Showman and actor Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he will run for president in the presidential elections in Ukraine on March 31, 2019.
Zelensky made the corresponding statement during his appeal on the air of the 1+1 TV Channel, which was shown before the New Year’s address by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. The congratulation of the head of state was shown on the TV Channel after the New Year’s Eve.
“Now there is such a situation in Ukraine when every Ukrainian has three ways: the first one is to live as you live, go with the flow and this is normal, this is everyone’s choice; the second way is to collect your things and go to another country, earn money there and send them to the relatives and friends, and this is also normal; but there is also the third way – to try to change something in Ukraine. And I chose it for myself,” Zelensky said.
Thanks to the start of the operation of the Road Fund 3,800 kilometers of roads of both national and local importance have been restored, and 2018 has become a record-breaking year in terms of roads repaired in Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has said.
“Also, we have managed to implement several large-scale infrastructure projects. Among them are the launch of the Beskydsky tunnel, the start of supplies of General Electric locomotives [to Ukraine], and the launch of an express train to the Boryspil airport,” Poroshenko wrote on his page on Facebook on December 30.
Summing up, he said that “these successes are an excellent impetus for not slowing down the pace of the development of the transport infrastructure in 2019, too.”
Real wages in Ukraine in November 2018 compared with November 2017 increased by 11.4%, compared with October 2018 it increased by 2%, the State Statistics Service has reported.
According to the service, the average nominal wage of full-time employees in November 2018 compared with the previous month decreased by 0.6%, in annual terms it grew by 22.5%, reaching UAH 9,161, whereas in October it was UAH 9,218, in September it amounted to UAH 9,042, in August UAH 8,977, in July some UAH 9,170, June some UAH 9,141, May some UAH 8,725, April some UAH 8,480, March some UAH 8,382, February some UAH 7,828, and in January some UAH 7,711.
According to statistics, the largest rise in the average wage of full-time employees in November 2018 compared with November 2017 was observed in Poltava (by 27%), Zaporizhia (by 26.1%), Vinnytsia (by 26%), Kyiv (by 25.1%), Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Zakarpattia (by 24.2% each), Zhytomyr (by 24.1%), Mykolaiv (by 23.3%), Ivano-Frankivsk (by 23.2%), Rivne (by 22.8%), Lviv (by 22.7%), Chernihiv (by 22.4%), Volyn (by 21.8%), Kirovohrad (by 22%) regions and Kyiv city (by 19.4%).
Wage growth in Donetsk and Luhansk regions (excluding part of the JFO zone) was 21.3% and 18.3% respectively.
The highest level of wages in the past month was recorded in Kyiv at UAH 13,897, the lowest one in Chernivtsi region with UAH 7,221.
In November 2018 compared to the same month of 2017, wages increased in the area of administrative and support services (by 30.6%), construction (by 27.5%), financial and insurance activities (by 25.2%), industry (by 25%), transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities (by 24.2%), public administration and defense, compulsory social insurance (by 23.4%), agriculture, forestry and fisheries (by 22.9%), real estate transactions (by 20.8%), the provision of other types of services (by 20.3%), wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (by 19.4%), education (by 18.4%), temporary accommodation and catering (by 16.8%), and health care (by 17.6%).
The total amount of wage arrears in Ukraine in November 2018 decreased by 2.2%, since early 2018 it grew by 19%, and as of December 1, 2018 amounted to UAH 2.819 billion, the State Statistics Service has said.
According to its data, in November 2018, wage arrears at economically active enterprises decreased by 4.4% and on December 1, 2018 amounted to UAH 1.621 billion.
The decline of wage arrears was recorded in Chernivtsi (by 38.4%), Zakarpattia (26.8%), Khmelnytsky (22.5%), Cherkasy (14.1%), Vinnytsia (11.7%), Ivano-Frankivsk (by 10.5%), Rivne (7.3%), Zaporizhia (6.9%) regions and the city of Kyiv (5.5%).
At the same time, wage arrears in November 2018 increased in Kherson (by 30.2%), Zhytomyr (23.2%), Volyn (14.3%), Ternopil (10.3%), Sumy (5.7%), Kyiv (4.9%) and Poltava (4.3%) regions.
According to the statistics service, in November 2018 arrears in payment of wages increased in the sphere of accommodations and catering by 28.5%, to UAH 4.163 million, arts, sports, entertainment and recreation – by 14.2%, to UAH 0.69 million, education – by 14.6%, to UAH 10.114 million, in the wholesale and retail trade – by 8.6%, to UAH 28.759 million, transport, warehousing, postal and courier activities – by 8.1%, to UAH 212.877 million, in the field of professional and scientific and technical activities – by 5.3%, to UAH 143.207 million, and financial and insurance activities – by 5.1%, to UAH 20.703 million.
At the same time, debt has decreased in public administration and defense; compulsory social insurance – by 55.9%, to UAH 5.788 million, health care and the provision of social assistance – by 40.9%, to UAH 30.482 million, in the field of administrative and support services – by 14.4%, to UAH 9.416 million, information and telecommunications by 4.6%, to UAH 9.147 million, in agriculture, forestry and fisheries – by 4.1%, to UAH 23.15 million, and industry by 2.8%, to UAH 2.18 billion.
Sunflower stocks in Ukraine as of December 1, 2018 totaled 7.778 million tonnes, which is 15.4% more than a year ago, the UkrAgroConsult analytical agency has reported, referring to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
According to a posting on the website of the agency, as of December 1, 2018, crushing enterprises cut soybean stocks by 0.8%, to 1.128 million year-over-year.
Rapeseed stocks as of December 1, 218 were 14.1% lower than a year ago, being 199,200 tonnes.
Electricity consumption in Ukraine in January-November 2018, taking into account in-process consumption in power grids, increased by 1.8% over the same period of 2017, to 137.831 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has told Interfax-Ukraine.
Excluding in-process consumption, electric power consumption for this period increased 2.2%, to 110.212 billion kWh.
The industry of the country excluding in-process losses raised electricity consumption by 2.3%, to 47.407 billion kWh. In particular metallurgical industry consumed 27.013 billion kWh (2.1% more from January-November 2017), fuel some 3.22 billion kWh (2.3% less), machine building some 3.661 kWh (2% more), chemical and petrochemical some 2.883 billion kWh (10.1% more), food and processing some 4.085 billion kWh (1.7% more), construction materials some 2.116 billion kWh (1.5% more), others some 4.43 billion kWh (3.2% more).
In addition, agricultural enterprises consumed 3.523 billion kWh (5.9% more), transport some 6.272 billion kWh (1.6% less), and construction 850.3 million kWh (6.9% more).
The population of the country in January-November 2018 consumed 32.151 billion kWh (1.4% up), municipal and household consumers 13.917 billion kWh (2.8% up), other non-industrial consumers 6.091 billion kWh (6.8% more).
