Ukraine is negotiating a potential issue of “peace bonds” designed for retail investors from the US and European diaspora, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
“Ukraine is in talks with the EU and the US to issue so-called ‘peace bonds’ to retail investors to fund the war effort and reconstruction,” the agency said, citing a source familiar with the discussion.
The European Commission has proposed recommendations and the role of an intermediary regarding the control of new bonds. According to the source, Ukraine and the EU held relevant negotiations.
Earlier, the Treasury Department indicated that it was discussing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the possibility of allowing US citizens to buy Ukraine’s war bonds. According to the source, the Ukrainian government is represented by an international law firm in the placement of bonds on the US market. At present, war bonds have allowed the Ministry of Finance to raise $1.53 billion, the IMF – $1.4 billion, the NBU – $1.3, the World Bank – $1 billion, EU – $0.79 billion, the report says.
The Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine) has extended martial law in Ukraine for another 30 days, that is, until May 25, 2022, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak (the Holos faction) has said.
“Parliament met again today and adopted… We voted on a number of important decisions,” Zhelezniak said on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to him, the extension of the martial law in Ukraine is stipulated in bill No. 7300 on approval of the presidential decree on extension of the martial law in Ukraine, for which 300 MPs voted.
Swiss-based Nestle, one of the world leaders in the production of food and beverages, has provided Ukraine with CHF15 million ($15.8 million at the current exchange rate) in the form of humanitarian and monetary assistance since the beginning of the military invasion by the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, which included financial assistance and over 40 million servings of food, drinks and nutrients.
The relevant data was made public in the report of the corporation for the first quarter of 2022 on its website on Thursday.
“From the very beginning of the war, Nestle has focused on supporting its employees, their families and the people of Ukraine. Working in partnership with Ukrainian charities, Nestle also organized direct humanitarian deliveries in the war zone,” the report says.
According to its data, the corporation was able to largely maintain operations in western Ukraine, while the work of its plant in Kharkiv was stopped due to heavy shelling of the city by Russian troops. The enterprise was transformed into a distribution center for humanitarian aid for the local population.
The corporation has retained wage payments for its 5,800 Ukrainian employees, and also provides them with advance, lump-sum payments in connection with the relocation.
“Nestle has set up support centers in neighboring countries such as Poland to receive employees and their families who have left Ukraine. For example, part of the company’s factory in Rzeszow (Poland) was converted into housing for refugees,” the corporation said in the report.
As reported, on March 23, the corporation decided to reduce production and sales in the aggressor country of the Russian Federation to essential goods, such as baby or medical food.
The United States is launching a new program for the admission of refugees from Ukraine, which is designed to supplement the ways of entry for them into the country, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
“We have already accepted tens of thousands of Ukrainians, and today I am announcing the Unite for Ukraine program, a new program that will allow Ukrainians seeking refugee status to travel directly from Europe to the United States,” he said.
“This new program will complement the existing routes of entry available to Ukrainians,” Biden said.
Earlier, the United States announced its readiness to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
U.S. President Joe Biden intends next week to send a request to Congress for an additional budget for military assistance to Ukraine.
At the White House on Thursday Biden said that next week, he will send a request to Congress for an additional budget to keep the flow of weapons and ammunition to the brave Ukrainian fighters uninterrupted. He explained that this is also necessary to continue economic support. According to the president, he will appeal to Congress, as the previously allocated budget for assistance to Ukraine is running out.
The U.S. President believes that Congress will quickly respond to his request.
The board of directors of British-based Ferrexpo Plc, which controls in Ukraine, in particular, the Poltava and Yeristovo mining and processing plants (GOK), has approved an increase in the level of financing for the company’s humanitarian fund by $5 million, to $12.5 million.
“The decision to approve additional funding has been made to ensure that the group’s management team is able to continue to respond in an effective and timely manner as the humanitarian crisis unfolds in Ukraine, with assistance being provided to communities across the country,” the group said on its website.
“More recent projects that the group has assisted through the fund, as well as additional funding via the group’s operating subsidiaries, have included the following: the purchase of power generators, fuel, water tanks, and food supplies; purchasing of ambulances for hospitals, as well as equipment for the treatment of wounds; renovation work and provision of facilities in local communities that are being used for accommodation; assisting in the delivery of humanitarian goods from Europe to Ukraine, and the relocation of animals from zoological parks in eastern Ukraine; and the purchase of electronic equipment to assist in documenting the damage being inflicted on communities across Ukraine,” the report says.
“Our efforts through our humanitarian fund are focused on providing direct and relevant financial support to a number of initiatives as we become aware of them, utilizing our experience of operating in Ukraine, and our wide and diverse business network to source goods and services for those in need. The nature and scope of the projects requiring assistance varies from day to day, and we are proud to be able to support communities across Ukraine at this difficult time,” Jim North, the CEO of Ferrexpo, said.
