The Australian authorities have decided to soon impose a ban on the import of oil, gas, coal and oil products from Russia, The Guardian reports on Friday, citing a representative of the Australian Foreign Ministry.
“This decision does not threaten Australia’s energy security. Australia has diversified and sustainable oil supply chains and adequate oil reserves thanks to the government’s comprehensive energy security policy,” he said.
The ban will take effect no earlier than in 45 days. In this regard, the representative of the ministry specified for The Guardian, ships carrying already paid energy carriers from the Russian Federation will be able to arrive for shipment in Australian ports.
He noted that Australia does not import these goods from Russia in significant volumes. At the same time, the diplomat expressed the opinion that since energy resources are the largest source of export earnings to the Russian Federation, restrictions on their acquisition by Australia and its allies will reduce Moscow’s ability to operate in Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a decree banning the import of oil, oil products, as well as liquefied natural gas and coal from Russia, which led to another jump in prices on the global energy market.
The British authorities also announced their intention to stop buying Russian oil within the next few months.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times said that the U.S. authorities are actively looking for new energy supplies after the refusal to import Russian oil, trying to prevent further growth in fuel prices at American gas stations.
Subscribers of Kyivstar mobile operator will receive UAH 250 bonus in nine countries – Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, Hungary, as well as in Germany, Italy, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, to communicate with their relatives, the company’s press service reported on Friday.
“If a subscriber arrives in one of the indicated countries, then during the day he is automatically credited with bonus funds and is given the opportunity to use special tariffs throughout Europe: 1 Mb of Internet costs UAH 0.10; one minute of an incoming call or an outgoing call within the host country or to Ukraine – 1 UAH; 1 SMS – 1 UAH,” the message says.
So, at the expense of bonuses, Kyivstar subscribers receive 250 minutes for calls, 250 SMS, 2500 MB of mobile Internet, without paying for these services on their own. Bonuses will be valid for 30 days.
In Kharkiv, as of March 10, 347 residential buildings remained without heat.
“Due to the massive shelling of certain areas of the city, heating networks and sources of heat supply were significantly damaged. As of March 10, large-scale damage remains that can be eliminated only after the end of hostilities. In this regard, it is impossible to restore heating in 347 houses,” the press service of Kharkiv thermal networks reported on Facebook.
The message also contains a list of addresses of such houses.
At the same time, in the coming days, temperatures are predicted to drop to 10-15 degrees below zero at night.
The European Investment Bank (EIB), which already approved a EUR668 million immediate financial support package for Ukraine on March 4, may increase assistance and develop an additional support package for the country’s reconstruction after the war end, bank president Werner Hoyer said.
“We are working hard to provide more support — I envisage a package for a total of EUR2 billion from the EIB — for critical infrastructure and to rebuild what the Russian army has knocked down, in a free and independent Ukraine. We also hope to announce in the coming days further financing to support Ukraine’s neighbors in and outside the European Union as they offer shelter and protection to refugees fleeing war,” he said.
“The European Investment Bank made the first two disbursements totaling EUR129 million to the government of Ukraine for the most urgent needs. These funds are part of the EIB’s Ukraine Solidarity Urgent Response of which EUR668 million was approved by the EIB Board of Directors on March 4. The financing benefits from the EU guarantee under the External Lending Mandate and complements other initiatives announced by EU institutions,” the report says.
“We are grateful to the European Investment Bank for close cooperation and efficient use of existing mechanisms to support Ukraine in these difficult times. We appreciate the swift actions, which allowed us to get essential funds for meeting the country’s urgent financial needs. We also hope to discuss new projects aimed at rebuilding economic and social infrastructure in the country in the near future,” Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
Over 200 enterprises have applied for assistance in evacuating to the west of Ukraine, some are already in the process of moving, member of parliament and head of the committee on finance, taxation and customs policy (the Servant of the People faction) Danylo Hetmantsev has said.
“As of March 10, there are over 200 applications. There are enterprises that are already in the process of moving,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
The parliamentarian clarified that the appeals come from representatives of the food, woodworking, textile, fuel chemical industries, medicine and mechanical engineering.
The State Customs Service will confiscate goods and vehicles when trying to smuggle under the guise of humanitarian aid instead of a fine, as it was in peacetime, first deputy head of the department Oleksandr Shutsky said.
“The state customs and the military administration warn: if earlier it was just a protocol on violation of customs rules and a fine, now the goods will be confiscated, and vehicles will also be confiscated,” he said during a press briefing in Zakarpattia region on Thursday.
Shutsky added that the confiscated property would subsequently be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the military administration.
The official specified that since the beginning of the full-scale military aggression of the Russian Federation, there have been few attempts to pass off smuggling as humanitarian aid. Thus, the smugglers tried to carry household chemicals, food, hygiene products, and luxury goods under a simplified procedure without customs payments.
“We see that attempts have begun to cover (commercial deliveries) with public organizations and humanitarian supplies. Therefore, we warn,” he stressed.
