President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the issue of the de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea should be resolved in a diplomatic format after the cessation of hostilities, possibly in ten years. “We do not trade our territory. Therefore, issues of territorial integrity and sovereignty are out of the question. There are complex issues regarding the temporarily occupied territories. There are fundamental difficulties that we are ready to remove from the agenda, such as the issue of Crimea. We are ready to talk about the Crimean issue. The issue of the de-occupation of Crimea should be resolved in a diplomatic format, perhaps in ten years,” the head of state said in an interview for Fox News. He stressed that on a global scale, this issue “should be resolved, for example, as follows: cessation of the war, and then diplomatic steps.”
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk is disappointed with the positions of Moldova and Georgia on neutrality in the issue of imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation. “I once thought that what unites Ukraine most of all with Georgia and Moldova is that our countries are territorially “bitten” by the Russian Federation. But today’s position of official Tbilisi and Chisinau regarding their neutrality in imposing sanctions against Russia has disappointed me,” Stefanchuk wrote. He stressed that friends are known in trouble, “but it’s good that our peoples have a different opinion.”
Ukraine in March 2022 exported 5.97 million tons of goods worth $2.7 billion, which is 2.2 times less than in February in terms of quantity and half in value, while imports of goods to Ukraine in March amounted to 5 million tons $5.9 billion, which is more than three times less than in February. “Ukraine’s export volume in March amounted to 5.97 million tons worth $2.7 billion. While in February, the state exported 13.1 million tons of goods worth $5.3 billion. The main export items are ores, corn, ferroalloys and oil “, the Ministry of Economy said in a release on Sunday. The export of metals and agricultural products was particularly affected, however, the volume of exports of a number of goods with deep processing remained practically unchanged compared to the pre-war period, the Ministry of Economy added. The Ministry notes a significant reduction in metal exports. In particular, the export of flat products fell by almost 10 times – from 437 thousand tons in February to 47 thousand tons in March. “For some metallurgy positions, exports were not made at all. This is primarily due to the physical destruction of metallurgical facilities and the stoppage of production,” the ministry commented. In March, Ukraine exported 1.1 million tons of corn, 309 thousand tons of wheat, 118 thousand tons of sunflower oil, 40 thousand tons of soybeans. This is four times less than in February, according to the data of the Ministry of Economy. “At the same time, for many items of goods with deep processing, the volume of exports remained at the level of the previous month and even increased. These are, for example, cable products, the export of which amounted to $111 million ($130 million in February) or wood facing sheets – $32 million against $26 million in February,” the Economy Ministry said. Due to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian imports suffered significant losses: if in February the state imported 5 million tons of goods worth $5.9 billion, then in March – 1.6 million tons worth $1.8 billion, the report says. Currently, the most important imports to Ukraine are gas, oil, oil products and coal. “The enemy is deliberately undermining the economy of our state by blocking domestic exports. The traditional route for the export of export goods was the Black Sea ports, blocked today by Russia. In addition, the occupiers are attacking metallurgical enterprises and agricultural infrastructure in order to prevent the restoration of our capabilities in the future. All this threatens not only Ukraine, but also the whole world, because our state was the guarantor of food security in a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East,” the press service of the Ministry of the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko quotes. To counter this, Ukraine is increasing the capacity of rail, road and river transport on the western border of Ukraine, attracting manufacturers, traders, transport companies, Sviridenko noted. “The remnants of basic agricultural crops in Ukraine are enough to ensure exports. In addition, the start of the sowing campaign inspires restrained optimism for the future harvest,” the head of the ministry said.
The State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) estimates the losses from damage to road infrastructure during the war with Russia at UAH 874 billion. “As of April 3, 23 thousand km of roads and 273 artificial structures – bridges, overpasses, etc. – were destroyed throughout Ukraine. The total amount (losses – IF) that we have already calculated is UAH 874 billion. That is, the restoration of those artificial structures and roads that were destroyed in this war will take such an amount: roads for UAH 835 billion and bridges for UAH 39 billion,” Andriy Ivko, first deputy head of Ukravtodor, said at a briefing at the Ukrainian Media Center on Sunday. He also stressed that Ukravtodor is counting the damage to the road infrastructure on a daily basis. “But we are already preparing for restoration, we are preparing design documentation for roads and bridges. So that when the war ends and we win, we can start work as soon as possible,” Ivko said. Most of the destruction, according to him, suffered roads in the East, South and part of the North of Ukraine.
LLC “Zaporozhye Casting and Mechanical Plant” (ZLMZ), created on the basis of the production workshops of the department of the chief mechanic of PJSC “Zaporizhstal”, which is part of the Metinvest group, has resumed its work.
According to the company’s information on Sunday, earlier the Metinvest group decided to withdraw the main equipment of ZLMZ from the conservation regime, while before that only duty teams came to the workplace to maintain the equipment in proper condition.
“We have every reason to resume work: the military situation in Zaporozhye is under control, we have received both standard orders and unique requests from customers, so now we are making every effort to fulfill them,” the words of the acting are quoted in the message. Director General of ZLMZ Igor Dolgozvezda.
It is specified that the plant has resumed the work of the main divisions: a mechanical workshop, a metal structure workshop and a section for the production of shaped castings. Currently, the Zaporizhia Casting and Mechanical Plant is planning to produce and restore parts for Metinvest enterprises – Zaporizhstal, Kametstal, Metinvest Pokrovskugol and mining and processing plants of the Metinvest group. The company is also mastering the production of new types of products – spare parts for mining and lifting vehicles.
Yury Dmitriev, the head of the ZLMZ machine shop, pointed out that after the information about the resumption of production, the workers immediately expressed a desire to return to work, and some employees even began to return from abroad.
“Before the war, we worked on a day/night/48 or 5/2 schedule. Now our workers are ready to work around the clock to load the equipment to the maximum and produce the maximum product,” Dmitriev said.
Work shifts for employees have been adjusted to reflect the curfew. The enterprise provides centralized transportation of workers by corporate transport.
According to the decision of the company, the priority right to employment for open vacancies of scarce professions at ZLMZ is granted to specialists evacuated from Mariupol to Zaporozhye.
It is indicated that the company is gaining pre-war momentum and even working on new technologies so as not to depend on foreign supplies.
The press service also reports that ZLMZ employees, as volunteers, joined the work of the Center for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Mission of Metinvest in Zaporozhye from the first days of its creation, taking part in the reception, sorting and formation of cargo with humanitarian aid and coordinating the reception of internally displaced persons at social facilities companies in Zaporozhye.
LLC “Zaporozhye Casting and Mechanical Plant” (ZLMZ) was established on the basis of the foundry and mechanical shops, as well as the shop of metal structures of the plant “Zaporizhstal” in mid-2016. At the same time, the steel plant remains the main partner of the plant, which is a diversified enterprise with a closed production cycle.
ZLMZ specializes in the production of castings from cast iron, as well as from alloyed, low-alloyed and high-alloyed steels, metal structures and metal parts. The company produces a wide range of products, which includes molds for metallurgical plants, building structures, spare parts and prefabricated assemblies. The main consumers of the plant’s products are enterprises of the mining and metallurgical and other industries.
The plant is part of the Metinvest group, the largest mining and metallurgical holding in Ukraine. The main shareholders of Metinvest are the SCM group (71.25%) of Rinat Akhmetov and Smart Holding (23.75%) of Vadim Novinsky, who jointly manage the company.
Ukrainian population by regions as of Dec 1, 2021 (graphically)
SSC of Ukraine
