The COVID-19 pandemic has not ended, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine continues to provide oxygen supplies to COVID clinics, Minister of Health Viktor Liashko has said. “The coronavirus has not disappeared. There is only one pandemic in the world, nothing has disappeared, despite the fact that this topic is not on the front pages,” he said on the air of the 1+1 TV channel on Wednesday.
Liashko noted that the Ministry of Health continues to provide COVID hospitals with oxygen in the required volume.
He also said that there is enough COVID-19 vaccine in Ukraine, but the vaccine campaign is hampered by logistical problems.
Alfa-Bank (Kyiv) denied media reports about its withdrawal from the Ukrainian market, the bank’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
“This is a fake. We are now resuming the work of branches in those cities where possible. All information is promptly posted on our social networks,” the press service emphasized.
According to the bank’s Facebook post, there are 26 branches in Ukraine in 16 cities of Ukraine. The list is being updated.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2021 Alfa-Bank ranked sixth in terms of total assets (UAH 115.443 billion) among 71 banks operating in the country.
A dialogue on international guarantees for Ukraine should be started and carried out as soon as possible, adviser to the President’s Office head Mykhailo Podoliak believes.
“It is absolutely realistic to talk about security guarantees for Ukraine from the leading powers,” he said on Wednesday, answering a question from Interfax-Ukraine about the feasibility of developing a guarantee mechanism in the face of a sharp deterioration in relations between the West and Russia.
“For example, Ukraine’s accession to the European Union can be seen as the initial element of such guarantees. But a substantive dialogue on safeguards must be initiated and carried out as quickly as possible. Our partners know exactly what this means. Now is not the time to reveal details publicly, but it is definitely the time to implement a workable safeguards model,” he said.
Systematic support for Ukraine with a plan to restore it for EUR100 billion, tougher sanctions against Russia and overall energy independence are the main postulates that Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki presented at a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on March 1.
According to the report on the website of the Polish government, Morawiecki stressed the need for a broader view of the Ukrainian issue.
“It is also very important to prepare an investment package for Ukraine, because the economy needs new investments and new jobs, and energy security is necessary as an important element of recovery after the war, which may end soon,” the official said.
According to him, this will also lead to the fact that this part of Europe will finally become independent of Russian gas, oil and coal.
“This is a necessary condition for peace to reign here in the long term,” the prime minister of Poland summed up.
During his visit to Brussels, Morawiecki demanded the most detailed package of sanctions and stressed that it was necessary.
At the moment, it is not known when new negotiations with the Russian Federation will take place, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“We are ready for negotiations, we are ready for diplomacy, but we are by no means ready to accept any Russian ultimatums. It is unknown at the moment when the new negotiations will take place,” Kuleba said on his Facebook on Wednesday.
He added that the demands of the Russians remain unchanged. “These are the demands that Putin voiced in his address before the start of the war, in fact declaring war on us,” Kuleba said.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the government is actively developing mechanisms for stable supplies of food, medicine and essential goods throughout the country.
“Now the government is actively developing mechanisms for stable supplies of food, medicine and essential goods throughout the country,” Shmyhal said in a video message on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the prime minister, at the moment the Coordinating Center for the Provision of Food Products, Medicines, Drinking Water and Fuel is operating under the leadership of First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, and the Humanitarian Aid Coordination Center is also operating under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishina.
