UN Secretary General António Guterres expects to reach a deal on the supply of grain from Ukraine, his representative Stefan Duzhzharik said at a briefing on Tuesday.
“The Secretary General is determined about a deal on the supply of grain from Ukraine and also on the export of food and fertilizers from Russia. Efforts are ongoing,” Duzhzharyk said.
He noted that the UN will not disclose the details of the situation while negotiations continue.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects the possibility of lifting sanctions against Minsk in exchange for the transit of grain from Ukraine through Belarus.
“This in no way means that we should abandon the sanctions that we imposed on Lukashenka,” Scholz said in Vilnius on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Latvian and Estonian Prime Ministers Krisjanis Karins and Kaja Kallas .
According to the chancellor, Western countries are looking for ways to safely export these agricultural products from Ukraine in order to avoid food shortages in the world.
“It is Russia’s responsibility that grain cannot be taken out of Ukraine (. . .). We will try to find a solution, the UN is also trying to find a solution,” Scholz said.
He also noted that when unblocking the port of Odessa, it is necessary to ensure that “Russia does not abuse such decisions.”
The possibility of exporting Ukrainian grain through Belarus was previously rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has increased the deadlines for settlements on export-import operations from 90 to 120 calendar days to expand the possibility of import and export for Ukrainian business in war conditions, the press service of the regulator reported on Tuesday.
The relevant changes were adopted by the NBU Board Resolution No. 113 dated June 7, which was published on the website of the Central Bank and comes into force on June 8
According to the announcement, the new requirements will apply to residents’ operations for the export and import of goods carried out from April 5, 2022.
It is indicated that for transactions that were carried out before April 5, the deadlines will remain at the level of 365 days.
The medical group of companies Adonis has resumed the work of a medical center in Bucha (Kyiv region), which was closed due to the occupation.
“In early June, we resumed the work of the medical center in Bucha, which was opened on February 21, but because of the occupation it worked for only three days. Life goes on, so we are reopening our clinics,” said Vitaly Girin, development director of the ADONIS medical group.
He said that a therapist, a rehabilitation therapist, and other specialists are open in the Buchansk clinic, ultrasound diagnostics rooms, a manipulation room, a point for collecting material for PCR testing and their own laboratory are working.
Adonis is a network of private medical centers for adults and children founded over 20 years ago. It includes 12 branches in Kyiv and the region, including two own maternity hospitals and a stem cell laboratory.
In the branches of the clinic, doctors receive patients in 66 medical areas.
Ukraine in May 2022 exported 1.74 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds, as well as agricultural products, by all means of transport, which is 1.8 times more than in April, according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
“In May, compared to April 2022, there was a reorientation of export channels: 798,800 tonnes and 22,100 tonnes, respectively, were exported by water transport (river ports and ferry crossings), which made the river ports of Ukraine the main export gates,” said the department.
According to the report, in May, 959,350 tonnes of corn (more by 60% compared to April), 43,500 tonnes (an increase of 4.7 times), 11,600 tonnes of barley (less by 2%), 341,800 tonnes of sunflower seeds (an increase of 3.3 times), 66,620 tonnes of soybeans (more by 17%), and 101,000 tonnes of meal (an increase of 2.6 times) were shipped to foreign markets.
In addition, 202,650 tonnes of sunflower oil (more by 56% compared to April this year) and 16,080 tonnes of soybean oil were delivered to buyers abroad in May, which approximately corresponds to the April figures of 16,380 tonnes.
Due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and the blockade of its export infrastructure in the Black Sea, the pace of exports of agricultural products is still inferior to the same period in 2021. So, in May 2021, some 2.24 million tonnes of corn, 857,800 tonnes of wheat, 22,000 tonnes of barley, 189,600 tonnes of sunflower seeds, 501,800 tonnes of sunflower oil, 36,180 tonnes of soybeans, 20,600 tonnes of soybean oil and 440,000 tonnes of meal were exported.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, in May, 709,600 tonnes of export supplies of agricultural products, or 40% of its total exports, were shipped by rail. Some 56% of all exports of soybean oil, 53% of corn, 48% of meal, 39% of barley, 33% of soybeans and 28% of sunflower oil were transported by rail.
In turn, 75% of wheat, 59% of sunflower seeds, 57% of barley, 50% of soybeans and 43% of meal were exported through the river ports of the Danube.
Road transport in May provided 40% of exports of soybean oil, 32% of sunflower oil and 23% of sunflower seeds.
Ukraine has denied Director General of the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi a visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant until it is liberated, Energoatom reported.
“The Ukrainian side did not invite Grossi to visit ZNPP and previously denied him such a visit, stressing that a visit to the plant would be possible only when control over it was returned to our country,” Energoatom’s Telegram channel reported on Tuesday.
The message from Grossi that he received an invitation from Ukraine to visit the occupied ZNPP was called by the company another attempt to get to the plant by any means in order to legitimize the stay of the Russian occupiers there and, in fact, approve all their actions.
“There will be conclusions from the IAEA, such as “the plant continues to operate safely, the radiation background is normal, there are no radiation leaks, nuclear materials are kept safe, the Russian military and representatives of Rosatom take care of this, and there are no complaints against them,” Energoatom warns “.
At the same time, they explained the situation with the termination of the ZNPP online transmission of data to the agency on the state of affairs with nuclear materials, by which Grossi, in particular, explained the need for his visit.
“Loss of communication” between ZNPP and the IAEA was caused by the actions of the Russian invaders, who disconnected the Ukrainian operator Vodafone in Energodar, and the IAEA has a data transmission contract with Vodafone,” the NAEC described the situation.
At the same time, the company noted that all data collection points and servers that were under the control of the agency were closed and sealed. The information itself is accumulated on the server and will be transmitted when Vodafone is turned on.
“It seems very likely that it was the Russian side, by prior agreement with the IAEA, who made sure that the agency “lost control” without having access to this information, which means that the IAEA director general had a reason to come to the station,” Energoatom admitted.
In addition, they expressed the opinion that Grossi’s previous visits to Ukraine did not bring any benefit.
“Let us recall that on the way back after visiting the Pivdennoukrainsk NPP, he went to a meeting with the head of Rosatom, and together they reported to the world how good everything was at the Zaporozhye station,” the company stressed.
They also recalled that almost a quarter of the IAEA leadership consists of Russians, which casts doubt on the objectivity of its decision-making.
On June 6, Grossi tweeted once again that the IAEA was preparing an expert mission to the ZNPP, noting that it had stopped transmitting data, and referred to the invitation of Ukraine.
“Ukraine invited us, we will go there,” he wrote.
As reported, speaking at the opening of the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, Grossi called on the Board to support him in organizing a visit to the Zaporizhzhya NPP, and also noted that this issue needs UN support.
During the war, the IAEA carried out three expert missions in Ukraine – one to the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant and two to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
