President Vladimir Zelensky would like to hold a summit of Latin American countries and Ukraine to convey his position on the peace formula.
“Latin America is very important, I would very much like to do a conference, I would like to do a meeting, a summit of Latin American countries and Ukraine,” Zelensky said at a press conference Friday.
He said it’s hard for him to leave the country, but that’s the kind of meeting he would go to.
“I would be able to convey to them, their media, their society,” Zelensky stressed.
The president also said that Ukraine needs to make steps toward a meeting with the countries of the African continent.
“We worked very badly for many years, we did not pay attention – this is a big mistake. That’s why a special program was adopted to expand the ambassadorial presence in the region,” he added.
Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would like to involve both India and China in the peace formula
“There is a point of fixing and the end of the war, we need security guarantees. When there is fulfillment of the points – then there is also respect for the people, for the Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
The National Agency for Detection, Search and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) has finished accepting applications from candidates for the position of asset manager of mineral water producers and sellers, in particular, Morshynska produced by IDS Ukraine holding.
According to the agency’s website on Friday, six companies applied to ARMA. Their representatives intended to participate in the competitive selection of a manager for the seized assets of producers and sellers of mineral waters.
The agency specified that it would consider the proposals of potential managers and would decide on the results of the selection after a thorough examination of the documents submitted by them to determine whether they meet the requirements of the tender. Information on the outcome of the tender will be made public immediately after the decision.
The agency reminded that on February 9 it announced a competition in which the participants were proposed to manage the corporate rights of the company-producer of soft drinks and mineral water in the form of 100% share in the authorized capital of this legal entity in the amount of 8,8 million UAH. Furthermore ARMA is looking for the manager of corporate rights of a foreign company, namely the shares in a legal entity specializing in the wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco products, with a total nominal value of UAH 4.5 mln.
As reported, on February 10 ARMA announced a competition for the selection of a manager for arrested assets of IDS Ukraine, which produces and sells mineral water under brands Morshynska, Mirgorodska and Borjomi.
Earlier, Marko Tkachuk, the general director of IDS Ukraine, said in response to Interfax-Ukraine news agency inquiry that the transfer of corporate rights of the company worth more than UAH 10 billion to ARMA will not affect the economic activities of the group. He also reminded that the decision about the transfer of corporate rights of the sanctioned IDS shareholders with Russian citizenship to ARMA was made by Kiev Shevchenko District Court on November 9 and 11, 2022.
On November 23 last year, the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BES) reported about the arrest of corporate rights of the Russian shareholders of IDS Ukraine in order to avoid their withdrawal from Ukraine of the assets of seven enterprises for the production and sale of drinking water. According to the BEB, these enterprises are actually owned by them through a non-resident offshore company under their control.
IDS Ukraine is a Ukrainian group of companies founded in 1996, the largest national producer of bottled water. The holding includes Morshynsky mineral water plant “Oskar”, “Mirgorod mineral water plant”, the distribution company “IDS” and water delivery operator “IDS Aqua Service”.
GK owns trade marks Morshinskaya, Mirgorodskaya, Alaska and Aqua Life.
Ukrainian IT companies attracted about $1 billion in venture capital investments in 2022, mainly these were investments by foreign companies, while the activity of most Ukrainian companies from other sectors that invested in IT development before the war has dropped to zero, said Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation on IT Development Alexander Boryakov.
“I will not give a clear figure. I can guess up to $1 billion last year (the number of venture capital investments in IT) even in conditions of a full-scale war,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, since the beginning of the war, the interest of venture capitalists in the sector has declined sharply, but activity resumed in the summer. In particular, Blue&Yellow Heritage Fund (the first venture fund of the American company Venture Capital to work with Ukrainian IT-projects – IFU) was founded for $50 million. Also several foreign funds ready to invest over $10 million each are known, added the deputy minister.
“I do not see people in Ukraine today who would allocate funds for this. Just imagine, before the war, the same DTEK, Metinvest had groups that were engaged in innovations and investments. However, I don’t think that against the background of how many facilities suffered because of the full-scale Russian invasion, these groups have funding. Kyivstar, Vodafone, Pinchuk’s group had similar projects. Now the majority of the projects are winding down”, – Mr. Boryakov said.
He added that about $15 million have been attracted as grants and donations. Approximately $0.5 million in grant support has been provided by partners from USAID CEP, WNISEF, GIST, EIT Raw materials and YEP. About $40 million from the beginning of full-scale war is estimated by Google, grants were also provided by Microsoft and Amazon.
The top three areas of interest to investors, according to Boryakov, include web3, mil-tech, and artificial intelligence.
The deputy minister did not make predictions about possible investments that could be allocated to the IT-sphere in Ukraine in 2023, noting that “much will depend on the situation with military action.”
“However, with the initiative that we launch (mil-tech startups), if done right, it is possible to attract even more funds (than in 2022),” he said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has thanked UN member states for extensive support for the Ukrainian resolution “Principles of the UN Charter that underpin a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine,” which was adopted the night before.
“The General Assembly expressed strong support for the importance of restoring a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine based on the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. We welcome that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s vision for peace in Ukraine, as proposed in the Ukrainian Peace Formula, is clearly reflected in the resolution adopted today,” reads the commentary released Thursday evening.
The Foreign Ministry noted that the General Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, which extend to its territorial waters, and identified further steps to end Russian aggression, restore peace and the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the global
“The resolution renews Russia’s call for the immediate withdrawal of all troops from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and the cessation of hostilities,” the office stressed.
It also said that an important outcome was that the UN recognized the need to guarantee accountability for crimes under international law committed on the territory of Ukraine.
“We thank the UN member states for the large-scale support of the Ukrainian resolution, which will be an important step towards further implementation of the Formula of peace President Vladimir Zelensky to restore peace and the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” – said in the Foreign Ministry.
As reported, on Thursday, February 23, in the renewed 11th emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on Russian aggression against Ukraine, 141 states voted “FOR” the resolution initiated by Ukraine “Principles of the UN Charter underlying the comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in Ukraine”.
On February 23, the Ukrainian-Polish art project “War through the Prism of Art” was presented in Kiev at the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Art plays an important role in highlighting the horrors of the war and in overcoming its consequences, so the presentation of Ukrainian works in the European scientific and cultural space is very important, said Professor of Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, Honorary Restorer of Ukraine Yulia Ivashko.
“In March, a conference will be held at the University of Lodz where the role of the artist and art in covering the war in Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction will be discussed. In addition, exhibitions of works by Ukrainian photographer and defender Sergey Belinsky have already been held in the Czech Opava and Ostrava, and in the near future an exhibition will open in Polish Poznan,” Iwashko said at a press conference in the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Thursday.
According to her, the tragedy of the war in Ukraine forced everyone to reconsider their system of values.
“Now we Ukrainians are changing the world, and in such projects it is very important to feel a sense of elbow of our European friends, so to speak,” she stressed.
The head of the press service of the 28th separate mechanized brigade of the AFU named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign Sergey Belinsky, who is the author of the works presented at the exhibition, thanked Polish colleagues for their support and stressed that the art project was started since the first days of the war and gradually became not only artistic, but also scientific.
“This is not only an exhibition of photographic works, but also a record of the devastation in the south of our country. In addition to the photo exhibition itself, we have already published two books with photos, descriptions and stories,” said S. Belinsky.
Head of the press service of the 28th separate mechanized brigade of the AFU named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign Sergey Bilinsky, who is the author of the works presented at the exhibition, thanked Polish colleagues for their support and stressed that the art project was started since the first days of the war and gradually became not only artistic, but also scientific.
“This is not only an exhibition of photographic works, but also a record of the devastation in the south of our country. In addition to the photo exhibition itself, we have already published two books with photos, descriptions and stories,” said S. Bilinsky.
According to Anastasia Urakina, an architect and young scholar, a graduate student at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, war and the risks associated with it can lead to various psychological traumas, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and others. That is why the art project “War through the prism of art” together with the Kyiv think tank “Experts Club” are conducting a course of psychological rehabilitation and art therapy for people of all walks of life – children, disabled people, the elderly and others.
“The groups will be led by professional psychologists and artists, and the classes will be held at the Kyiv-based think tank Experts Club. There will also be art therapy classes and exhibitions of works by Ukrainian artists,” emphasized Urakina.
ART, ART_THERAPY, BELINSKY, EXPERTS CLUB, KNUBA, UNIVERSITY OF LODZ, ІВАШКО, ПАВЛОВСЬКА, УРАКІНА
The ICE-calculated index showing the dollar’s dynamics against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound and Swedish krone) is losing 0.03% in trading, while the broader WSJ Dollar Index is stable.
The minutes of Wednesday’s Jan. 31-Feb. 1 U.S. Central Bank meeting showed that Fed policymakers plan to continue raising rates, believing that current levels are not enough to curb economic activity to beat inflation. At the same time, they believe that the cycle of rate hikes could be completed this year.
According to the minutes, meeting participants also noted that the restrictive policy will need to be maintained until the Central Bank has “confidence that inflation is on the path to a steady decline to the 2% level.”
Eurozone inflation stats released Thursday confirmed investors’ view that the European Central Bank will continue to tighten policy sharply.
According to final data from the European Union Statistical Office (Eurostat), consumer prices excluding food and energy (CPI Core Index, an indicator of core inflation) rose at a record annual rate of 5.3% in January. They had been previously reported to have risen 5.2% in January, and analysts did not expect the data to be revised.
The estimate for consumer price growth as a whole was revised to 8.6% annualized from the previously announced 8.5%, Eurostat said.
The euro/dollar pair was trading at $1.0603 as of 8:15 a.m., up from $1.0596 at market close on Thursday.
The pound is at $1.2023 from $1.2013 the day before.
The U.S. currency fell to 134.58 yen against 134.68 yen in trading during the previous session.
Kazuo Ueda, who was nominated as the head of the central bank by the Japanese government said during his speech in the parliament on Friday that he considered it reasonable to keep ultra soft monetary policy in Japan in order to achieve the central bank’s inflation target. At the same time, he made it clear that he sees various options for controlling the yield curve of government bonds in the future.
