Ukraine needs a strategic plan for international support, it will be a modern analogue of the historic Marshall Plan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while speaking via video link at the High-Level International Donor Conference on Ukraine in Warsaw on Thursday.
“The restoration of Ukraine must now become as historical an example for our time and future as the restoration of European countries after World War II… It will be an investment in the stability of all of Central and Eastern Europe. So that the aggressor knows that he will not break the power of Europe and freer nations that everything that was destroyed by the war will be restored,” Zelensky stressed.
He noted that freedom must demonstrate that it protects and provides people better than tyranny, which for decades has enjoyed a huge flow of money, the sale of oil, gas and other raw materials, which is why this conference is so important for everyone in Europe both strategically and in tactical terms.
Zelensky pointed out that Ukraine now retains full functionality, but needs sufficient financial resources “so that Ukrainian men and women are provided with everything necessary,” and in continuous work, the state, as the manager of these funds, will cover priority defense, social and humanitarian needs.
The President added that a large-scale recovery and reconstruction plan is already being prepared.
If this new Marshall Plan for Ukraine provides for quick and sufficient steps, he said, it will mean that millions of Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war will be able to return home.
“How this brutal war will end is decided not only on the battlefield, but also in matters of economy and finance, and humanitarian support, and in the ability to ensure a normal life in the liberated territories and restore what was destroyed by the Russian army,” Zelensky summed up. .
He added that Ukraine invites its partners – civilized and responsible countries – to take over the patronage of those regions, cities and industries of Ukraine that suffered from the war unleashed by Russia, in order to jointly ensure their full restoration.
“I believe that today Europe will show its strength, you will show your strength, including the strength of international institutions, the UN institutions, whose representatives are now with us … because this is for common freedom,” Zelensky concluded his speech.
The French chain of sports stores Decathlon has resumed work in Ukraine, a website and a store in Retail Park Petrivka are functioning, the retailer said on its official Facebook page.
Orders on the site are reportedly processed from 10:00 to 18:00. The store is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00.
The company said that they are gradually planning to open other stores of the chain.
Decathlon is known as the world’s leading sports retailer, specializing in the design, manufacture and retail of sports goods for over 70 sports.
The first Decathlon store in Ukraine was opened in March 2019 in Kyiv. There are three stores in the Ukrainian capital, as well as one in Odesa. In addition, Decathlon products are available for order in the online store.
By now, the mobile operator Kyivstar has provided 1,000 bomb shelters all over Ukraine with free home internet.
According to the press service of the company on Thursday, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Rivne, Lviv, Dnipro, Obukhov, Khmelnitsky, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Chernivtsi, Zaporozhye, Lutsk, Nikolaev and others receive this service from the operator.
Every day, the company connects an average of 15 new locations and accepts applications for connection.
According to the operator, in order to apply for connecting a bomb shelter to the Internet, you need to send a request to the email address wifi@kyivstar.net, indicating your contacts and connection address. Within a few days, a technician will provide feedback on connectivity and the required time to complete the request.
Kyivstar notes that today, since the beginning of the war, the company has already provided subscribers with free services worth more than UAH 400 million. In addition, she transferred more than UAH 30 million in charitable assistance for the humanitarian needs of the military, hospitals, the elderly and those affected by the war.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of May 05
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 05/05/22
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
The proposal of the European Commission regarding the sixth package of sanctions with an oil embargo on Russia because of the war it unleashed against Ukraine will be supported by all member states of the European Union, European Council President Charles Michel has said with confidence.
“I can assure you that I’m working very hard with my team and with my colleagues in order to make sure that we will be able in very short term to take united position on the proposal putted on the table by the Commission,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine.
Michel recalled that “systematically in the past there were some concerns that we would not be able to be united.” “We were systematically able to adopt united position. And, of course, it required some negotiations, talks, decision. We need the support of the 27 governments. A few weeks ago I said publicly in the European Parliament that sooner or later oil and gas would be part of the sanctions. This is an important step… This is Commission which makes a proposal but these are the governments, this is Council which takes a decision,” the President of the European Council said.
