Ukraine will carry out a sowing campaign wherever there are no active hostilities, as of March 25, some 150,000 hectares of agricultural land have been sown in the country, the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported on Friday.
These indicators are 1.5 times higher than last year – as of March 25, 2021, some 106,000 hectares of agricultural land were sown in Ukraine as part of the spring sowing campaign.
“We already see that in Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv, in spite of everything, the sowing campaign has begun under Ukrainian flags,”, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky said.
It is clarified that due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine this season, a decrease in the area under high-margin crops (sunflower and corn) is expected while increasing the area under crops that are easier to produce, but important from the point of view of food security – peas, barley and oats.
“These crops used to be niche, but they are simpler in terms of technology, and, nevertheless, important for people’s nutrition. Therefore, there will be such a shift from export-oriented crops to food crops for domestic consumption,” Vysotsky specified.
According to the ministry, Russian aggression will lead to a reduction in the area under crops in Ukraine by a third, which threatens the food security of 100 million residents of countries importing Ukrainian agricultural products, mainly from North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Almost 43,000 people crossed the state border from Ukraine to the EU and Moldova on March 23, while the day before there were more than 43,000, the State Border Guard Service said on Thursday. “The data of the last few days indicate that the passenger flow on the western section of the border remains stable,” the agency reported.
The State Border Guard Service said that about two-thirds of those who left went to Poland, which corresponds to the average values.
According to it, the flow of people entering Ukraine on March 24 remained the same as the day before – more than 19,000, including almost 16,000 citizens of Ukraine. “The vast majority are men who are ready to defend the country. Since the beginning of the open armed aggression, more than 400,000 of our compatriots returned to Ukraine,” the State Border Guard Service said.
It reports that all checkpoints on the western border (except “Dzvinkove”) operate around the clock.
The State Border Guard Service also reported that over the past day the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian cargo exceeded 670, while in previous two days they were registered 750-760.
According to the UNHCR, as of 13:00 on March 23, a total of 3.67 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war, of which Poland received 2.17 million, Romania and Moldova – 633,06, Hungary – 330,880, Slovakia – 260,240, Russia – 271,250, Belarus – 5,570.
Passenger traffic across the western border of Ukraine, thousands
Date From Ukraine Including to Poland Into Ukraine Including Ukrainians Number of vehicles
24.3 43 28 19 16 13
23.3 43 28 19 16 13
22.3 45 30 18 15 12
21.3 42 29 17 14 11
20.3 47 30 20 17 14
19.3 50 45 21 17 14
18.3 50 32 19 15 13
17.3 55 33 18 15 14
16.3 69 47 17 14 14
15.3 75 52 16 13 13
14.3 71 48 15 13 13
13.3 62 41 17 14 15
12.3 77 51 19 14 15
11.3 75 49 18 15 14
Data: State Border Guard Service
Over the past week, there has been an increase in the number of new resumes posted on the website of the grc.ua recruitment portal by 69% and by 30% in the number of reviews for vacancies compared to the previous week, according to a press release from the portal.
“The labor market has recovered from a complete freeze and exists in the conditions of war. Ukrainians left without work as a result of the cessation of the functioning of their companies or due to moving to another region feel the need for a new job,” the report says.
At the same time, there are few vacancies that have opened since the start of the war, but they do exist. Most job offers are in retail trade. In order to provide the population with food and basic necessities, retailers are trying to keep their stores open. Salesmen and cashiers were also in demand specialists in peacetime. Now there are more job offers in retail trade than in other professional areas – 42% of all current vacancies in Ukraine.
Specialists in the field of transportation, logistics, warehouses and foreign economic activity (8% of all current vacancies) are in demand. There are not as many job offers in the field of information technology as in peacetime – only 7% of all relevant ones. There are also jobs in companies in the sectors of oil and gas (6%), business services (6%) and metallurgy and metalworking (5%).
The top ten industries with slightly more jobs than others also include extractive industry (4.3% of all vacancies), agriculture (4.1%), financial sector (3.4%), medicine pharmaceuticals, pharmacies (2.6%) and food (2.5%).
At the beginning of the war, many of the vacancies from the opening companies were on a volunteer basis. However, Ukrainians need not only work, but also wages.
If we analyze all the vacancies open today, then the average salary in them is UAH 26,900. The largest number of job offers (40%) with a salary of UAH 16,600, another quarter (26%) of vacancies indicated a salary of UAH 26,300. Almost a sixth of vacancies offer UAH 35,900 of monthly compensation. In 12% of the vacancy, the salary is from UAH 45,600. The highest salary from UAH 55,300 is offered in 6% of vacancies.
Turkey continues to maintain contacts with both Ukraine and Russia, and the primary task of its diplomacy is to achieve a settlement of the situation, the Anadolu agency quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying.
“We maintain diplomatic contacts with both sides, discuss all proposals and support all initiatives aimed at establishing peace,” he said at a press conference following the NATO summit in Brussels.
Erdogan noted that Turkey maintains special relations with both countries.
“For this reason, the first task of Turkish diplomacy is to stop hostilities. Peace in Ukraine must be ensured according to a formula that will suit the two countries and the world community. It must be a stable and strong peace,” the Turkish President added.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group, owned by businessman Rinat Akhmetov, transferred $500,000 to a targeted charity fund for the purchase of protective ammunition and first-aid kits for the Territorial Defense Forces of Zapoprizhia.
“By uniting for the sake of defending the independence of Ukraine and Ukrainians, we are bringing victory closer. The army and the Territorial Defense Forces protect the civilian population, and we are trying to protect and support them in the struggle for state sovereignty, our freedom and independence,” head of the Metinvest Humanitarian Mission Coordination Center in Zaporizhia, director general of Zaporizhstal, Oleksandr Myronenko, who is quoted by the press service of the steel plant, said.
At the same time, it is noted that the Vadym Novynsky Foundation also transferred $500,000 in support of Zaporizhia Territorial Defense Forces.
The total contributions transferred to Zaporizhia Trust Charitable Fund will be used to purchase bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets and NATO-standard first-aid kits for the defenders.
According to a press release, Metinvest Group has been supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces in the cities where the company operates since the first days of the war. Since the beginning of hostilities, more than 35,000 anti-tank hedgehogs, as well as spiked chains against wheeled vehicles and anti-landing hedgehogs, have been made from Metinvest steel. With the support of the company, the construction of the city’s fortifications continues. Metinvest enterprises provide heavy special equipment and vehicles for the needs of defenders, as well as fuel, batteries and walkie-talkies.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria there is a Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year. In the UK, the company owns the Spartan UK plant, which can produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel per year.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadym Novynsky, who jointly manage the company.
