On May 31, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine registered a European-made AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 for emergency medical use, according to the agency’s website.
The vaccine, developed by Oxford University and the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, is reportedly manufactured in Italy and has the trade name AstraZeneca. The AstraZeneca emergency vaccine has already been approved by the World Health Organization and has also been approved by the UK, EU, India and Canada.
By the end of the week, within the framework of the global COVAX initiative, 705,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive in Ukraine. It will be intended for vaccination with a second dose of those who have already passed the 12-week interval after the first vaccination, in particular, doctors and healthcare workers, JFO participants, social workers, clergymen, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, persons aged 65+. Also, the second dose of the vaccine is guaranteed to people who were vaccinated with residual doses or public figures.
Flynas Airlines (Saudi Arabia) enters the Ukrainian market with regular flights between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
The Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine said on Facebook that on May 31 a meeting was held between Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and CEO of Flynas Bander Al-Mohanna.
“Each new flight is, first of all, new opportunities for development of business, tourism and Ukraine’s integration into world markets. That is why the increase in regular routes of direct flights is among the priorities of the ministry. We want Ukraine to become a major international air hub, and such steps make us closer to this goal,” Kubrakov said.
Previously, Ukraine did not have regular direct flights with Saudi Arabia. For the flight, a transfer was needed through Istanbul, Doha or Dubai.
Flynas is Saudi Arabia’s leading low cost airline with a fleet of 30 aircraft. The airline operates over 1,200 flights weekly to 35 domestic and international destinations. The airline has recently entered into an agreement with Airbus to purchase 120 new aircraft for a total value of $8.6 billion.
MAIN TRADE PARTNERS OF UKRAINE IN % FROM TOTAL VOLUME (EXPORT FROM UKRAINE TO OTHER COUNTRIES) IN JAN-FEB 2021
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in January-March this year reduced capital investments by 1% compared to the same period last year, to $ 147 million from $ 148 million.
The unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2021 show that strategic investment declined 37% year-on-year as a result of the ongoing revision of the technology strategy and the completion of some key projects in 2020, while maintenance project investment increased by 32%, which brought its share in total capital investments to 30% and 70%, respectively (47% and 53% in the first quarter of 2020).
At the same time, Metinvest continued to implement the following key strategic projects: the construction of a cyclical flow technology at Pivnichny and Inhulets GOKs (completion of work at both GOKs is expected by the end of 2021), the construction of an air separation unit at Illich Steel Plant (detailed engineering documentation has been completed). Metinvest has also launched a project for thickening waste enrichment at Pivnichny GOK to reduce waste transportation costs and the cost of servicing pumping equipment at slurry pumping stations. The group continued the construction of new block No. 11 at the mine of the recently consolidated Pokrovske mine directorate to maintain production volumes.
“Despite the completion of the main work within the largest environmental project in the history of Ukraine – the reconstruction of the sinter plant at Illich Steel Mill, environmental issues remain a priority for the group,” the report emphasizes.
Thus, other environmental projects in the first quarter of 2021 included the reconstruction of the gas cleaning facilities of the foundry and the bunker rack of blast furnaces No. 4 and No. 5 at Illich Steel Mill, the reconstruction of the gas cleaning system of oxygen converters at Azovstal and the replacement of the gas cleaning equipment of the Lurgi 552-A roasting furnace at Pivnichny GOK.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. The group’s enterprises are located mainly in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The main shareholders of the holding are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
The revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group, in February this year increased by 17.9%, or $ 185 million compared to the previous month, to $ 1.216 billion from $ 1.031 billion.
According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated monthly results of the company’s financial statements, total EBITDA in February was $ 503 million, which is $ 125 million, or 33.1%, higher than in January ($ 378 million), while EBITDA from participation in joint venture amounted to $ 86 million (in January – $ 80 million).
According to the report, the adjusted EBITDA of the metallurgical division of the group for February 2021 amounted to “plus” $ 257 million (in January – “plus” $ 171 million), including $ 21 million from participation in joint venture ($ 13 million), while EBITDA of the mining division – $ 318 million ($ 234 million), including from joint venture – $ 65 million ($ 67 million). The management company spent $ 6 million ($ 7 million).
Total revenue in February consisted of $ 920 million ($ 789 million in January) from the metallurgical division, $ 426 million ($ 329 million) from the mining division, and $ 130 million from intra-group sales ($ 87 million).
The total debt of the company in February increased by $ 83 million compared to January, to $ 3.033 billion from $ 2.950 billion, while the volume of cash increased by $ 61 million, to $ 1.180 billion from $ 1.119 billion.
Funds used in investment activities amounted to $ 201 million, in financial activities – $ 90 million.
Metinvest in February received $ 58 million from the resale of square billets in the amount of 95,000 tonnes. In addition, $ 170 million was received from the resale of 258,000 tonnes of flat products, 47,000 tonnes of long rolled products brought $ 32 million, 89,000 tonnes of pig iron – $ 45 million
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), jointly managing the company.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
Vaccination centers were opened in Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa during May 29-30, where local residents can get vaccinated.
According to the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration, 3,467 people were vaccinated at the COVID-19 vaccination center created on the basis of the International Exhibition Center in the capital. In particular, 2,072 people received vaccinations on Sunday.
“Today the number of people wishing to get vaccinated was extremely large. For me, this is an evidence of the awareness and consciousness of people. Such a willingness to be vaccinated gives hope that with the availability of vaccines we will be able to overcome the pandemic in the country and in the world as a whole,” first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk said.
As reported, the residents of Kyiv who registered in the Diia application were vaccinated with the CoronaVac vaccine. Some 16 teams worked at the Vaccination Center. The vaccination team included a registrar, a doctor and a nurse, who underwent special training.
“All conditions have been created here for a safe vaccination process, and an ambulance team is on duty to provide emergency medical assistance, if any,” the message says.
In Lviv, a vaccination center was created on the basis of the Lviv Arena, which will work next weekend.
According to head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytsky, 1,041 local residents were vaccinated in two days.
“Lviv region is the leader in terms of vaccination rates, today almost 78,000 people were vaccinated and protected themselves from the coronavirus,” Kozytsky wrote on his Facebook page.
He reported that the entrance to the center is free. Also, if additional vaccine is available, the possibility of deploying such centers in other districts of the city will be considered, which will be announced additionally.
Another COVID-19 vaccination center was opened in Odesa on the territory of the stadium of the National University Odesa Law Academy, which will work from 0900 to 1700.
