The Cabinet of Ministers has simplified the conditions for exporting sunflower seeds to Bulgaria and established an automatic licensing regime instead of a non-automatic one.
According to the official website of the government, the decision was made at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday.
“Recently, the Republic of Bulgaria has agreed to liberalize the export licensing regime for one of these agricultural commodities, namely sunflower seeds. From now on, obtaining licenses to export sunflower seeds to Bulgaria will not require the approval of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and, accordingly, separate consultations with this country,” the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers quoted Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine – Trade Representative, as saying.
According to him, this should simplify the export of relevant Ukrainian products.
Earlier, in order to unblock Ukrainian exports of agricultural products through neighboring EU countries, the government introduced verification and approval (licensing – IF-U) of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower exports to Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Most often, collaborators, thieves and fraudsters are wanted
More than 7,000 people were put on the wanted list last year, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Most often, people are wanted for collaboration, theft, and fraud. Most of the wanted people are between the ages of 24 and 45.
7422 people were put on the wanted list in 2023 in Ukraine. This is the highest number in the last five years and 40% more than in 2021. On the eve of the full-scale search, 5,269 people were put on the wanted list in a year.
In 2023, the most common reason for being put on the wanted list was collaboration (Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code) – 21.7%. The top reasons for putting a person on the wanted list also include theft (Article 185 of the CCU) – 18.2%, high treason (Article 111 of the CCU) – 5.3%, and fraud (Article 190) – 4.8%.
44% of the persons in the registry were put on the wanted list in the frontline regions. Donetsk region leads the list with 752 persons (10.1%), followed by Kharkiv region with 696 (9.4%), Kherson region with 637 (8.6%), Zaporizhzhia region with 620 (8.4%) and Luhansk region with 561 (7.6%).
Almost half of the wanted persons are hiding from the pre-trial investigation authorities – 3,299 people, or 44%. The second place goes to those who are hiding from the court – 2,126 people. The top three are people who have been sentenced to a non-custodial sentence – 1,183 people.
Almost 18% of the wanted persons have been authorized to be detained, and another 15% should be kept in custody.
79% of wanted persons are men, women account for 21% of the total number in 2023.
The majority of people on the wanted list in 2023 are between the ages of 25 and 45. The oldest wanted person is 87 years old, and the youngest is 6 years old.
In total, as of the end of January 2024, 55,992 people were wanted.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/person-wanted-2023
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is thinking about replacing not only Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, but also a number of other leaders.
“Zaluzhnyi? We need a reset, a change of leadership, not only in the military. This is an issue that concerns the people who should lead Ukraine. We definitely need a reset, a new beginning,” he said in an interview with Italian television company RAI published on Sunday.
“I have something serious in mind that concerns not just one person, but the direction of the country’s leadership. When we talk about this, I mean the replacement of a number of state leaders, not just in one sector, such as the army. I am thinking about this replacement, but we cannot say that we have replaced one person here,” he said.
Zelensky said that if Ukraine wants to win, everyone needs to move in the same direction. “Being convinced of victory, we cannot be sad, we cannot give up, we must have the right positive energy… that’s why I’m talking about restarting, replacing. I have something serious in mind, it is not about one person, but about the direction of the country’s leadership,” he explained.
External financing of the state budget as of june 14, 2023, USD bln
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a meeting with the recently independent member of the supervisory board of Kyivstar, former U.S. Secretary of State and ex-CIA chief Mike Pompeo, who arrived in Kiev, the press service of the Office of the Head of State said on Friday evening.
It is noted that Yermak thanked the President of the United States, both houses and parties of the United States Congress and the entire American society for the strong support of Ukraine. He also expressed hope for the continuation of US support, because it is based on common democratic values and respect for international law, which the Ukrainian people defend.
The head of the Office of the President noted the need to send a clear signal to Russia that by its aggression it cannot violate the sovereignty of independent states and determine the fate of other free nations.
Pompeo noted after joining Kyivstar’s nabsociety board that talking about its nationalization would be a step backward because Ukraine will need a huge amount of private sector investment, foreign direct investment, and support from Europe and the private sector in the United States to overcome the effects of the war.
“If property rights, including those of shareholders in the United States, are not protected and companies that benefit the Ukrainian people are not preserved, it would be a strategic mistake for Ukraine and would make rebuilding Ukraine and supporting that country in the years ahead much more difficult and expensive and capital flows much more limited,” the former U.S. secretary of state emphasized.
Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President, KYIVSTAR, MIKE POMPEO
