The hryvnia exchange rate on the interbank FX currency market weakened to UAH 28.005/$1 on Friday from UAH 27.860/$1 on the previous business day, dealers of commercial banks has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to them, the quotes of the national currency at the close of trading amounted to UAH 27.995-UAH 28.015/$1.
According to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine, the hryvnia reference rate on the interbank FX market weakened to UAH 27.94/$1 on Friday from UAH 27.70/$1 on Thursday.
At the same time, the regulator weakened the exchange rate of the national currency for January 17 to UAH 27.9514/$1 from UAH 27.7372/$1 the day before.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Ukraine next week, CBC TV channel reports, citing a press statement.
Joly’s office said the trip was meant to reaffirm Canada’s unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
It is noted that meetings are planned between the Canadian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna.
It is also expected that Joly will visit the Canadian military in Ukraine.
As it is known, 200 Canadian servicemen are in Ukraine as part of the UNIFIER military training mission, they are based in Yavoriv (Lviv region)
The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine is in contact with international partners on countering cyberattacks and strengthening the cybersecurity system, measures are being taken to protect the websites of the Foreign Ministry and consulates abroad, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said.
On behalf of Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian diplomatic service has begun additional contacts with international partners to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to counter cyberattacks and develop cyber defense systems.
“A team of specialists from the Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with other involved departments, has already resumed the operation of the website of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine: mfa.gov.ua,” Nikolenko wrote on his Facebook page.
He noted that as a result of the hacker attack, the content of the website was not damaged, no official information was leaked, and the internal IT systems of the Foreign Ministry are operating as normal.
“We are taking practical measures to strengthen the cyber defense of the Foreign Ministry and Ukrainian embassies and consulates abroad,” Nikolenko added.
NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy in a letter sent to the government at the beginning of this year warned of the risks of balancing the gas transmission system (GTS) of Ukraine in the current heating season, which, according to the company, are associated with the problems of forming sufficient natural gas resources for these purposes by Gas Transmission System Operator Ukraine (GTSOU).
In a copy of the document available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, Naftogaz notes that, according to the law on the natural gas market, GTSOU must purchase gas for these purposes “in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner and on market conditions.”
It notes that the current legislation in no way imposes on the participants in the natural gas market, in particular on Naftogaz, the obligation to provide the balancing service to GTSOU.
According to Naftogaz, GTSOU did not provide, as provided for by European rules, the possibility of trading gas for the needs of balancing the system on liquid exchanges or on its own trading platform.
Naftogaz recalled that the contract between GTSOU and the subsidiary of Naftogaz, Naftogaz Trading gas supply company LLC, on the provision of balancing services by the latter expires on January 19, 2022, and a new similar tender in December 2021 failed due to insufficient interest from market participants in the conditions proposed by GTSOU.
Naftogaz informs that it does not see an opportunity to participate in a new tender for the purchase of balancing services by GTSOU for 2022. According to Naftogaz, the GTS operator, by purchasing the balancing service from Naftogaz, actually resells it to gas market entities (primarily Naftogaz) and receives super profits.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed decree No.13/2022 on the appointment of a new Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania.
“To appoint Petro Ivanovych Beshta as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania,” the president said in the document released on its website.
Ukrainian mining enterprises reduced the export of iron ore raw materials in quantity terms by 4.2% in 2021 compared to 2020, to 44.358 million tonnes.
According to updated statistics released by the State Customs Service on Friday, over the specified period, foreign exchange earnings from the export of iron ore increased by 62.8%, to $6.900 billion.
Iron ore was exported mainly to China (41.90% of supplies in monetary terms), the Czech Republic (9.65%) and Poland (7.99%).
Last year, iron ore raw materials were imported to Ukraine for $184,000 in a total volume of 1,202 tonnes, while in 2020 some 123 tonnes of iron ore were imported for $75,000.
Imports for 2021 were from Egypt (55.98%), the Netherlands (21.2%) and Poland (7.07%).
