Austria will allocate EUR5 million to Ukraine for farmland clearance and EUR2 million to support the Grain from Ukraine program amid a visit by Austrian Foreign Ministry chief Beate Meinl-Reisinger to Kiev on Friday, Die Presse reported.
“For Meinl-Reisinger, the trip to Kiev is the ‘first real trip abroad’ in her new position, as Brussels, which she visited last week, is not really a visit to another country for her,” the publication wrote.
The European media outlet added that the Austrian foreign minister’s luggage includes a check for EUR5m to help demining agricultural land and EUR2m to supply Ukrainian grain to Middle Eastern countries that need it.
German Chancellor Jens Plötner’s security adviser, Jens Plötner, left unannounced for Washington on Friday for talks.
Together with his British counterpart Jonathan Powell and French President Emmanuel Bonn’s security adviser, they will meet with Mike Waltz, the US National Security Adviser, at the White House on Friday, Die Welt reports, citing diplomatic sources.
“The diplomatic lightning trip, which was organized at short notice, comes at a critical moment in the negotiations on a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the newspaper reports.
Sweden will allocate $137.7 million for the restoration and development of Ukraine, as well as for its urgent humanitarian needs, Swedish Minister for International Development Benjamin Dusa said on Thursday.
According to him, this is the largest civilian aid program in Sweden’s history: it includes funds for infrastructure restoration, demining and training of medical workers.
Dusa added that support for Ukraine is, in particular, a matter of Swedish security.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a bilateral meeting on Thursday, during which they announced a 28-package military aid package for Ukraine worth EUR 200 million, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation between the defense ministries of the two countries, the press service of the Finnish Ministry of Defense reports.
“Three years of war against Russia have made the Ukrainian armed forces one of the strongest in Europe. At the same time, the country has gained extensive experience in defending itself against Russia. Therefore, it is obvious that when developing our own defense, we must listen carefully to the lessons of Ukraine and rely on their experience,” Häkkänen said.
It is noted that the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding between Finland and Ukraine is to deepen defense cooperation, and the areas of closer cooperation include defense materials, information exchange, research and innovation, ammunition production, and defense-related projects in Finland and Ukraine.
In addition, at the meeting, Finland announced another 28th arms aid package to Ukraine, worth about EUR 200 million, which is still pending approval by the Finnish government and president.
“As before, the content of the aid package is not disclosed in detail. However, we can say that this time it includes, among other things, artillery ammunition, which is in great demand. It is a huge achievement that there is broad political support and national unity in our country to help Ukraine. It is also important that we have been able to combine support for Ukraine with strengthening domestic supply security through the industrial support program,” Heikkanen said.
It is also reported that in January, Finland decided on the 27th aid package worth almost EUR 200 million. In late February, Finland announced an industrial program worth EUR 660 million to order new defense equipment from the Finnish defense industry to support Ukraine.
With the implementation of the latest decisions, the total value of Finland’s material assistance will increase to EUR 3.3 billion.
Changes in revenue of the consolidated budget in 2021-2023 (%)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
On March 11, farms in the Chernivtsi region began planting early potatoes to be grown under agrofibre, the press service of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration reported on Facebook.
“Thanks to favorable weather conditions, farms in the Vyzhnytsia region are planting potatoes of the ultra-early Riviera variety, though under agrofibre,” the post reads.
According to the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration, the region’s annual gross production of potatoes is more than 650 thousand tons, and vegetable crops – more than 250 thousand tons. The main producers of vegetables and potatoes in the Chernivtsi region are private households, which account for 99.7% of the total regional crops.
The area of these crops in 2025 will remain at the level of last year, namely 35.9 thousand hectares for potatoes and 14.6 thousand hectares for vegetables and melons.
“Sowing of vegetables and potatoes in the open field in the region will begin in late March and early April,” the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration said.
