Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation are raising UAH 175 million as part of the We Live Here project to provide transport and equipment for 146 engineering and demining groups of the Armed Forces Support Forces. SOVA jewelry house joined the initiative by creating silver pendants inspired by the motifs of a historic Ukrainian hut. All the proceeds from the sale of the limited edition jewelry will be used to help sappers in demining.
“Kyivstar is grateful to all its partners and those who care, thanks to whom UAH 154 million have been accumulated for the demining project “We Live Here” to provide 128 demining teams. Together with the SOVA jewelry house, we are launching a special piece of jewelry – a silver house, with all proceeds going to the project. By buying a piece of jewelry, you bring someone’s return home closer, because many people dream of returning to a safe home where there are no more mines,” says Hanna Zakharash, Kyivstar’s Corporate Communications Director.
SOVA Jewelry House joined the “We Live Here” project by Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation back in June and donated funds to equip two demining teams to clear the de-occupied territories. The mobile operator’s contribution to the project has now reached more than UAH 55 million.
“We joined the “We Live Here” project by Come Back Alive and Kyivstar because we share a common crucial goal – demining the country. It is symbolic that we are presenting the project with the houses on the eve of the Christmas holidays, when everyone makes wishes. We hope that this decoration will become special for Ukrainians and will always remind them of home, wherever they are,” said Anna Koval, SOVA’s Marketing and Sales Director.
All the houses of the limited edition jewelry are different, but they are united by the light from the windows, which is associated with coziness, home, and warmth. To create this effect, the jewelers made the windows of fancy enamel that glows in the dark. Each piece of jewelry combines the area code of your region with a unique number.
The “House” pendant is available in stores or on the SOVA jewelry house website at a price of 1690 UAH. The shades of the jewelry’s laces may vary.
“We live here” is a joint initiative of the telecom operator and the Come Back Alive Foundation for competent assistance to the army with the partnership support of 1+1 media group. 100% of the funds raised will be used to purchase gear, equipment and vehicles for 146 engineer and sapper groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The modern equipment will help protect the lives of the defenders engaged in demining and speed up the liberation of Ukraine’s territory and its waters from the dangerous legacy of war and occupation.
The project started in May 2023 and will continue until the target amount of UAH 175 million is reached. Anyone who cares can make a contribution and send a donation on the project website.
About Kyivstar
Kyivstar is Ukraine’s largest electronic communications operator, serving more than 24 million mobile subscribers and more than 1 million Home Internet subscribers as of September 2023. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cybersecurity services, digital TV, etc. Kyivstar helps subscribers, society and the country to overcome the challenges of wartime. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the company has allocated more than UAH 1.4 billion in aid to meet the humanitarian needs of the Armed Forces, society and subscribers. Kyivstar’s sole shareholder is the international VEON Group. The Group’s shares are listed on NASDAQ (New York) and Euronext (Amsterdam). Kyivstar has been operating in Ukraine for 25 years and is recognized as the largest taxpayer in the telecom market, the best employer and a socially responsible company.
Sweden is donating 1.4 billion kronor ($133 million) to Ukraine, which will be used, among other things, to support the population in the winter.
According to the website of the Swedish public broadcaster SVG, the new support package was presented by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Aid Minister Johan Forsell on Monday.
“This is the largest support so far in Sweden’s bilateral assistance to Ukraine,” Kristersson said at a press conference.
Of this package, 900 million kronor will go to the World Bank’s Ukraine Recovery Fund, which supports Ukraine’s energy, housing, healthcare and transportation infrastructure. In addition, money taken from Sweden’s aid budget will be used to purchase heaters and energy equipment. According to Forsell, this was the request made by the Ukrainian side to Sweden.
He also accused Russia of conducting “energy terrorism” against Ukraine. “Russia is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to ensure that civilians, who are already under severe pressure, will have an even harder time. With this package, we want to help Ukraine both build new and rebuild what has been destroyed,” Forssell said.
At the same time, Kristersson warned of the consequences if the EU countries fail to agree on an expanded long-term budget at this week’s summit in Brussels. “I still hope that everything will work out. But I want to emphasize that we are not talking about the usual European disagreements that we sometimes have, because then you just have another meeting later, and that would have huge consequences if we don’t agree,” he said.
In a new episode of the Experts Club YouTube channel, Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics, presented an analysis of macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and the world based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank.
Macroeconomic Indicators of Ukraine
Maksim Urakin cited data from Ella Libanova, Director of the Institute for Demography and Social Studies, who estimates that about 50% of citizens will return after the war.
“Demographics is an important factor for economic recovery, but the threat of depopulation and labor shortages cannot be ignored. In the medium term, the decline in the demographic growth potential in Ukraine can only be offset by migration,” Urakin emphasized.
The expert noted that the main risks to the economy remain the duration of the war and the instability of international aid.
“In the third quarter of 2023, Ukraine’s GDP growth slowed to 8.2%. The negative balance of foreign trade increased 3.2 times, which is an alarming signal. The public debt has slightly decreased compared to August figures, but in 2024 it may exceed the country’s GDP for the first time, which poses significant risks to economic stability,” the economist said.
Prospects for the Global Economy
The founder of Experts Club also analyzed the global economy, noting a slowdown in growth in 2024 to 2.2%.
“One of the key reasons for the slowdown in global economic growth is the decline in GDP in developed countries. We are witnessing the lowest GDP growth in developed countries since the 1980s, with the exception of the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented cycle of interest rate hikes by major central banks in recent years has also played a significant role in slowing growth. These rate hikes are driven by the need to control inflation, but at the same time, they limit economic activity,” the expert explains.
According to the expert, the current macroeconomic situation in Ukraine and the world requires further analysis. For Ukraine, the main challenges in the coming years will be the need to restore Ukraine after the war and manage the public debt.
For more information on the situation in the Ukrainian and global economy, please see the video on the YouTube channel “Club of Experts” at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJnfmie7bM
You can subscribe to the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ECONOMY, economy review, EXPERTS CLUB, MACROECONOMICS, URAKIN, world economy
Representatives of the Slovak carriers’ union blocked truck traffic through the Vysne-Nemecke checkpoint, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported on Monday.
“This information was reported at 16.10 by Slovak border guards. Carriers are restricting the movement of trucks traveling from Ukraine to Slovakia. The traffic of trucks leaving Slovakia is not blocked,” the telegram channel said.
Currently, there are 1263 trucks in the electronic queue to leave Slovakia at the Uzhhorod checkpoint, adjacent to the Slovak Vysne Nemecke checkpoint. Passenger cars and buses are being processed as usual.
OTP Bank (Kyiv) has signed a loan agreement with Concern Khlibprom PJSC, part of OKKO Group, for UAH 200 million for a three-year period to replenish working capital, the financial institution said in a release on Monday.
“Financing of food industry enterprises is currently one of the priority areas for the development of OTP Bank’s corporate business. The agreement with Concern Khlibprom is another confirmation of the successful implementation of this strategy,” Alla Biniashvili, a member of the Management Board of OTP Bank, said in the statement.
There is no information on the cost of the loan and its other terms.
According to the release, Concern Khlkbprom is one of the largest enterprises in the Ukrainian bread market, producing over 160 tons of bread, bakery, confectionery, and semi-finished dough and coffee products daily. The company’s structure includes five production units with a total staff of over 3000 employees.
In particular, the company’s products are represented on the Ukrainian and international markets by such brands as Agrola, Vinnytsiakhlib, Bandinelli, TM 2GO, Grill & Bakery, and Ljubljana. Khlibprom also owns its own coffee brand Harmony Sentivi.
“In 2022, Concern Khlibprom increased its net profit by 23.7% to UAH 21.1 million on revenue growth of 15.4% to UAH 1 billion 702.1 million, and its assets grew by 8.4% to UAH 920.3 million. Long-term liabilities increased by 1.2% to UAH 270.2 million, while current liabilities increased by 16.5% to UAH 327.7 million.
Effective interest rates on hryvnia loans ranged from 13.31% to 15.95% at the beginning of this year.
OTP Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hungarian OTP Bank Plc, was 10th among 63 Ukrainian banks in terms of total assets (UAH 103.14 billion) as of the beginning of October 2023.
Polish carriers have ended the blockade of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint, and truck traffic is moving as usual, the State Border Guard Service reports.
“Today at 2 p.m., the protest action of Polish carriers in front of the Dorohusk-Yagodyn checkpoint ended. Registration and passage of trucks across the border in both directions is carried out as usual,” the State Border Guard Service said in a statement posted on its telegram channel on Monday.
Drivers are asked to take this information into account when planning international transportation.
According to the State Customs Service, as of now, there are 1,000 trucks in line to enter Ukraine, 0 buses, 100 trucks to leave Ukraine, 473 trucks in the electronic queue, and 0 buses.
