The Luxembourg Red Cross has expanded its activities in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, providing assistance to health institutions.
“Since as early as 2022, the Luxembourg Red Cross has been helping the Irpin branch of the Heart Institute, which, like many buildings in the city, was severely damaged by shelling… The Luxembourg Red Cross, in partnership with the Ukrainian Red Cross, has helped in the shortest possible time to rebuild the damaged treatment buildings of the medical institution and start receiving patients,” the Ukrainian Red Cross (URC) said on Facebook on Tuesday.
The Luxembourg Red Cross also financed this year the purchase of modern industrial washing equipment for the Heart Institute branch. Between 2023 and 2024, the organization helped create a safe shelter. The 32 m² basement of the Irpen Heart Institute was renovated, sanitary rooms were arranged and a ventilation system with automatic and manual modes was installed. In addition, the shelter has a supply of drinking water, benches for seating, backup lighting and communication facilities have been installed, allowing 30 people to be comfortably accommodated for 48 hours.
The Luxembourg Red Cross plans to continue providing assistance to the most vulnerable categories of the Ukrainian population, responding quickly to the urgent calls caused by the war. Among the priorities of the organization is support of awareness-raising activities on prevention of cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, diabetes.
The Luxembourg Red Cross will continue to maintain close cooperation with the UCC, government agencies and local authorities.
Ukraine’s ports handled 8 million tons of cargo in October, of which 6.8 million tons, or 85%, were handled through the ‘sea corridor’, State Enterprise (SE) Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) reported on Tuesday.
The port’s performance in October is 11.5% higher than in September, when 7.178 million tons of cargo were handled, said Timur Tkachenko, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure.
More than half of the cargo handled by ports in October was agricultural. They accounted for 5 million tons, which is almost 3.3 times more than in the same period last year, the USPA said.
Grain cargo accounted for more than half of the volume of cargo handled through the sea corridor in October – 4.5 million tons out of 6.8 million tons. The volume of ore cargo transshipment reached 1.4 million tons, which is almost twice as much as in October 2023.
Earlier it was reported that in January-October 2024, cargo handling increased by 78.1% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 82.1 million tons from 46.1 million tons.
Ukrainian enterprises increased imports of tin and tin products by 15.9% to $2.647 million in January-October this year ($561 thousand in October).
Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $349 thousand (in October – $3 thousand) against $57 thousand in the same period a year earlier. At the same time, imports of tin and tin products decreased by 23% to $2.728 million.
Exports of tin and tin products amounted to $159 thousand against $424 thousand in 2022.
Tin is used mainly as a safe, non-toxic, corrosion-resistant coating in its pure form or in alloys with other metals. The main industrial applications of tin are in white tinplate (tinned iron) for food containers, in solders for electronics, in house pipelines, in bearing alloys, and in coatings made of tin and its alloys. The most important tin alloy is bronze (with copper).
Uzbekistan has concluded bilateral negotiations with the United States on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The United States of America became the 21st country with which Uzbekistan has completed bilateral discussions on accession to the organization. The negotiations lasted for 14 months.
The parties are currently actively preparing to sign a market access protocol.
In September, Uzbekistan completed negotiations on WTO accession with 18 countries. Protocols on completion of market access negotiations were signed with Brazil and Sri Lanka.
At a meeting with entrepreneurs in August, the President of Uzbekistan called joining the WTO a thoughtful and far-sighted choice, as well as an integral part of Uzbekistan’s reforms.
Svitanok Agrofirm, a private enterprise owned by Tetyana Zasukha, former MP and wife of the former head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, has acquired 1.45 million units, or 70.78% of the shares in Spets-Avia PJSC.
According to the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, as of November 8, 2024, Svitanok Agrofirm did not own ordinary electronic shares of Spets-Avia PJSC.
Svitanok Agrofirm also clarified that on the day of the transaction, the value of the shares was UAH 0.25 each. At the same time, the highest price for the purchase of shares, including the day of acquisition of the controlling stake, reached UAH 0.6296 per share. During the twelve months preceding the day of acquisition of such a stake, Svitanok Agrofirm did not enter into any other share purchase agreements.
The transaction took place in several stages: On November 6, 2024, Svitanok Agrofirm acquired two blocks of 510948 electronic registered ordinary shares, which in total amounted to 49.8% of the share in the issuer’s authorized capital, and a block of 430574 shares (20.98%). As a result, the controlling stake in Svitanok Agrofirm amounted to 70.78% or 1452470 shares.
Svitanok Agrofirma was registered in 1993 in Kyiv region, and in 2000 the collective farm became a private enterprise owned 100% by Tetiana Zasukha. It has a land bank of 80 thousand hectares. It specializes in crop production and has 3 elevators: Chornorudka (100 thousand tons), Ustymivske (83.7 thousand tons) and Fastivske (60.4 thousand tons) elevators. Dairy and meat business: represented by a herd of cattle of 2 thousand and 3 thousand heads respectively and a herd of pigs of more than 2 thousand heads. The agroholding has its own meat and bakery processing facilities, and has launched pasta production.
In May 2021, former Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Roman Leshchenko said that people involved in land fraud would be sanctioned by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC). As an example of such violations, he cited the formation by a legal entity of a fairly large land mass from the land plots of private farms in the context of a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land. According to the former minister, the land bank of Svitanok Agrofirm consists of 461 plots on 419 hectares near Fastiv (Kyiv region).
According to Opendatabot, as of mid-March 2024, Svitanok owns the largest amount of land in Ukraine – more than 5 thousand hectares.
In 2023, the company’s revenue amounted to UAH 3.93 million, compared to UAH 4.374 million a year earlier, net profit was estimated at UAH 111.7 thousand in 2023, debt liabilities – UAH 2.761 million, and assets – UAH 3.617 million. The company employed 4 people.
Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, has completed the autumn sowing campaign for the 2025 harvest, for which it has allocated 65 thousand hectares, the company’s press service reports on Facebook.
“According to operational data, the structure of winter crops is as follows: winter wheat – more than 46 thou hectares, winter rapeseed – more than 17 thou hectares, winter peas – 2 thou hectares,” the agroholding said.
At the same time, Astarta’s structural units continue the sugar beet harvesting campaign, the total area under which is 38 thousand hectares.
As reported earlier, the sugar production season in the agricultural holding started on August 24 at the plant in Vinnytsia region. At the end of August, two plants were launched in Poltava region, and in September – two more.
In 2023, the agricultural holding grew 39 thousand tons of sugar beet, up 20% from a year earlier, thanks to a record yield of 58 tons/ha, compared to 56 tons/ha in 2022, the company’s annual report said Wednesday evening.
According to the agricultural holding, the record high sugar beet harvest extended the processing period until the end of January 2024. In total, the sugar production campaign in 2023 lasted 130 days, compared to 111 days a year earlier.
“In the 2023-2024 marketing year, Astarta increased sugar production by 34% year-on-year to 377 thousand tons. At the same time, the volume of sugar beet processing in 2023 increased by 37% compared to the same period last year and reached 2.7 million tons. The market share remained unchanged at 21% in 2023.
In 2023, Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, reduced its net profit by 5.0% to EUR 61.9 million, and its EBITDA decreased by 6.1% to EUR 145.77 million, while revenue increased by 21.3% to EUR 618.93 million.
