Croatia will provide another EUR 5 million for the Ukrainian energy sector, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said following a meeting with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
“Mr. Plenkovic announced a new package of military assistance and another EUR 5 million for the Ukrainian energy sector. Ukraine highly appreciates all the assistance provided by Croatia. Thank you for supporting our country in all spheres,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.
In addition, he said that the countries had signed two documents in the field of education and justice, which will contribute to Ukraine’s further European integration.
Among other things, the prime minister said that on Wednesday, the Croatian demining company DOK-ING opened its representative office in Ukraine.
In August, registrations of electric vehicles (new and used) in Ukraine amounted to 6,445 thousand, which is 68% more than in August last year and 36.6% more than in July this year, Ukravtoprom reported on its telegram channel. As reported, in July 2024, the demand for electric vehicles increased by 38% compared to July 2023 and by 14% compared to June 2024.
As reported, market experts attribute this jump in demand for electric vehicles over the past 1.5 months to the government’s initiative to introduce a 15% military tax on car buyers during the first registration, including electric vehicles, which are currently not taxed in Ukraine (except for a small excise tax).
In late August, it was reported that the government had abandoned this initiative.
According to Ukravtoprom, the share of new cars in electric car registrations in August was 18%, the same as a year earlier (21% in July).
The bulk of the electric vehicles registered during the month were passenger cars – 6,302 thousand units (new – 1,159 thousand, used – 5,143 thousand), and only five of 143 commercial vehicles were new.
The top five new electric cars in July were BYD Song Plus – 174 units; Honda M-NV – 169 units; Volkswagen ID.4 – 147 units; ZEEKR 001 – 107 units; Nissan Ariya – 83 units.
The top five used cars were Nissan Leaf – 658 units; Tesla Model Y – 588 units; Tesla Model 3 – 561 units; Hyundai Kona – 308 units; Volkswagen e-Golf – 289 units.
In total, in January-August, more than 35.6 thousand battery-powered vehicles were registered for the first time in Ukraine (79% more than in the same period in 2023), with new vehicles accounting for 20%.
For its part, the AUTO-Consulting information and analytical group also notes a jump in demand for electric cars based on information about military training – according to its data, 1.3 thousand new electric vehicles were sold in August, which was a monthly sales record for the entire period of observation.
“Although the share of the electric car market slightly decreased compared to previous months and amounted to 16%, the absolute number of sales was a record, despite the massive power outages,” the group’s website states.
According to experts, 8.2 thousand new electric vehicles (16.9% of the total car market) were sold in Ukraine in 8 months of 2024, which is 30% more than in the same period in 2023.
As reported, in 2023, according to Ukravtoprom, registrations of new and used electric cars in Ukraine increased 2.8 times to 37.6 thousand, with new cars accounting for 20% compared to 17% a year earlier.
During the 13 months of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor’s operation, 68.6 million tons of cargo were transported. Of these, 46 million tons were grain.
During this period, more than 2.5 thousand vessels used the “sea corridor” to export products to 46 countries, the press service of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development reported on Facebook.
The report quotes Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister of Community and Territorial Development, as saying that despite the Russian missile attack on a civilian ship transporting grain from Ukraine to Egypt, Ukraine will continue to ensure the effective operation of the Ukrainian corridor in the Black Sea.
“Ukraine will continue to ensure the effective operation of the Ukrainian corridor in the Black Sea so that all countries in Africa and the Middle East receive the necessary products. The world should respond accordingly and increase sanctions pressure on Russia for violating the international law of the sea,” Kuleba said.
He reminded that Russia systematically attacks port infrastructure, which directly affects food security in the world. During the full-scale invasion, more than 50 such attacks took place, as a result of which more than 280 port infrastructure facilities were damaged and more than 100 thousand tons of agricultural products were destroyed.
Earlier it was reported that on September 12, Russia launched a missile attack on a civilian ship transporting grain from Ukraine to Egypt. Ukraine reported this crime to the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization. The ship that was hit by the Russian Federation in the Black Sea was flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Oil prices rose on Friday for the third consecutive session and ended the week in the black for the first time in a month.
Market participants are trying to assess the impact of Hurricane Frances, which hit the Louisiana coast on Wednesday night. According to official figures, about 39% of US production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico were shut down due to the weather.
“The impact of the hurricane is still not fully known as the affected regions assess the damage to infrastructure,” said Schneider Electric analyst Robbie Fraser. Usually, offshore oil production recovers quite quickly after such events, the expert said, as quoted by Market Watch.
The cost of November futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 8:25 a.m. is $72.43 per barrel, which is $0.48 (0.67%) higher than at the close of the previous trading. On Thursday, these contracts rose by $1.36 (1.9%) to $71.97 per barrel.
October futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) increased in price by $0.48 (0.7%) to $69.45 per barrel. As a result of the previous session, the cost of these contracts increased by $1.66 (2.5%) to $68.97 per barrel.
Since the beginning of this week, Brent has risen in price by 2%, WTI – by 2.6%.
The growth of the oil market is constrained by concerns about the prospects for global demand.
On Thursday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) lowered its estimate of global oil demand growth in 2024 by 67 thousand barrels per day compared to last year, to 903 thousand bpd from the previously expected 970 thousand bpd.
Commenting on the forecast of a slowdown in demand growth this year, analysts noted the adjustment of expectations for oil consumption in China. Now the IEA expects that oil demand in China will grow by only 180 thousand bpd in 2024, to 16.7 million bpd. At the same time, at the beginning of the year, this parameter was estimated at 700 thousand bpd, and last month – about 300 thousand bpd.
Population forecast for Ukraine in 2030-2100
Open4Business.com.ua
The international corporation NEFCO (Nordic Environment Finance Corporation) is launching a EUR 7.2 million project to reconstruct the water supply system in Mykolaiv’s Korabelnyi district with funding from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the NEFCO press service reports.
NEFCO and the city administration of Mykolaiv have signed a new grant agreement for the reconstruction of the water supply system in the Korabelnyi district, which has been selected as a pilot. A total of EUR 7.2 million has been allocated for the project, as well as technical assistance through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
As reported, Mykolaiv’s water supply system has been out of service for almost 2.5 years after the destruction of the main water supply system in April 2022. Residents of Mykolaiv depend on emergency water supply, which is provided mainly by trucks and supplemented by desalination of salt water from the Dnipro-Bug estuary, as well as newly drilled wells. Many citizens are forced to take water for their daily needs from centralized emergency water supply points.
The densely populated Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv, where water leakage reaches 40%, was chosen to implement a demonstration project to restore and reconstruct the entire water supply system. The goal of this project is to reduce water losses and increase the energy efficiency of water distribution processes by identifying water leaks, improving water supply efficiency, and creating a sustainable basis for further development of the freshwater system in Mykolaiv. New wells will be installed and pipes will be replaced.
Earlier, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said that a feasibility study had already been developed with the French company Egis to provide water supply for the entire city, the first of three phases of implementation could cost about EUR130 million, and the city was looking for sources of funding – “both public funds and donor funds.” And as an example, he cited a grant allocated by Denmark in the spring of 2024 – up to DKK 40 million (approximately EUR 5.36 million) through the Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance (DSIF) program.
This project is also being implemented in the Korabelnyi district, and involves the replacement of about 11 km of pipes, which is about 8% of the total length of the network in the district; installation of 55 main meters with remote data collection in multi-storey buildings; and replacement of pumps at three water pumping stations. The project is currently in the procurement phase, with the tender expected to be announced in September.
