Two dry cargo ships carrying corn and barley departed Ukrainian ports on Monday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reported.
“Two ships left Ukrainian ports on January 23, carrying a total of 42,560 tons of grain and other food as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the report said.
Dry cargo ship Amyntor will deliver 27 260 tons of corn to the Netherlands, ship Ata will carry 15.3 thousand tons of barley to Israel.
Seven ships are also headed to Ukrainian ports, which on Monday passed through the maritime humanitarian corridor.
“As of January 23, the total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 18,372,920 tons. A total of 1,340 vessels have so far been allowed to move: 667 to arrive at Ukrainian ports and 673 to leave them,” the JCC summarized.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced “personnel decisions”.
“There are also already personnel decisions – some today, some will be tomorrow. managers of different levels in ministries and other structures of the central government, and in the regions and in the law enforcement system,” he said in a video message on Monday.
Oil prices are declining slightly in trading on Tuesday, Brent remains near its highest since November last year, reached the day before.
The price of March futures for Brent at London’s ICE Futures Exchange stood at $88.14 a barrel by 12:49 p.m., down $0.05 (0.06%) from the close of the previous session.
The price of WTI futures for March at the electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $81.61 a barrel by that time, which is 1 cent lower than the final value of the previous session.
The inflated cost of food products purchased for the Armed Forces, as reported in the media, does not correspond to reality, as evidenced by the contract of the Defense Ministry, with a copy of which the members of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence have familiarized themselves, said its head Aleksandr Zavitnevych (Sluka Naroda faction).
“We have all seen the contract and the figure that was specified (in the media – IFU) does not correspond to reality. Therefore, to say that we buy chicken eggs two or three times more expensive than in the market is wrong. The contract has a completely different figure,” Zavitnevich said on the air of the national telethon on Monday.
He specified that all members of the committee at Monday’s meeting saw a copy of this contract.
According to Zavitnevich, it will be possible to draw any conclusions after an appropriate expertise and investigation by law enforcement agencies. He also believes that there is no need to rush with personnel changes in connection with the high-profile situation.
“Now to talk about personnel changes … I would not make such statements. When the NABU and other law enforcement agencies arrive at their conclusions and when the cases are sent to court, then we will be able to talk about some personnel decisions,” the head of the committee said.
He recalled that even before the publication in the media about possible abuses in the procurement of products for the AFU interested the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and other law enforcement agencies.
As reported earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov denied information about the purchase of food for the Armed Forces at inflated prices.
Earlier, the ZN.UA publication asserted that under the agreement of the Defense Ministry on the services of catering in 2023 for military units stationed in Poltava, Sumy, Kiev, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv and Cherkasy regions, in a deal worth 13.16 billion UAH overpriced procurement by 2-3 times.
Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Masa said work on the establishment of a joint Argentine-Brazilian currency will begin as early as this week, the Argentine press reported.
“There is a decision to start studying the parameters necessary to create a common currency, this concerns everything from taxation issues to the size of the economies and the role of central banks,” Masa said in a conversation with Argentine journalists.
“The goal is to give impetus to regional trade and reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar,” the minister added.
“We have to explore the mechanisms of commercial integration. I am not going to speak with false expectations, because this is only the first step in the long journey that Latin America must take,” Masa stressed.
However, the project initiated by Argentina and Brazil is not limited to these two countries. Other countries in the region may join the initiative in the future.
The idea of creating a common currency for the two countries was voiced at a recent meeting between the presidents of Argentina and Brazil, Alberto Fernandez and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The European Union has already allocated nearly 50 billion euros in military, financial, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, an additional 500 million euros in military aid has been approved, and the Union states intend to continue supporting Kiev, EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrel said.
“I can tell you that we will continue our support for Ukraine,” the EU high representative for foreign affairs said at the end of an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting Monday in Brussels at which member state ministers discussed aid for the Ukrainian armed forces.
“Today we reached a political agreement on the seventh tranche of military assistance for an additional 500 million euros and another 45 million for measures to enable Ukrainian soldiers to receive training as part of our military support mission,” Borrell continued.
The European diplomacy chief noted preparations for an EU-Ukraine summit on February 3, “the first summit since Ukraine received candidate status” for EU membership.
