European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson says the European Union is ready to completely stop the transit of Russian gas through the Ukrainian gas transportation system after the expiration of the current contract in December this year.
“When I spoke with my colleagues in Ukraine, I made it clear that we are preparing for a situation where the transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia will expire by the end of this December. We have found alternative supply routes, and the Member States or their companies that are still receiving gas from Russia have in fact been granted two additional years compared to other companies that Russia has decided to stop supplying to in 2022,” the European Commissioner said at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
At the same time, Simson stated that Ukraine’s gas transportation infrastructure is also part of the EU’s infrastructure, as part of the European gas is stored in Ukraine’s storage facilities, “which provide us with additional capacity.”
“Ukraine is also a gas producer, so we have to make sure that their infrastructure still has value. But my message is very clear: there is no need to look for any new ways to continue trading with Gazprom. Alternative supplies are available, and we are engaging with affected member states to show them that alternative routes will deliver the volumes they need,” she elaborated.
Simson also referred to the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said in late August that “Ukraine is not interested in extending the transit contract with Russia, and that European companies have the right to use Ukrainian infrastructure.”
According to the European Commissioner, her “main mission is to encourage companies that are still receiving Russian pipeline gas because they had contracts signed before the war to choose more predictable alternatives.”
Simson also cited figures showing that the share of Russian gas in EU imports fell from 45% in 2021 to 18% by June 2024, while imports from reliable partners such as Norway and the United States increased. In addition, the EU reduced gas demand by 138 billion cubic meters between August 2022 and May 2024.
“The EU reached its 90% winter gas storage target on August 19, 2024, well ahead of the November 1 deadline, and energy prices are more stable and remain well below the peak levels of the 2022 energy crisis,” she elaborated.
Anastasia Obraztsova, director of the Ukrainian Center for Cultural Research, has won the competition for the position of executive director of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation (UCF). On Wednesday, the second stage of the competitive selection of the Foundation’s executive director took place, and according to the results of a secret ballot, Anastasia Obraztsova, director of the Ukrainian Center for Cultural Research, former head of the Directorate of Creative Industries of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, won the competition.
The UCF’s announcement states that the newly elected executive director will begin work after signing a contract with the Ministry of Culture.
In January-June 2024, PJSC Ukrnafta received UAH 10.6 billion in net profit.
“The results were confirmed by the audit of Crowe Erfolg Ukraine, Crowe Audit & Accounting Ukraine,” the company said on Wednesday.
During this period, the company paid UAH 20.2 billion to the state budget in the form of taxes, duties, dividends on the state share and customs payments.
“In total, since the beginning of state management and the start of the new management at the end of 2022 and as of today, the company has received almost UAH 40 billion in profit,” said Sergiy Koretsky, Ukrnafta’s CEO.
“Ukrnafta is the largest oil producer in Ukraine and the operator of the national network of filling stations. In March 2024, the company took over the management of Glusco assets and operates 545 filling stations – 460 owned and 85 managed.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and update the format of its filling stations. Since February 2023, Ukrnafta has been issuing its own fuel coupons and NAFTA cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
Ukrnafta’s largest shareholder is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a 50%+1 share. In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state a share of corporate rights of the company owned by private owners, which is currently managed by the Ministry of Defense.
One of the largest operators of the Ukrainian grain market, JV Nibulon LLC, shipped the second batch of 63 thsd tonnes of wheat to Egypt under the tender of the General Authority for Supply of Goods of the Egyptian government GASC via the Danube Grain Corridor, the grain trader’s press service reported on its Facebook page.
According to the report, the grain was loaded on the EDFU vessel, owned by the Egyptian state-owned company National Navigation Company (NNC), at the anchorage PGM-2 of TTS Operator SRL (Constanza).
“Thanks to the well-coordinated and professional work of the Nibulon fleet team and our strategic partners, TTS (Transport Trade Services), the daily grain loading rate reached a record 18.2 thousand tons. This high productivity is very important, because along with a stable cargo flow, it allows us to reduce delivery costs,” said Nibulon’s Chief Logistics Officer Sergey Kalkutin, Director of Logistics at Nibulon.
He emphasized that such voyages allow the Danube Grain Corridor to compete with the ports of Greater Odesa.
In times of war and permanent danger, having a full-fledged alternative logistics channel for grain exports is not an additional option, but a vital necessity on which the world’s food security depends, Nibulon believes.
As reported, in August, Nibulon delivered the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to Egypt under the GASC.
Nibulon JV LLC was established in 1991. Prior to the Russian military invasion, the grain trader had 27 transshipment terminals and crop reception complexes, a one-time storage capacity of 2.25 million tons of agricultural products, a fleet of 83 vessels (including 23 tugs), and owned the Mykolaiv Shipyard.
“Before the war, Nibulon cultivated 82 thousand hectares of land in 12 regions of Ukraine and exported agricultural products to more than 70 countries. In 2021, the grain trader exported the highest ever volume of 5.64 million tons of agricultural products, reaching record volumes of supplies to foreign markets in August – 0.7 million tons, in the fourth quarter – 1.88 million tons, and in the second half of the year – 3.71 million tons.
Nibulon’s losses due to Russia’s full-scale military invasion in 2022 exceeded $416 million.
Currently, the grain trader is operating at 32% of capacity, has created a special unit to clear agricultural land of mines, and was forced to move its headquarters from Mykolaiv to Kyiv.
Continental Farmers Group is expanding its logistics capacities by forming its own fleet of grain carriers, which has already received the first 50 of 250 planned 116 cubic meter hopper cars, the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, the large-cube cars will allow the agricultural holding to maximize their carrying capacity (up to 70.5 tons) when transporting all major crops grown on Continental’s fields. According to the contract, the agricultural holding plans to receive the remaining railcars in several batches over the coming months.
According to Georg von Nolken, CEO of Continental Farmers Group, the decision to purchase its own grain wagons is the next logical step for the agricultural holding after the acquisition of two new elevators. Continental acquired the storage facilities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions in 2021 and 2024, respectively, he reminded.
“We continue to confidently implement our strategy to develop our own supply chain despite all the difficulties caused by the current situation in the country. After Continental solved the problem of elevator capacity shortage and even created the opportunity to provide services for third parties, the acquisition of the railcar fleet allows us to continue to provide logistics for our own trading and develop this area of work properly,” explained Georg von Nolken.
Continental expects that after delivery of all 250 ordered grain wagons, it will be able to cover a significant part of its annual demand for rail freight transportation with its own rolling stock. The rest, as before, will be met by outsourcing freight forwarding services.
The decision to further expand the Continental railcar fleet will depend on the level of efficiency of the chosen management model and market conditions in the coming seasons, the agricultural holding said.
Mriya Agro Holding and CFG, united under the name Continental Farmers Group, have been operating as a single business since November 2018, when Mriya entered into an agreement with international investor Salic UK to sell its assets.
Salic was founded in 2012. Its sole shareholder is the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which invests in agricultural and livestock production.
Metinvest Group’s Central Iron Ore Enrichment Plant (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro Oblast) is actively implementing various dust suppression measures to reduce the environmental impact of its iron ore mining operations.
According to the company’s press release on Wednesday, CGOK received a positive assessment for the implementation of dust suppression measures during a visit by specialists from the regional State Environmental Supervision Department and specialists from the Ecology Department of the Executive Committee of the Kryvyi Rih City Council. They were able to evaluate the work aimed at reducing dust at the company’s tailings dump, in the sanitary protection zone (SPZ) of the Gleiavatsky open pit in the village of Verabovo.
It was also clarified that the main shops of the Central Mining and Processing Plant are located in Kryvyi Rih: Gleiavatsky open pit, crushing and beneficiation plants, Kolachevsky mine and pelletizing plant. To reduce the environmental impact of the company’s industrial activities, the Central Mining and Processing Plant has developed dust suppression measures in the adjacent areas of quarries, tailings dumps, open warehouses of finished products and roads.
To monitor compliance with environmental legislation, members of the environmental commission reviewed the implementation of these measures. The experts visited the sludge management shop of the Central Mining and Processing Plant, where they saw various methods used to prevent dusting in the dry areas of the tailings dump. In particular, the consolidation of loose surfaces with rye crops, which this year amounted to 100 hectares, as well as planting them with reeds. Traditional effective methods include washing beaches with industrial water (823 hectares) and covering them with overburden. The company also uses a safe method of fixing the tailings dump roads with bischofite.
According to Natalia Beloziorova, Head of the Environmental Protection Department at the GOK, the dumps, finished product warehouses and roads of the industrial sites are irrigated with industrial water to suppress dust. The pit faces and surfaces of idle ledges are treated with binders. The company also maintains the uninterrupted operation of four automated air quality monitoring stations installed within the sanitary protection zone.
Thanks to the systematic work of environmentalists, the number of green spaces is increasing every year, which has a positive impact on air quality and noise reduction. In the village of Verabovo, which borders the SPZ of the Gleiavatsky open pit, the commission inspected the condition of 300 shrubs and trees planted last year.
As part of the city’s program to address environmental issues in Kryvyi Rih, the plant is carrying out scheduled wetting of roads and residential areas adjacent to the plant.
“As a result of the inspection, the environmental commission made positive conclusions on the implementation of dust suppression measures at the tailings management and water recycling facilities, roads, as well as measures to plan, arrange and plant sanitary protection zones. The specialists of the Environmental Protection Department provided recommendations for further work in the environmental area,” the press release summarizes.
Central GOK is one of the five largest producers of mining raw materials in Ukraine. The company specializes in the extraction and production of iron ore concentrate and pellets.
CGOK is a part of Metinvest Group, whose major shareholders are System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and Smart Holding Group (23.76%). Metinvest Group’s management company is Metinvest Holding LLC.
