The European Commission (EC) announced on Tuesday the allocation of €83 million in “initial humanitarian aid” to Ukraine and Moldova for 2024.
“To help the most vulnerable people (…) in 2024, the EU will provide an initial €75 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and €8 million to Moldova. And we will continue to closely monitor the changing needs on the ground to respond to the most urgent humanitarian challenges,” said Janez Lenarčič, EC Member for Crisis Management.
The European Commission’s communiqué explains that €75 million for Ukraine has been allocated for humanitarian projects “to provide emergency assistance, including access to basic needs such as shelter, protection services, drinking water, education and healthcare.”
Humanitarian projects for Moldova worth €8 million provide “targeted assistance to the most vulnerable populations, including humanitarian cash assistance to meet basic needs, protection and health care.”
The European Commission said that with this new funding, it has allocated a total of €926 million for humanitarian assistance programs for the civilian population of Ukraine after February 2022. Of these funds, €860 million is earmarked for humanitarian programs inside Ukraine and €66 million for support to Ukrainian refugees in neighboring Moldova.
The UNITED24 platform has rebuilt 24 bridges in seven regions of Ukraine that were destroyed by the Russian occupiers, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
“The fundraising platform has rebuilt 24 bridges in seven regions thanks to contributions from all over the world, a regular partner, AWT Bavaria, and the State Special Transport Service,” Fedorov said in a telegram on Monday evening.
He thanked everyone who donated to the restoration of Ukraine.
“The rebuilt bridges mean restored communication, convenient and fast
Protesting Polish farmers have begun to restrict vehicle traffic on the border with Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine says.
“Medica-Shegyni. Polish farmers have completely blocked truck traffic through the checkpoint. No deadline for the completion of such a blockade was announced,” the State Border Guard Service said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
According to the State Border Guard Service, the protesters plan to block traffic for all types of transport near the Dolhobychuv-Uhryniv checkpoint until 17.00 on February 20.
“At the Zosin-Ustyluh checkpoint, from 13:00 to 16:00, the protesters intend to restrict the movement of buses, trucks and cars in both directions. They promise to let through only trucks with humanitarian aid,” the State Border Guard Service said in a statement.
At the Korchova-Krakovets checkpoint: “Until 21.00 on February 20, the protesters plan to block the movement of trucks leaving Poland, except for those carrying critical cargo. At the same time, buses, minibuses, and cars will be able to move freely in both directions.”
According to the State Border Guard Service, at the Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska checkpoint, “protesters have completely blocked traffic in both directions for all categories of vehicles, except for those carrying critical cargo and humanitarian aid, since 13.00 on February 20.”
At the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint, the protest organizers intend to completely block truck traffic in both directions until “19.00”.
In 2023, OTP Bank was ranked second among commercial banks in the overall rating of primary dealers, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. In total, the rating includes 11 banks – primary dealers.
OTP Bank ranks fourth among state-owned and commercial banks.
The status of primary dealer ensures the exclusive right to participate in the placement of domestic government bonds conducted by the Ministry of Finance, both on its own behalf and for clients of individuals and legal entities, as well as banks and financial companies that do not have this status.
It is worth reminding that in 2023, individuals – clients of OTP Bank purchased government bonds for a total amount of UAH 6.3 billion in equivalent, and the number of transactions amounted to 2064.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, OTP Bank became the first and currently the only bank to provide its customers with access to a unique service – the opportunity to purchase government bonds directly at auctions of the Ministry of Finance. This option was implemented through the OTP Bank UA mobile application. Already in December, 93.3% of customers who wanted to invest in government bonds used it to purchase government bonds. “This tool has become particularly popular because it offers a 100% guarantee of the state to return funds with interest. In addition, it is an opportunity to contribute to supporting the country’s economy, as government bonds are a loan to the state. When we implemented the possibility of purchasing government bonds through the OTP Bank UA app, many customers began to choose this convenient way of investing money,” said Valeria Ovcharuk, product owner of Private Banking at OTP Bank.
To learn more about the possibility of purchasing government bonds in the OTP Bank UA mobile application, please follow the link.
dealer, GOVERNMENT BONDS, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, OTP BANK, OTP Bank UA, Овчарук
Agrochemical company Grossdorf LLC, specializing in the production of granular and liquid mineral fertilizers, has decided to expand its product range by developing a line of products for retail sales, industry analyst publication Infoindustria reported.
“Entering the retail market opens up new opportunities for growth and expansion of the consumer audience. The company believes in the quality of its products and is ready to meet the needs of retail customers with the same dedication it shows in the agrochemical sector market,” said Andrei Khalyavka, director of the agrochemical company.
According to him, Grossdorf produced about 20,000 tons of various NPK fertilizer formulas in 2023. In addition, the company became Ukraine’s second supplier of UAN in 2023 and produced more than 106 thousand tons of this fertilizer. In addition, Grossdorf produces granulated potassium chloride, NPK fertilizers and granulated (compacted) ammonium sulfate.
“In just one year, the manufacturer supplied more than 150 thousand tons of fertilizers to the market, becoming the second fertilizer producer in Ukraine,” Infoindustria summarized.
Grossdorf LLC was established in 2001. The company is a producer of mineral fertilizers, one of the leaders in UAN production in Ukraine, importer, supplier and end user of mineral fertilizers. It has its own plant in Odessa region for production of liquid fertilizers (RKD, UAN, UAN), storage for liquid fertilizers with the volume of more than 10 thousand tons, capacities for production of loose granular fertilizers, extensive network of agrochemical warehouses practically in all regions of Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the situation with the blockade of the border by Polish farmers is a political one, but the parties need joint decisions and a fair way out.
“What is happening on our western border – the border with Poland – cannot be taken as something normal or ordinary. Only 5% of our agricultural exports pass through the Polish border. Therefore, in fact, the situation is not about grain, but rather about politics,” he said in an evening video address.
Thus, according to him, “compared to the news from near Kupyansk, where the enemy artillery does not stop, the news from the border with Poland looks just mocking.”
The Head of State emphasized the need to find a solution to this situation.
“We need simple and clear justice. We need joint decisions, rational decisions to get out of this situation. The decisions are ours with the Poles, first of all, and everyone in Europe who cares about the fate of Europe,” he said.
As reported, Polish farmers announced the beginning of a full blockade of the border on February 20, including the blocking of road checkpoints, railroad entrances and exits to ports.
