In 2023, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC transported 30.58 million tons of grain cargo, up 5.9%, or 1.708 million tons, from a year earlier, said Valery Tkachev, deputy director of the commercial work department of UZ, at a meeting with agricultural market participants on Thursday.
According to him, 22.729 mln tons of grain crops were transported for export by rail, which is 178 thsd tonnes more than in 2022. Of these, 14.324 mln tonnes (-4.9%) were shipped to the ports, and 8 mln 405 thsd tonnes (+12.2%) – to the western border crossings.
“Before the embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain by neighboring countries was imposed in April, 900 thsd tonnes to 1 mln tonnes of grain were transported by rail per month. After the ban was imposed, the volume was almost halved. The work of ports in 2023 was significantly affected by the uncertainty of the “grain corridor”, Tkachev stated.
As reported, Ukrzaliznytsia transported 63 million tons of cargo for export in 2023.
Nova Group and Nova Poshta, together with the Come Back Alive charity foundation, have handed over the third batch of aid in the form of integrated communication devices (ICDs) to the Ukrainian Air Force as part of the Pack the Sky – Upgrade Air Defense project, the group’s press service said on Friday.
“This is the first project in Ukraine that comprehensively provides the air force with communications,” said Olena Plakhova, Nova’s director of reputation management.
According to the release, the exact number of KAZs transferred was not disclosed, but all of them have already been delivered to the Center Air Command and are helping to defend Kyiv, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, and other cities and villages in the central part of the country.
According to the report, the KAZs are domestic trucks with high cross-country ability, provided with the necessary equipment, machinery, and secure communications to effectively perform combat missions. Their main task is to accompany air defense missile systems.
The cost of one KAZ is about UAH 7 million.
As reported, last year, to strengthen air defense within the framework of the “Pack the Sky – Upgrade Air Defense” project, from June 1 to December 26, “Come Back Alive” together with Nova Poshta raised UAH 330 million.
It is noted that thanks to the Foundation’s operational work with manufacturers and engineers, in October 2023, before the end of the collection, “Come Back Alive” and “Nova Poshta” handed over two batches of equipment to air defense units: a batch of portable communication and control kits, as well as telecommunication kits and related equipment.
In Romania, farmers are blocking truck traffic to Ukraine at the Siret checkpoint, the reason and duration of the blockade are unknown, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.
“Truck traffic through the Romanian checkpoint Siret, opposite the Ukrainian checkpoint Porubne, is blocked! Farmers in Romania are blocking truck traffic through the Siret checkpoint. The reasons and estimated duration of the blockade are unknown. Traffic may be hampered in both directions,” the message posted on the telegram channel on Saturday reads.
The State Border Guard Service notes that no significant queue of trucks heading towards Ukraine has been recorded so far. There are 825 vehicles registered in the E-queue for departure.
At the same time, cars, passenger buses and pedestrians are allowed to cross as usual.
In Ukraine on Sunday, January 14, light snow, in the afternoon in the southern regions with rain, only in Odessa region without precipitation, reported Ukrhydrometcenter.
There is ice on the country’s roads.
Wind south, south-west, 7-12 m/s, in western regions in some places gusts of 15-20 m/s, in the Carpathians 20-25 m/s, blizzards in some places.
The temperature at night 7-12°, in the eastern, Sumy and Chernigov regions 13-18° of frost, in the daytime 0-5° of frost, in the Carpathians 4-9° of frost; in the western regions and southern part of the country at night 2-7° of frost, in the afternoon from 1° of frost to 4° of heat.
In Kiev on Sunday, light snow. The roads are icy. The wind is southwesterly, 7-12 m/s. The temperature at night is 7-9°, during the day 0-2° of frost.
According to the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Boris Sreznevsky. Borys Sreznevsky in Kiev on January 14, the highest daytime temperature was 9.5 in 2015, the lowest nighttime temperature was -24.3 in 1896.
On Monday, January 15, at night in the eastern regions and the Carpathians moderate, in the rest of the territory in some places light snow; in the afternoon without precipitation, in some places in the western and northern regions light snow.
Temperatures at night 2-7° frost, in central and southern regions and in the Carpathians up to 10° frost, during the day from 4° frost to 1° warm, in the south of the country 1-6° warm; in Crimea at night about 0°, during the day 3-8° warm.
The roads are icy.
The wind is south-western with a transition to north-western, 7-12 m/s, in some places gusts of 15-20 m/s.
In Kiev on Monday there will be light snow in some places. The roads are icy. The wind is south-western with a transition to north-western, 7-12 m/s, gusts of 15-20 m/s. The temperature at night and in the daytime is 4-6° of frost.
National Energy Company Ukrenergo on 11 January announced a tender for the purchase of insurance services for equipment during its transportation.
According to the message in the system of electronic public procurement Prozorro, the expected cost is 430 thousand UAH.
Documents are accepted until January 20.
The head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Lai Tsing-jeou, has won the presidential election in Taiwan, Western media report.
He received 40.2% of the vote, significantly outpacing his opponents. It is reported that almost all ballots have been counted. However, the Central Election Commission has not yet announced the voter turnout.
The media reminds us that the DPP will remain in power in Taiwan for the third consecutive term: Tsai Ing-wen has held the presidency for two four-year terms since 2016.
Hou Yui of the Kuomintang Party, who won 33% of the vote, has already congratulated Lai Tsing-jeou on his victory. Ke Wen-jeou, the founder and leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who managed to win 26.33% of the vote, also conceded defeat.
Later, Lai Tsingde thanked everyone who voted for him, as well as Hou Yui and Ke Wen-jeou, who agreed with the election results.
“We are telling the international community that when it comes to choosing between democracy and authoritarianism, we choose the side of democracy,” he said.
“The party of current Vice President Lai, which defends Taiwan’s identity and rejects China’s territorial claims, is running for a third term, an unprecedented development in Taiwan’s current electoral system,” Reuters notes.
The European Union welcomed the elections held in Taiwan on January 13, citing a common commitment to democracy.
“Our respective systems of governance are based on a common commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The European Union emphasizes that peace and stability in the Taiwan
Strait area is key to regional and global security and prosperity,” a statement by a spokesperson for the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement released on Saturday in Brussels.
At the same time, the EEAS spokesperson noted that the European Union remains concerned about the growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo.”
Earlier, the Experts club information and analytical center released a video about the most important elections in the world in 2024, which predicted the victory of an anti-Chinese candidate for the presidency of Taiwan. More information about the 2024 global elections can be found in the video here: https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=O98WbmetBtle9DnH
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