Germany will help Ukraine in demining, said German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock.
“We, like Germany, will help in demining to a greater extent. Because it is not only about military demining, where we will help you. It is also about demining in cities, villages, and doing it together so that people were able to return home,” Burbock said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The first president of Ukraine (1991-1994), Leonid Kravchuk, passed away on Tuesday, May 10, said People’s Deputy of Ukraine, ex-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Dmitry Razumkov.
“A great loss for all of Ukraine. Today, Leonid Kravchuk, the first President of Ukraine, the first Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and the figure who stood at the origins of modern Ukrainian statehood, passed away,” Razumkov wrote in Telegram.
As it became known to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, Leonid Kravchuk was hospitalized with Covid-19 coronavirus infection in one of the foreign clinics in 2021, was in a coma for a long time, then underwent rehabilitation abroad of Ukraine.
Leonid Kravchuk was born on January 10, 1934. From 1970 to 1991, he held various positions in the structure of the Communist Party of Ukraine and the CPSU, left the ranks of the Communist Party after the August coup. In July 1990, he became chairman of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR, it was under his leadership that the resolution and the Act of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine were adopted. From August 24 to December 5, 1991 – Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
He was elected President of Ukraine in the first direct presidential elections on December 1, 1991, following which he won 61.6% of the vote. On December 8, 1991, together with the President of the Russian Federation (RSFSR) Boris Yeltsin and Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus Stanislav Shushkevich, he signed the Belovezhskaya Accords on the termination of the existence of the USSR.
In the early presidential elections of 1994, he lost to Leonid Kuchma in the second round, gaining 45.1% of the vote. From 1994 until 2006 he was elected a people’s deputy of Ukraine.
From July 28, 2020 to February 21, 2022 – Chairman of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbas.
The size of the new aid package proposed by US President Joe Biden to Ukraine has grown from $33 billion to $39.8 billion to date after discussions, Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova said on Facebook after meetings with senators on Tuesday.
According to her, at the invitation of the leader of the Republican Party Mitch McConnell, she met with 45 senators from this party and at the invitation of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – with 44 senators from the Democratic Party, whom she briefed on the current state of Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression and the urgent need for continued defense and US financial support.
Markarova noted that Ukraine expects the Congress to consider the new aid package proposed by the US President as soon as possible.
She added that also during the meeting, she thanked Senators Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Richard Blumenthal (Democratic) for the resolution on recognizing the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“According to my information from the US allies, the House of Representatives intends to approve an updated $39.8 billion aid package to Ukraine in the near future. Our allies have no doubts about our victory and are ready to provide everything necessary for it,” the head of the parliamentary faction also wrote on Tuesday. “Servant of the People” David Arakhamia in Telegram.
According to him, such an unprecedented level of support will quickly change the situation on the battlefield, and the heroism of the Ukrainians will be backed up by modern equipment and weapons.
Earlier in the day, the media indicated, citing sources, that the updated package includes an additional $3.4 billion for military assistance and $3.4 billion for humanitarian assistance.
The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra has reached the final of the Eurovision 2022 International Song Contest in Turin (Italy).
As the correspondent of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports, on May 10, the first semi-final of the International Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was held in Turin.
17 participants performed in it, of which 10 were chosen who will fight for victory in the final of the competition.
The Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra with the song Stefania performed at number six.
According to the results of the first semi-final, Ukraine qualified for the final, which will take place on May 14.
As reported, on February 12, the national final of the selection for Eurovision 2022 was held in Kyiv. According to the results of the competition, it was determined that in 2022, performer Alina Pash will represent Ukraine at the international song contest with the song “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”. Pash received 15 points (8 points from the jury and 7 points from the audience). The second place was taken by the group “Kalush Orchestra” (6 points from the jury and 8 from the audience), the third – the singer Wellboy (7 points from the judges and 6 from the audience). Roxolana, Barleben, Michael Soul, Cloudless and Our Atlantic also fought for the victory in the final.
After a series of conflict situations and scandals around this topic, Pash was disqualified for providing the organizing committee with a fake certificate from the State Border Service. In this regard, it was decided that the Kalush Orchestra would represent Ukraine at the competition.
In 2021, at Eurovision, Ukraine was represented by the electro-folk band Go_A, who took fifth place in the final of the competition.
In 2019, Ukraine did not take part in the competition due to public criticism of the singer Maruv because of her performance in the Russian Federation. The National Public Broadcasting Company and the winner of the 2019 National Selection refused to sign the contract.
Eurovision 2022 is taking place in Turin (Italy). The second semi-final will take place on May 12. The final of the competition will take place on May 14.
Consumer price growth in Ukraine in April 2022 slowed to 3.1% from 4.5% in March, but exceeded 1.6% in February and 1.3% in January, the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) reported on Tuesday.
In April last year, inflation was 0.7%, so in annual terms in April this year it rose to 16.4% from 13.7% in March, 10.7% in February and 10% in January, the agency said.
Core inflation also eased to 3% last month from 3.8% in March. However, taking into account 0.7% in April 2021 in annual terms, it increased to 13% from 10.5% in March, 8.2% in February and 7.6% in January.
Since the beginning of this year, for its first four months, inflation in Ukraine amounted to 10.9%, and the base – 8.1%, said the State Statistics Service.
The National Bank of Ukraine, as reported by its head Kirill Shevchenko, expected an increase in inflation in April to 15.9%.
As reported, in 2021 inflation in Ukraine rose to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019, while core inflation rose to 7.9% against 4.5% a year earlier.
The Austrian company HEAD Group has resumed the construction of a plant in the industrial park (IP) “Winter Sport”, Deputy Mayor of Vinnytsia Andriy Ocheretny said.
“Today we visited a construction site. On the territory of the industrial park, builders resumed foundation work and are building a temporary reinforced concrete shelter for safety during air raids. They plan to complete the construction of foundations by the end of June this year,” Ocheretny wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
He recalled that according to the project, the plant will include production and storage facilities, an administrative building, a sewing workshop. The production building will house workshops for the manufacture of skis, boots and bindings, as well as warehouses for raw materials and finished products.
As reported, at the beginning of this year, HEAD Group received permission from the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine to begin construction of the Head Vinnitsa plant on the territory of Winter Sport.
The total area of industrial premises will be 43 thousand square meters. m.
The company plans to invest about EUR80 million in the creation of production, administrative and storage facilities. It is expected that the plant will be one of the largest plants of the company in the world and will provide jobs for more than 1,200 residents of Vinnitsa.
The total area of the industrial park “Winter Sport” is 25 hectares. The start of construction of the plant took place in May 2021.
Head International Holding GmbH manufactures sports equipment for winter sports, tennis and scuba diving. The company’s production facilities are located in Austria, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, China. The company is present in 85 countries around the world.
Ocheretny also reported on Facebook that eight enterprises from Mariupol have been moved to Vinnitsa so far.
“Forcedly displaced business from Mariupol. We already have eight such enterprises: Mariupol Investment Group, Ukrtransagro, UTA Logistic, Airiel, Maritime Logistic, Aitraks, Donbass Construction Alliance, First Fumigation Company,” the deputy mayor said.
According to him, the Vinnitsa City Council is currently working on finding premises to accommodate production facilities and provide IDPs with housing.
“We plan to use the possibilities of the Industrial Park as well – all conditions have been created there for the production and release of products with high added value, as well as the integration of production into clusters. In turn, this will lead to the development of smart specialization in the Vinnitsa region,” notes Ocheretny.
Mariupol Investment Group (UTA Group) today is a group of companies that provides the entire logistics cycle in the agricultural sector of Eastern Ukraine. According to the information on the website of the group, it includes, among other things, the Ukrtransagro company, a grain transshipment complex that provides services for transshipment, accumulation, storage and shipment to sea vessels, as well as forwarding and customs clearance of grain and oilseeds.
It also includes the companies UTA Logistics – (logistics of grain and oilseeds), Maritime Logistics (comprehensive services for the management of sea vessels).
The Aitrax company specializes in transport services, the First Fumigation Company specializes in the production and sale of pesticides and other chemical products, the Construction Alliance of Donbass LLC specializes in the wholesale trade of timber and building materials and sanitary equipment.
