Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin has arrived in Kyiv to express support for the Ukrainian people, The Irish Times said.
Ireland will stand by Ukraine in the face of Russia’s “immoral and unprovoked war of terror,” Martin said ahead of his arrival in Kyiv this morning.
“The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes, and I will use my visit to express Ireland’s support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable,” Martin said.
The Prime Minister of Ireland has arrived in Kyiv, where he is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Martin will also discuss with the Ukrainian authorities how Ireland and the EU can support the current and future needs of the country.
The Irish government says that Martin will personally see the destruction due to bombing and targeted attacks on civilians during the invasion and occupation by Russian troops.
According to the statement, the prime minister “will reiterate Ireland’s full backing for continuing sanctions against Putin’s regime, for Ukraine’s path to full EU membership, as well as our commitment to work with EU colleagues to ensure the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
“The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all, and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraine’s path to full EU Membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war,” the prime minister said.
Martin was invited to Ukraine last month by President Zelensky.
The exact details of the visit last night were not released due to security concerns, but Martin was expected to travel to Kyiv by land from Poland.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 06/07/22
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
The World Bank may allocate $200 million to Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) for the development of grain export capacity, Alexander Kamyshin, the head of the board of UZ, announced such a preliminary agreement. “We have tentatively agreed with the World Bank on $200 million in funding for our projects to develop grain export capacity,” he wrote in a telegram on Tuesday following the results of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano (Switzerland).
Earlier, on the sidelines of the conference, Kamyshin clarified to the Interfax-Ukraine agency that Ukrzaliznytsia failed to increase grain exports in June due to existing logistical restrictions.
As reported, Ukraine exported 1.41 million tons of grain crops in June 2022 compared to 1.2 million tons in May. At the same time, exports through the ports before the war of grain crops amounted to 4-5 million tons.
U.S. actor, director, screenwriter and producer Liev Schreiber has become an ambassador for UNITED24, a fundraising platform for Ukraine in the direction of Medical Aid, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“An American actor, director, screenwriter and producer with Ukrainian roots, co-founder of the BlueCheck Ukraine initiative, which has been implementing humanitarian projects in Ukraine since the first days of the war, Liev Schreiber has become UNITED24 Ambassador in the Medical Aid direction,” Zelensky said in his Telegram channel.
The head of state thanked Schreiber and his team for helping Ukraine. “Liev, I believe that you will also help strengthen peace support for Ukraine within U24,” the president said.
Earlier, U24 ambassadors were former football player and head coach of the Ukrainian national team Andriy Shevchenko, as well as Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina.
The European Parliament on Tuesday voted to liberalize Moldova’s agricultural exports to the European Union, MEP Siegfried Muresan, who co-chairs the committee for cooperation with Moldova, said.
Under the EP resolution, export quotas will be doubled for a year for seven goods to which tariff quotas still apply. They include tomatoes, garlic, table grapes, apples, cherries, plums, and grape juice. Moldova used to export plums and grapes in large quantities to Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
The decision was made because the situation in Ukraine “has strongly affected Moldovan farmers, who are no longer able to export their goods to the East,” Muresan said.
The EU is already Moldova’s biggest trading partner, accounting for almost two-thirds of total exports, he said.
In June, the Silpo supermarket chain recorded a fourfold increase in sales of salt, 3.5 times soda, three times vinegar, and twice as much sugar as compared to June last year, the retailer’s press service reported.
As noted in the release, the excitement for these categories of goods was caused by a chain reaction after the news about the suspension of the work of the Artemsol enterprise in the Donetsk region. In particular, despite the fact that simultaneously with the suspension of the Silpo enterprise, sufficient volumes of salt were brought to Ukraine from Poland, Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria, the demand for salt quadrupled, and the very possibility of its shortage triggered an increase in demand for other social goods.
In June, sales of soda increased by 2.5 times, which Silpo delivers mainly from Turkey.
Certain interruptions in the supply of vinegar were observed in early June. There are two large vinegar producers in Ukraine, they depend on the supply of acetic acid from abroad, but they managed to establish supplies and stabilize the situation.
The sale of sugar has doubled. The supermarket chain coped with the increased demand by increasing the supplies of Ukrainian sugar producers.
The Silpo chain, which is part of the Fozzy Group, consists of 325 supermarkets in 60 cities of Ukraine and four Le Silpo deli markets in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkov and Odessa.
Fozzy Group is one of the largest Ukrainian retailers with more than 690 outlets throughout the country. The company develops retail chains of various formats: Silpo supermarkets, Fozzy Cash & Carry wholesale hypermarkets, Fora convenience stores, Thrash! discounters, Bila Romashka pharmaceutical supermarkets, Ringoo personal electronics stores.
According to Opendatabot, the founder of Silpo-Food LLC is PJSC Closed Non-Diversified Venture Corporate Investment Fund Retail Capital (100%, Kyiv), Vladimir Kostelman is the ultimate beneficiary.
According to the results of January-September 2021, Silpo’s trade turnover amounted to UAH 42.1 billion. “Club of Experts” has previously analyzed the shortage of salt in Ukraine and the impact of salt on the human body. For more details, see the video on the YouTube channel of the “Club of Experts” at the link
