Ferrexpo Plc (the U.K.), which controls Poltava Mining and Yeristovo Mining in Ukraine, has increased the level of approved funding for its Humanitarian Fund to $7.5 million to provide further support to local communities close to the group’s operations, as well as broader support for communities throughout Ukraine.
According to a press release of the group on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday, following the announcement of the establishment of the fund on 7 March 2022, the Group has been made aware of further projects and initiatives to support the humanitarian relief effort within Ukraine and the group’s Board of Directors has moved to quickly increase the fund’s approved budget accordingly.
Examples of projects that sit within the fund’s activities include the group’s efforts to coordinate the supply and distribution of food packages, the sourcing of basic medical supplies for local hospitals and medical facilities and the provision of meals for local residents of communities surrounding to the group’s operations.
“The situation in Ukraine is rapidly evolving and the fund is intended help enable the group to react quickly to meet the increased needs of Ukraine and our workforce and their families at this difficult time,” the group said.
UNESCO will analyze the educational opportunities for temporarily evacuated citizens of Ukraine in the countries of the European Union, the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science said, citing UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini.
“Ms. Stefania noted that UNESCO, within the framework of the mandate, will analyze what opportunities for education for temporarily evacuated citizens of Ukraine the EU countries can provide, especially for applicants for higher education. Giannini said that universities in some countries are already actively supporting students and academic staff and are ready to help them in the process of learning and activities,” the press service of the ministry said.
She also testified to the absolute support of the people of Ukraine and noted that UNESCO is ready to provide expert assistance in order to expand and strengthen our system of distance education.
The National Bank of Ukraine sold $473.04 million and bought $206.8 million during the week of March 7-12, according to a statement on its website.
According to it, in addition to the “net” sale of $266.2 million, the NBU also carried out a net sale of EUR74.4 million: the central bank sold EUR91.55 million and bought EUR17.17 million.
As reported, in the first week and a half after the war started by Russia on February 24, the NBU bought $843.3 million and EUR37.5 million and sold $144 million and EUR17.5 million, since the ban on the purchase of foreign currency was only introduced, and the list of critical imports was not significantly expanded.
In total, since the beginning of the year, the National Bank has purchased $1.698 billion and EUR54.67 million on the market, and sold $3.387 billion and EUR109.05 million.
Ukraine’s international reserves as of March 7, 2022, according to the NBU, amounted to $27.7 billion.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed the prospects for peace talks and confronting the Russian aggressor.
“Spoke with Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron. We discussed countering the aggressor, Russia’s crimes against civilians. I ask my partners to help in releasing the captive mayor of Melitopol. Prospects for peace talks also discussed. We must stop the aggressor together,” Zelensky said.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Israel against the actions of the Israeli government and personally Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on the issue of accepting refugees from Ukraine.
The suit, according to ITV channel 12, alleges that Minister Shaked violates the agreements reached earlier by Jerusalem and Kyiv on a visa-free regime, using “vague language” for this. The ambassador noted that he decided to resort to filing a lawsuit after all diplomatic options had been exhausted to protect Ukrainian citizens seeking asylum from the war.
The lawsuit focuses on the fact that the Interior Minister of Israel does not have the authority to make a sole decision on the issue of accepting refugees from Ukraine; the plaintiffs believe that this issue should be decided by the government of the Jewish state in close cooperation with the Knesset commission on international affairs.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry extended the period of stay in Israel for Ukrainian tourists legally staying in the country by two months.
On March 14, Kazakhstan will send the first batch of humanitarian aid to the population of Ukraine, the Kazakh interdepartmental commission said on Sunday.
“The Commission on International Humanitarian Aid made a decision to allocate a batch of medical supplies to the population of Ukraine … The issue of delivering humanitarian cargo along the route Almaty-Katowice (Poland) by aircraft has been worked out. Humanitarian aid to citizens of Ukraine will be sent by two flights on March 14 and March 15, 2022 from the airport of Almaty,” the message says.
The total weight of humanitarian aid will be 28.2 tonnes and 17 types of medicines: antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antitussive and antihypertensive drugs, the report says.
