German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is optimistic on the allocation of EUR50 billion for Ukraine, Reuters reports.
“We have other ways to help Ukraine, but we have not given up the goal of finding a solution here,” Scholz said.
German Chancellor and French President Emmanuel Macron hope that Ukraine will receive help from the EU.
As reported, an extraordinary meeting of the European Council, which is to decide on the revision of the EU budget, as well as on the continuation of EUR50bn funding for Ukraine until 2027, will be held at the end of January-February, but there is no specific date yet. At the same time, the European Commission intends to work on a contingency plan that will make it possible to do so.
On Friday, Lithuania handed over a new batch of military aid to Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces sent several million rounds of ammunition and several thousand shells for short-range portable anti-tank grenade launchers to Ukraine. The aid shipment also includes about a thousand folding beds, the statement said.
“We hear the urgent requests of Ukraine and continue to provide assistance in accordance with the stated needs. We actively encourage our allies to do the same,” Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.
According to the Ministry of Defense, in addition to the regular transfer of military equipment, Lithuania also actively trains Ukrainian servicemen, provides medical treatment and rehabilitation, expert advice, and allocates funds to international funds for Ukraine.
As noted, for the period of 2024-2026, Lithuania will provide Ukraine with a military assistance package of EUR 200 million to counter Russia’s full-scale military aggression.
In January-November this year, Ukraine reduced pig iron exports in physical terms by 3% compared to the same period last year, to 1 million 190.442 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), pig iron exports in monetary terms amounted to $450.576 million in the period under review (down 25.2%).
At the same time, exports were carried out mainly to Poland (53.49% of supplies in monetary terms), Spain (22.4%) and the United States (9.95%).
In the first eleven months of 2023, Ukraine imported 79 tons of pig iron worth $132 thousand from Germany (50.38%) and Brazil (49.62%), while no pig iron was imported in November. In the same period last year, 40 tons of pig iron worth $23 thousand were imported.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of processed pig iron by 59% in physical terms compared to the previous year – to 1 million 325.275 thousand tons, and by 61.1% in monetary terms – to $638.774 million.
In 2022, Ukraine imported 40 tons of pig iron worth $23 thousand, while in 2021 it imported 185 tons of pig iron worth $226 thousand.
Exports were made mainly to the United States (38.47% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (32.91%), and Turkey (8.12%), while imports were made from Germany (100%).
In January-November this year, Ukraine increased exports of ferroalloys in physical terms by 7.2% year-on-year to 341,674 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, exports of ferroalloys decreased by 44.6% to $295.068 million in monetary terms.
The main exports were to Poland (53.17% of supplies in monetary terms), Turkey (13.58%) and the Netherlands (8.51%).
In addition, in the period under review, Ukraine imported 7.819 thousand tons of these products, which is 61.5% less than in January-November 2022. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 58% to $29.693 million.
Imports were carried out mainly from India (21.16%), Armenia (17.14%) and China (16.31%).
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of ferroalloys in physical terms by 47.7% compared to the previous year – to 349,560 thousand tons, in monetary terms by 46% – to $564.136 million. At the same time, the main supplies were made to Poland (53.25% of exports in monetary terms), the Netherlands (13.13%) and Romania (5.66%).
In addition, last year Ukraine imported 20.546 thousand tons of these products, which is 65.5% less than in 2021. In monetary terms, imports decreased by 59.1% to $72.705 million. Imports were carried out mainly from Norway (22.67%), China (15.60%) and Kazakhstan (14.10%).
The business of the Stakhanov and Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plants (SZF and ZZF) was organized by PrivatBank (Kyiv) before the nationalization of the financial institution. Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant is controlled by EastOne Group, established in the fall of 2007 as a result of the restructuring of Interpipe Group, and Privat Group.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says that in the coming days Ukraine will receive the next and last tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.5 billion in 2023, which will build a “small but important bridge” necessary to allow further financing of EUR 50 billion for the period up to 2027. This issue will be discussed at an extraordinary EU summit to be held in late January – early February 2024.
She said this on Friday in Brussels at a press conference after the European Council meeting. “In the coming days, we will disburse the last EUR 1.5 billion for Ukraine this year, which was agreed as part of the so-called macro-financial assistance package for 2023. This will be disbursed in the next few days – EUR1.5 billion. This will help Ukraine finance its needs at the beginning of the year 2024. This is important to build a small but important bridge (to new financing). We are using the time before the European Council meeting (so that) either we have the agreement of the 27 (member states) or we will work on alternatives that will allow us to make operational decisions when the time comes. It is very important for us that there is consistent, predictable and reliable funding for Ukraine. This is important for Ukraine, for the business environment and investors,” said von der Leyen.
For his part, President of the European Council Charles Michel expressed confidence that a solution would be found to continue financially supporting Ukraine. “I am confident that a solution will be found, because the starting point is that we have the support of 26 leaders to fulfill our promises. And the other point is what we call the ‘negotiating box’ – the latest proposals have been encouraged by 26 member states. This means that we will start the next meeting knowing that 26 member states support the same goals, the same priorities, including a EUR 50 billion package for Ukraine over 4 years. We have various tools available to ensure that we will be able to deliver on our promises,” he assured.
On December 15, the company’s specialists turned on access to mobile Internet on the entire territory controlled by Ukraine. The service is available in all communication standards, including 4G. The service may be available at a reduced speed, but as the network stabilizes, its quality will improve. Over the past day, international roaming services have also been restored. Earlier, voice and fixed-line Internet services were restored. More than 95% of mobile base stations in the government-controlled territory are in good working order. The company will announce 100% availability of its services upon completion of all stabilization measures. The company is currently working on launching SMS services and restoring access to the My Kyivstar system. In some localities there may still be short-term communication difficulties, but the company’s specialists are working to resolve them promptly. If your SIM card is not registered in the network, you need to restart the phone or turn on and off the airplane mode. Selecting Kyivstar network in the phone settings also helps. At the same time, the company informs that bonuses and compensations will be credited to subscribers who could not use communication services due to the hacker attack only after the network is fully stabilized and all services are launched. Please wait for official information from the company. Thank you for your understanding and support
