Two warships belonging to the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, on Friday, June 18, entered Odessa seaport.
According to Odessa-based Dumskaya online publication with reference to its own correspondent, British destroyer HMS Defender D36 and Dutch HNMLS Eversten F805 entered the port. The ships were escorted by the port tugboats Bulat and Patriot.
“This is not the first time that British Type 45 destroyers have been to Odessa – a few years ago HMS Duncan [2017 and 2019] and HMS Dragon [2020] visited us, but the Defender is in the Black Sea for the first time. The Defender joined the Royal Navy in March 2013. The total displacement is 8,500 tonnes, length is 152 meters, width is 21, draught is over 7 meters, and speed is over 30 knots,” the journalists said.
They add that the Defender is equipped with such naval gun systems as a 114-mm Mark 8 Mod, a pair of 20-mm Mark 15 Phalanx and two 30-mm Oerlikon.
“Missile armament is 2×4 launchers for Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 48 launchers for Aster-15 or Aster-30 missiles. There are two Lynx helicopters or one Merlin in the hangar,” the message said.
It notes that the Eversten entered the Black Sea region in 2019, but visited Trabzon, Poti and Constanta. The ship joined the Netherlands Navy in June 2005. Its length is 144 meters, width is 19, and draught is 5 meters. Total displacement is over 6,000 tonnes, its crew consists of over 200 people, and speed is over 28 knots.
The artillery armament of the Dutch vessel consists of one 127-mm main-caliber gun, a seven-barreled 30-mm gun Goalkeeper, a pair of Oerlikon, and Browning machine guns.
“Missile armament consists of eight Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 40 vertical launch launchers MK41 for the Standard SM2 missile defense system SM2 Block IIIA [32 missiles ammunition], Sea Sparrow RIM-7R [four cells, 32 missiles ammunition]. Torpedo armament consists of two twin-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes MK32 [for torpedoes MK46]. There is an NH-90 helicopter in the hangar,” the journalists said.
It is noted that the ships are part of the escort of the newest British aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth, which recently launched a round-the-world voyage, and shortly before entering Odesa, they both conducted joint maneuvers with American destroyer USS Laboon DDG58.
number of unemployed in ukraine and job opportunities, Feb 20 – may 21
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE ECONOMY OF UKRAINE AS OF 09/30/2020 (BALANCE, $ MILLION)
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has met with Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhyt Sultanov following the results of the 14th meeting of the joint Interstate Ukrainian-Kazakh Commission on Economic Cooperation. “Sultanov noted that Ukraine is one of the leaders in the field of agro-industrial complex and IT, therefore Kazakhstan is interested in developing cooperation in these areas,” the press service of the government said.
Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine is interested in developing cooperation with Kazakhstan and considers it an important partner in Central Asia.
“Our countries have a good potential to increase trade. I am convinced that close cooperation between our governments will contribute to further growth in the economic performance of the two countries,” he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, at a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, assured Baghdad that Kyiv will remain a reliable guarantor of Iraqi food security.
According to the MFA press service, during the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, the ministers discussed the development of trade, in particular the increase in the volume of Ukrainian agricultural exports to Iraq.
On Kuleba’s initiative, a delegation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs will visit Iraq to look for new trade opportunities between the countries. Kuleba said that Ukraine will remain a reliable guarantor of food security for Iraq, an important trading partner in the Middle East region.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy expressed support for Iraq’s efforts in the fight against terrorism. The sides paid special attention to the issue of protecting the rights of Ukrainian citizens on the territory of Iraq.
Kuleba also expressed his readiness to work together to increase the number of Iraqi students in Ukrainian educational institutions.
Ukraine may try to refuse cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the electoral cycle 2023-2024, analysts at Bank of America (BofA) believe.
According to the BofA Global Research report, which is owned by Interfax-Ukraine, analysts believe that it may be extended to 2022 “given limited progress.”
“However, we also think that the Ukrainian authorities may try to ‘graduate’ from reliance on IMF financing during the next electoral cycle in the second half of 2023 – the first quarter of 2024,” the analysts said in the report.
According to the report, the authorities may be open to the idea of a new program after the elections as part of broader cooperation with the West, but may prefer not to be bound by IMF conditionality and the usual implementation problems during the electoral campaign.
According to BofA, this may lead to a period without an active IMF program, although some form of cooperation will likely remain in place in any scenario.
The next Verkhovna Rada elections are planned for October 2023, followed by presidential elections in March 2024. This leaves 2022 as the remaining window for continued close cooperation with the IMF, BofA believes.
“We think the extension of the current SBA program [under the stand-by arrangements] for another year or so is the most likely scenario. The extension may allow Ukraine to roll over at least part of its nearly $3 billion in maturities to the IMF in 2021-2022,” BofA said in the report.
Ukraine’s ability to withhold official funding is likely to directly depend on fiscal consolidation in 2022-2023.
At the same time, as noted by BofA, a flexible approach to fiscal policy is likely to mean the need for IMF financing even during the electoral cycle.
Although Ukraine must fulfill a number of conditions in the current program of the Fund, analysts still believe that Ukraine will be able to pass the first test and receive the first tranche in July-September 2021.
