The Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Ukraine hosted a reception on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia at the Fairmont Hotel in Kyiv, which brought together representatives of diplomatic, cultural and business circles. This event not only emphasized the historical significance of the holiday, but also became an opportunity to discuss the current challenges and achievements of the country.
“While celebratingthe achievements of our past, we must also confront the current reality. Armenia is going through a difficult path, facing unprecedented challenges to regional peace and security, which remind us of the constant need for strength and unity,” said Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan.
The Ambassador also focused on Armenia’s economic achievements, emphasizing the growth of the economy and the increase in jobs, which is evidence of the country’s resilience.
“The Armenian economy has experienced significant growth in recent years. Economic growth is almost 30 percent, and state budget revenues have increased by more than 90 percent. In addition, about 200,000 new jobs have been created,” he said.
Mr. Karapetyan expressed optimism about the process of normalization of relations with neighboring countries, in particular with Azerbaijan and Turkey. He noted the importance of peace talks, emphasizing the importance of mutual recognition of territorial integrity.
“A week ago, Prime Minister Pashinyan made a clear statement about Armenia’s readiness to sign a peace agreement right now,” he emphasized.
In addition to political and economic issues, Mr. Karapetyan also paid attention to the role of the diaspora in Ukraine, calling it a “reliable bridge” between the two countries.
“The Armenian diaspora in Ukraine is distinguished by its loyalty and patriotism to both its historical homeland and Ukraine. More than ten thousand Ukrainian citizens of Armenian origin are currently at the front,” the ambassador emphasized.
He paid special attention to recognizing the contribution of famous Armenian figures to Ukrainian culture. In particular, the ambassador mentioned film director Roman Balayan, who was awarded the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize.
At the end of his speech, Mr. Karapetyan invited the audience to visit an exhibition of Ukrainian Armenian artists that will open this week at St. Sophia Cathedral.
After Ukraine declared independence on August 24, 1991, Armenia recognized Ukraine on December 25, 1991. On December 25, 1991, Ukraine and Armenia established diplomatic relations.
New York retained its leadership in the list of the world’s largest financial centers, according to a review by financial consulting company Z/Yen Group Ltd. that calculates the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) indicator.
New York has held the first line in the ranking since the fall of 2018. Compared to the previous version of the rating, released in March this year, New York lost one point and received a score of 763 points, while London, occupying the second position, added three points, its score amounted to 750 points.
Hong Kong rounded out the top three, overtaking Singapore with 749 points against 747. San Francisco retained fifth place, Chicago moved up to sixth place from ninth, Los Angeles moved up to seventh from eighth, while Shanghai dropped two positions to eighth place.
Compared to the previous ranking, there were two changes in the top 10: Seoul and Geneva left the top 10, giving way to Shenzhen and Frankfurt.
At the top of the ranking, Dublin showed good dynamics, moving up to 14th place from 25th, and Lugano added 9 positions to 26th place. Meanwhile, Sydney fell 10 places to 28th place.
The most significant rise in the whole list was demonstrated by Bermuda (plus 27 places at once), as well as Doha and Riyadh (24 and 21 places respectively). Meanwhile, Rome fell back 22 places, Stockholm – 16 places.
The index of world financial centers was first published in 2007 and is updated every six months (the current issue is the 35th). The latest ranking was based on a survey of almost 8.5 thousand respondents.
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have sent to court an indictment against seven managers and officials of the Poltava Mining and Processing Combine (PGOC) owned by Ferrexpo, which is owned by former MP Konstantin Zhevago, who temporarily resides in France and is wanted internationally on the basis of the decision on his arrest in absentia.
According to the press release of the GBR, the management of PGOK, owned by the fugitive oligarch, will be put on trial, as the management embezzled tens of millions of hryvnias.
It is specified that the management of PGOK during 2019-2021 unlawfully disposed of minerals of national importance. Without having a special permit for the use of subsoil, it illegally sold tons of minerals for almost 80 million UAH.
“Then through the enterprises involved in the scheme resold the same raw materials, but much more expensive. In particular, the top management sold without the appropriate permits crushed stone raw material, which was produced from waste extracted in the quarry of minerals. The amount of the transaction amounted to more than 370 million UAH”, – stated in the message of the GBR.
The defendants are charged under part 3, 5 of Art. 27 part. 5 Art. 191, part 3, 5 Art. 27 part. 3 Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the articles provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
Procedural management is carried out by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
In turn, PGOK-Ferrexpo traditionally stated its disagreement with the actions of law enforcement agencies, in particular, with the statement of the Office of the Prosecutor General of September 24, 2024 on the completion of the pre-trial investigation into the case of allegedly illegal mining and sale of minerals in the amount of 380 million UAH.
“PGOK categorically disagrees with the charges outlined,” the company’s statement emphasizes, considering that the company was not engaged in the extraction or sale of crushed stone, and the plant has permits for the extraction of iron ore, which it extracts, processes and enriches.
And it is added that the investigation has no facts of personal enrichment of the suspected representatives of top management, and the enterprise paid taxes and fees from the funds received for the sale of screening.
The statement also assures that PGOK is allegedly not under the control of “fugitive sub-sanctioned billionaire”, as the company belongs to the Ferrexpo group.
Earlier it was reported that other investigative actions are being conducted against the management of PGOK. In particular, in September 2023, investigators of the National Police informed Viktor Lotus, PGOK’s pre-manager, of suspicion for illegal mining of subsoil for UAH 157 billion, which also resulted in environmental damage (part 2 of article 28, part 4 of article 240, part 2 of article 364-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Ferrrexpo AG also claimed that according to the published financial statements of Ferrexpo Plc as of April 18, 2024, Fevalotinico SaRL owns 49.3% of PGOK. However, the court pointed out in one of its decisions that the 50.3% stake in PGOC had previously been seized, and subsequently there was a dilution (reduction) of the shares of Ferrexpo owned by Fevamotinico SaRL, which in turn is wholly owned by Minco Trust, whose ultimate beneficial owner is the defendant (Zhevago, the defendant in one of the cases – IF-U).
At the same time, the court noted that “the actions to reduce the defendant’s controlled share in the authorized capital of third parties during the validity of the court’s ruling on such an injunction directly contradicts the requirements of the current legislation and indicates bad faith behavior of the participants in the litigation”.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. Ferrexpo owns 100% of Poltava GOK PJSC, 100% of Yeristovskiy GOK LLC and 99.9% of Belanovskiy GOK LLC.
In the period from September 25 to September 27, at the checkpoint “Mohyliv-Podilskyi – Otacs”, there may be traffic restrictions due to the installation of weighing complexes, namely
– 25.09 – in the direction of “entry to Ukraine”;
– 26-27.09 – in the direction of “exit from Ukraine”.
During the repair works, the traffic of commercial vehicles may be limited to one lane.
According to Worldsteel, August saw an increase in steel production compared to August 2023 in most of the top ten countries, except for China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.
The top ten steel producing countries in August are as follows: China (77.920 million tons, down 10.4% by August 2023), India (12.285 million tons, up 2.6%), the United States (7.048 million tons, up 0.7%), Japan (6.870 million tons, down 3.9%), and the Russian Federation (5.8 million tons, down 11.5%), South Korea (5.465 million tons, down 2.2%), Turkey (3.146 million tons, up 13.8%), Brazil (2.963 million tons, up 7.3%), Germany (2.874 million tons, up 0.5%) and Vietnam (1.793 million tons, up 1.5%).
In August, Ukraine increased steel production by 15% compared to August 2023, retaining its 20th place in the Worldsteel ranking.
In total, in August 2024, steel production decreased by 6.5% compared to the same period in 2023 to 144.834 million tons.
In January-August 2014, the top ten steel-producing countries were as follows: China (691.410 million tons, down 3.3% compared to January-August 2023), India (98.522 million tons, up 6.5%), Japan (56.665 million tons, down 2.9%), the United States (53.785 million tons, down 1.7%), the Russian Federation (48.469 million tons, minus 4.9%), South Korea (42.509 million tons, down 5.5%), Germany (25.378 million tons, up 4%). million tons, up 4%), Turkey (24.816 million tons, up 14.8%), Brazil (22.363 million tons, up 3.8%) and Iran (19.784 million tons, up 1.9%).
After the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the NIKO group of companies, which has been successfully operating in Ukraine and the EU for over 30 years, expanded its activities. NIKO SpetsAvto LLC has launched a new business line – certified production of armored specialized military pickup trucks.
The new pickup truck, called NIKO, is designed as a universal vehicle platform based on the Isuzu D-Max and is equipped with armored protection.
Denis Fomenko, CEO of NIKO SpetsAvto, said: “Outwardly, our pickup truck looks no different from an ordinary car, but each copy is the result of a symbiosis of advanced armor technology, perfect design and high quality. Every detail is created with maximum attention to safety and technological progress. Despite the increased weight, the car has retained its maneuverability and safety.”
Denis Fomenko also added that the company plans to produce about 30 such pickups by the end of 2024 to meet the needs of individual structures performing specialized tasks.
According to the company, the carrying capacity of the NIKO pickup truck is 1100 kg, which is 35% higher than the carrying capacity of analogues in the same class and price range, such as Toyota Hilux and SsangYong Musso. This allows the vehicle to be used as efficiently as possible for cargo transportation and other specialized tasks.
The vehicle is also equipped with a 7620 kg (16,800 LBS) winch for off-road lifting and towing, which makes it indispensable for search and rescue operations and expeditions.
The technical characteristics, maneuverability, off-road capabilities, the ability to install additional equipment, as well as the cost make the NIKO pickup truck ideal for tasks of any complexity.
