The Pentagon has successfully tested a new long-range precision-guided bomb and will send the first batch of the weapon to Ukraine, Politico reports.
“Ukraine will receive its first batch of small-diameter ground-launched bombs, a brand new long-range weapon created by Boeing that even the United States does not have in its arsenal,” the publication wrote, citing anonymous sources.
The weapon was developed jointly by Boeing and Saab. The new bomb, which can cover a distance of more than 150 km, is expected to be “a significant potential for Ukraine.”
At the same time, the representative of the US Department of Defense, Major General Pat Ryder, refused to comment on the timing of the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine “for reasons of operational security.”
“We continue to work closely with Ukraine and our industry partners to ensure that Ukraine receives and is ready to use the capabilities we provide them as soon as possible,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
In 2023, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” reduced fuel consumption by almost half compared to 2021 – to 16.8 thousand tons, saving approximately UAH 1 billion, said the company’s CEO Yuriy Bolokhovets.
“In 2021, the enterprise of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine purchased 34.7 thousand tons of fuel, in 2023 our company has already spent about 16.8 thousand tons. It is clear that the comparison is conditional. Not all state forestry enterprises have joined the Forests of Ukraine, and the volume of timber harvesting has partially decreased. However, the savings are obvious,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to him, such indicators were achieved due to centralization and increased control.
“The director of the branch (forestry) no longer determines the norms as he sees fit. Standards have been approved that are uniform for all. We promptly detect and severely punish “tricks” with writing off fuel for equipment that was not actually working,” explained Bolokhovets.
The general director of Forests of Ukraine said that each inspection of the branch by the Security Department involves an analysis of how and where the equipment was used and the result of its work.
“Forests of Ukraine also plans to introduce online monitoring systems for the movement of special and loading equipment. The ERP system, which automates data accounting and processing, is being prepared for procurement.
In addition, the state-owned enterprise purchases fuel mainly centrally through Prozorro. The price is lower than the ceiling price at gas stations (before the reform, some forestry enterprises managed to buy 30% more expensive).
“Taking into account the de-shadowing and transparent procurement, up to a billion hryvnias have been saved on fuel,” Bolokhovets summarized.
As reported, Ukraine launched a forestry reform in 2016. As part of it, the sale of raw wood at electronic auctions has already been introduced. Since 2021, an interactive map of wood processing facilities has been operating in a test mode in a number of regions.
The industry has implemented the Forest in a Smartphone project, which contains a list of logging tickets for timber harvesting and allows you to check the legality of logging on the agency’s online map.
On June 1, 2023, Ukraine launched a pilot for the electronic issuance of logging tickets and certificates of origin of timber. In addition, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has launched a pilot project to procure timber harvesting services through the electronic platform Prozorro.
The Odesa Regional Military Administration, together with Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards, customs officers and representatives of the EUBAM mission, continues preparations for the launch of the first Odesa-Chisinau air shuttle, said Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration.
“This should speed up the passage of Ukrainians traveling to Chisinau International Airport and relieve the border crossing points (primarily in the area of the Mayaky-Palanka-Udobne checkpoint). Organized transportation of passengers will also reduce the load on the region’s roads by cars and improve the level of service for the population in the field of international transportation,” Kiper wrote in his telegram channel.
He noted that the transfer will be carried out in several stages: passenger registration in the electronic system with a copy of the plane ticket departing from Chisinau, the formation of passenger groups 2-3 days before the departure of flights, after which buses with pre-registered passengers will depart from Odesa. Passengers of the air transfer will undergo customs and border procedures in an expedited mode.
The total planned travel time is 4 hours.
“We will do everything to launch the first buses in the near future,” added Kiper.
In 2024, the State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine will continue its transformation and plans to create a centralized procurement organization (CPO), the agency said in a statement presenting its 2023 results and plans for 2024 to international partners.
“The goal is to increase the Agency’s efficiency, transparency and accountability. The creation of the CPO will increase expertise in public and international procurement, introduce expert review of project documentation, ensure centralized price monitoring and competitive salaries,” said Mustafa Nayyem, the Agency’s head.
The event was organized with the support of the USAID/UKaid project “Support to the Reform of State-Owned Enterprises in Ukraine”. SOERA project with the support of the American and British peoples through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department for International, Commonwealth and Development (UKaid). The event was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, representatives of foreign embassies, international financial organizations and international companies.
Presenting the results of the work for 2023, Nayyem emphasized that the Recovery Agency is a sustainable and strong institution capable of implementing projects of various scales in the areas of social and housing construction, energy security, road infrastructure development, export, military and humanitarian logistics.
According to him, one of the largest projects of the Recovery Agency in 2023 was the protection of energy facilities at three levels, with assistance from partners from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
The first level – big bags and gabions – protected 103 facilities in 21 regions of Ukraine for UAH 2 billion. By March this year, 22 substations and 63 substation elements will receive the second level of protection against drones and shaheds, with UAH 9.4 billion already financed and 12 facilities ready.
According to Nayyem, the third level – protection of 22 substations from missiles in 14 regions of Ukraine – is planned to be completed by the end of 2024, subject to sustainable funding, which is estimated at UAH 67.6 billion.
The second major project being implemented by the Agency, according to its head, is the construction of a 145 km water pipeline to provide 1.5 million people with drinking water after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up by Russian troops. The work began in June 2023, and UAH 8.5 billion of the UAH 13.5 billion has already been financed. Nayyem noted that consulting engineers and representatives of independent technical supervision are working at each of the sites, and a comprehensive technical audit of project documentation will be conducted separately with the assistance of the USAID ERA “Economic Support for Ukraine”. In addition, all reports, along with the results of the audit and examination, as well as estimates, will be made public after the examination.
The Head of the Agency added that a special focus is on the reconstruction of social facilities. The reconstruction of settlements affected by the hostilities continues: Borodyanka (Kyiv region), Yahidne (Chernihiv region), Trostyanets (Sumy region), Tsyrkuny (Kharkiv region), Posad-Pokrovske (Kherson region). In total, the Agency is reconstructing 352 objects, including 292 housing, 31 social infrastructure, 16 street and road infrastructure, 8 administrative buildings, and 5 housing and communal facilities. 75 contracts were signed as a result of 87 tenders for UAH 3.8 billion.
Nayyem also said that in 2022-2023, the Agency repaired 330 bridges, and another important area of its work is to provide military logistics and reconstruction in the de-occupied territories. In 2023, traffic was restored on more than 1.2 thousand kilometers of roads and 89 bridges damaged by hostilities were repaired. The Czech Republic, the United States, France, Sweden, and Norway provided artificial bridges, the Agency’s head said.
He reminded that after the outbreak of full-scale war, 70% of exports are delivered by road. In order to develop export routes, 23 checkpoints on the western and southern border have already been transferred to the Agency’s management, and 6 more are in the process of being transferred. Repair work has already begun at 11.
Nayyem also emphasized the changes made by the Agency to reduce procurement abuses, increase transparency of its activities, and prevent corruption. Unified procurement methods for civil construction, monitoring and analysis of procurement services have been introduced, an effective dialogue with the market has been established, and procurement certification according to the standards of the Chartered Institute of Procurement Services (CIPS) has been introduced. The Agency received the Prozorro Awards for its transparent approach to recovery procurement. The Agency signed a memorandum with the NABU on preventing and combating criminal corruption offenses. The Transparency and Accountability Council was established. ISO 37001 certification was launched: management system for combating corruption offenses.
The Agency is the technical administrator of all-Ukrainian systems developed with the support of international partners: DREAM is a single digital route for all reconstruction projects, E-queue is an electronic border crossing system, and GIS RD is a geographic information system for regional development.
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for 1 pln, in 01.10.2023-31.10.2023)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Vladyslav Andronov, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, has been appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud, replacing Mykola Povoroznyk.
According to the company’s announcement in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the supervisory board made the decision on January 29.
In turn, the territorial community of Kyiv, which owns 80% of the shares of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud represented by the Department of Communal Property, on January 26 announced the recall and termination of the powers of the chairman of the supervisory board, Mykola Povoroznyk, who had held this position since December 2022.
Since June 2022, Andronov has been the deputy head of the KCSA for self-government powers. Previously, he served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food from 2017 to 2021.
As reported, at the end of December 2023, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko instructed to form a new composition of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board of Kyivmiskbud PrJSC in a short time. Earlier, the head of the company, Ihor Kushnir, announced that he was stepping down as the company’s chairman of the board and president after 12 years of service.
The audit of Kyivmiskbud conducted by Baker Tilly Ukraine Consulting, NHD-Audit LLC and Ernst & Young LLC found no signs of actions to bring the company to bankruptcy, concealment of financial insolvency or massive transactions by related parties. At the same time, the auditors found that Kyivmiskbud’s operations were disrupted by external factors, including COVID-19, a full-scale war, and the Ukrbud factor.
On November 17, the commission approved an interim report with recommendations and proposals for the further work of Kyivmiskbud, including the purchase of apartments in Kyivmiskbud facilities, consideration of a financial loan or additional capitalization of the company. The TAC also recommended that the Kyiv City Council appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to compensate Kyivmiskbud for the total planned losses associated with the completion of Ukrbud’s projects in the amount of UAH 2.28 billion.
HC Kyivmiskbud was established on the basis of the property of the state municipal construction corporation Kyivmiskbud in 1994 by merging controlling stakes in 28 enterprises and other assets in its authorized capital. The holding company consists of 40 joint-stock companies in which the company owns shares, six subsidiaries and 51 companies as associate members.
The main shareholder of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud, according to the NSSMC, is the Kyiv City Council (80%).
