Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says that Ukraine is waiting for proposals from partners on the country’s existing external debts. “Of course, we expect steps and some proposals from our partners on our country’s existing external debts… I think that in the near future we will find a format for how to ease the debt burden of our country. We have started this work, and I think there will be a result in the coming weeks,” Shmyhal said on the air of the national telethon on Friday afternoon. At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine is a responsible payer for its obligations.
The Verkhovna Rada at a meeting on Friday adopted a law on the full guarantee by the state of deposits of individuals for the period of martial law and three months after its completion. According to the head of the committee Daniil Getmantsev in the Telegram channel, the law also establishes that subsequently the maximum amount of compensation on deposits will be UAH 600,000 compared to UAH 200,000 now.
In addition, the Rada adopted in the first reading bill No. 7233 amending the Tax Code and other laws regarding the collection of a single fee and accounting for denatured ethyl alcohol and chemical and technical products. The bill is aimed at providing favorable conditions for the production of denatured ethyl alcohol, bioethanol, chemical and technical products.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies decline on Friday, with some of the largest digital assets posting their biggest drop in weeks as risk appetite wanes, Barron’s writes.
Bitcoin has lost over 4% in the past 24 hours but is holding above the key technical level of $45,000. The price of the cryptocurrency jumped above this indicator last Sunday and continued to rise at the beginning of the week, rising above $48,000.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, bitcoin began to decline as investors exited risky assets, including cryptocurrencies and equities. By Thursday evening, its price had fallen more than 3%, showing the most significant one-day drop since March 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“Bitcoin’s rally is fading, and the Wall Street session, which was accompanied by risk aversion, could lead to continued pressure on cryptocurrencies,” said Edward Moya, an analyst at Oanda.
The price of the most popular cryptocurrency at the beginning of 2022 was around $46,200 and remains well below the high of $68,990 reached in early November.
Meanwhile, some market participants believe that the fall in prices may be short-term, said Barron’s.
Meanwhile, the price of Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by capitalization, fell more than 3% below $3,300, also showing the largest one-day decline since early March on Thursday.
Kazakhstan will not be a tool to circumvent US and EU sanctions against Russia, Timur Suleimenov, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan, said.
In an interview with Euractiv, he called the purpose of his visit to the EU “to demonstrate to our European partners that Kazakhstan will not be a tool to circumvent sanctions against Russia by the US and the EU.”
“We will comply with the sanctions. Despite the fact that we are part of an economic union with Russia, Belarus and other countries, we are also part of the international community. Therefore, the last thing we want is for Kazakhstan to be subject to secondary US and EU sanctions,” he stressed. Suleimenov.
“We will do our best to control the sanctioned goods. We will do our best to control any investment in Kazakhstan by individuals or organizations that are under sanctions, and this is what we wanted to openly convey to the Europeans,” he said.
Rauta has developed several options for master plans development, taking into account different needs and funding opportunities, which may include projects for houses with 1-2 rooms with a separate entrance, own bathroom and kitchen.
“The concept of settlements for migrants is based on the highest speed of construction, comfortable layouts and increased energy efficiency,” said Andriy Ozeychuk, Rauta director. “The unification of production processes and ease of installation make it possible to ensure the mass construction of camps in any region of Ukraine in a few months.”
A distinctive feature of the Rauta proposal in comparison with alternative solutions for temporary residence is that houses made of sandwich panels can be effectively operated for decades and, if necessary, people will stay in such settlements for a long time with a comfortable standard of living.
If sometime the need for such settlements disappears, then the houses can be easily dismantled and moved to other places, as well as repurposed to perform new functions: recreation facilities, administrative centers, outpatient clinics, small commercial or office buildings, etc.
You can see the refugee houses layouts and possible options for master plans at the link.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denied rumors that Germany and France are putting pressure on Ukraine to make concessions in negotiations with the Russian Federation.
“Those countries that you mentioned are our partners, they help us a lot, especially the UK, and we don’t feel any pressure in the negotiation process from their side, we feel support and we have very close interaction with these governments,” Kuleba said at the briefing in Warsaw on Friday.
So Kuleba responded to a journalist’s request to comment on media reports that France and Germany are putting pressure on Ukraine to make concessions to the Russian Federation in the negotiations.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that even before the start of the war, it was inappropriate to say that Ukraine could be put under pressure.
“We have shown in a number of situations that Ukraine does not succumb to any pressure, you can only speak with us on an equal footing and you can never speak down. And after 36 days of war, I assure you that no one in Europe or overseas will even dare to attack President Zelensky or to Ukraine for any reason,” Kuleba said.
