediate assistance to support the well-being of children, to help with medication and to provide a safe place for families,” Victoria wrote on Instagram.
During the period of Russian military aggression, Ukraine should allow the import and sale of fuel of the Euro-4 ecological standard, director of the A-95 consulting group Serhiy Kuyun said.
“It is necessary to temporarily allow the use of fuel of Euro-4 standards. The equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not notice this at all. Tanks, ZILs, diesel locomotives and others will go easily – this equipment is not new for the most part,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“Civilian transport will also survive. Strict European fuel requirements are mainly for environmental purposes. Now there are much more serious threats to our life and health than the exhaust in traffic jams from refugees’ cars,” Kuyun said.
According to him, there are interesting price offers for Euro-4 on the foreign market, which will increase the filling of the Ukrainian market with fuel.
Ukrainian athletes won two more medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics.
“The fifth day of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing brought Ukraine two medals. They were won in different classes of freestyle sprint skiing,” the National Olympic Committee said in a statement.
Oksana Shyshkova, performing among visually impaired athletes (guide Andriy Marchenko), has already won her second silver and fourth prize at this Paralympics.
Hryhoriy Vovchynsky has already collected a full set of medals in Beijing 2022, and he added bronze in cross-country skiing to gold and silver in biathlon.
In total, Ukraine’s national team has already won 19 medals: six gold, eight silver, five bronze, and ranks third in the medal standings, behind China and Canada.
The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on 8 March 2022 decided to purchase war bonds for the amount of UAH 20 billion due to the need to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for the duration of martial law.
“At the same time, the NBU will only provide limited financing for the critical expenses of the government. This will allow to minimize the risks of high inflation and disrupting macrofinancial stability and will facilitate quick return to market-driven operation of economy and financial markets after the war,” the central bank said on Tuesday.
This amount paid for war bonds constitutes approximately 1.3% of the total amount of Ukraine’s state budget expenditures for 2022.
The NBU said that the NBU is not a solo or even main sponsor of the government expenses.
“Despite the war, Ukrainian enterprises pay their taxes and large amounts are donated by people to support the Army. Our international partners also provide massive military, financial and humanitarian assistance,” the regulator said.
The central bank said that the NBU will take a separate decision if the further financing of critical expenses is required. It will take into account the military situation, social and economic standing of Ukraine, situation in financial markets and public finances, as well as other sources of budget financing.
“Lending to the government is a temporary measure taken by the NBU due to martial law. After the war is over and the economy is back to operating on market-driven principles, the NBU will return to its standard inflation-targeting regime with a floating exchange rate and will be reinstated the ban of financing the government,” the National Bank said.
The regulator said that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has amended the laws in order to allow these transactions between the NBU and government. Namely, it has decided temporarily for the duration of martial law to waive Article 54 of the Law of Ukraine on the National Bank of Ukraine that prohibits the NBU from granting loans to the state.
