The mobile operator lifecell in April expanded the coverage of high-speed mobile Internet of 4G standard in 674 settlements in all regions of Ukraine.
According to the operator’s report, in general, as of the end of April, 10,745 settlements were connected to the 4G network by lifecell, where a total of more than 27.7 million people live.
In April, lifecell network was expanded in 674 settlements, of which 667 settlements with a population of up to 5,000 and seven settlements – up to 25,000 people.
“In April, the average use of data traffic per data subscriber was 12.4 GB. This figure increased by 22% compared to the same period in 2020. The 4G subscribers increased the average monthly use of mobile Internet by 20%, to 10.8 GB,” the operator said.
As of the end of April 2021, the leaders in the use of lifecell mobile Internet were:
– up to 5,000 people – Dryzhba (Yampil district, Sumy region), Baturyn (Chernihiv region) and Bibrka (Sambir district, Lviv region);
– up to 25,000 people – Koziatyn (Vinnytsia region), Kamianka (Cherkasy region) and Zdolbuniv (Rivne region);
– up to 50,000 people – Irpin, Vyshneve and Fastiv (Kyiv region);
– up to 100,000 people – Brovary (Kyiv region), Uman (Cherkasy region) and Boryspil (Kyiv region);
– up to 500,000 people – Chernihiv, Vinnytsia and Cherkasy;
– million-person cities – Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv.
At the same time, in April the volume of voice calls in the lifecell network increased slightly by 3% compared to April 2020.
The Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture maintains its forecast for the growth of Ukraine’s GDP in 2021 at 4.6%, Minister Ihor Petrashko, has said, commenting on a statement by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Yulia Svyrydenko about the expected GDP growth of 5.1% in 2021.
“We keep our forecast at 4.6%, the first quarter it is 3% down, so far for the two months it is 2.2% down,” Petrashko said in an exclusive comment to Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday on the sidelines of the Ukraine 30 forum.
This forecast takes into account the risks of additional lockdowns, the minister said.
“We hope that there will be no [strict quarantine restrictions]. Last year we predicted a 4.8% decline of the economy, but in fact we got a drop of 4.2%,” Petrashko said.
“There are no such talks [about an all-Ukrainian lockdown] for the entire Ukraine,” he said.
Consignors – which can only be Gazprom – have not been interested by offers of additional capacities for gas transportation through Ukraine for June from Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU).
Gazprom has a long-term reservation of Ukrainian capacities in the volume of 40 billion cubic meters for 2021, which is equal to 109 million cubic meters per day. The company additionally booked 15 mcm at auction on May 17, giving a total of 124 mcm per day.
GTSOU offered an additional 63.7 mcm per day at the monthly auction on Tuesday; however, there were no bids for this. The outcome of the last major additional auction a month ago was the same.
The announcement of this auction – with the prospect of significant supply growth on the European market – and its outcome have a substantial influence on spot prices for gas on the European market. They reduce under pressure of the appearance of potential new supply and rebound following an unsuccessful auction. Meanwhile, Gazprom prefers not to comment on its plans regarding short-term reservation of Ukrainian capacities.
Gazprom is currently pumping 124 mcm per day on average through Ukraine, fully using the volume booked.
If Gazprom had accepted the offer to use additional transit capacities, it would have meant a return to transportation volumes through Ukraine of 2019, before the new transit contract and payment of $3 billion to Naftogaz in line with a Stockholm arbitration ruling.
Europe is currently dramatically increasing gas consumption. Global supplies of liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas from Russia are at their highest levels, but this so far impedes the start of mass replenishment of gas in underground storage facilities to prepare for next winter.
In connection with the situation in Belarus, Ukraine is ready to provide states and private companies with its airspace for reorganizing air routes, the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine said, with reference to minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. “The events in Belarus have become an international precedent. Our priority is the safety of passengers and aviation. The primary task is the prompt organization of all events in strict accordance with international and national legislation. Ukraine is ready, on its part, to provide maximum support to states and private companies in the process of restructuring routes through our airspace,” Kubrakov said.
As reported, Ukraine stops air traffic with Belarus from May 26. The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on May 25.
Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Ukrainian government to prepare a decision on the termination of flights between Ukraine and Belarus in connection with the events that took place at Minsk airport on May 23.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 25/05/21
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of May 25
Source: Central Bank
