The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine (Ministry of Reconstruction) has agreed on a number of issues to increase Ukraine’s export opportunities during its third meeting in Romania, including an agreement on night navigation on the Sulina Canal, said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure.
“We are returning with a decision on night navigation on the Sulina Canal. It has already started working. We are waiting for our Romanian colleagues to provide the necessary number of pilots. In this case, we will reach 4 million tons of export capacity per month,” Kubrakov wrote on Facebook.
According to the deputy prime minister, joint work is also underway to increase the capacity of rail and road checkpoints in a quadripartite format: Romania – the United States – the European Commission – Ukraine with the participation of Moldova. The focus is on two key issues: the approval of a pilot project at the Krasnoilsk-Vicovu de Sus checkpoint for trucks, as well as a “green corridor” between Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania through the Reni Giurgiulesti – Galati checkpoints.
Kubrakov clarified that the repair work at the Reni checkpoint, which began in November to create conditions for joint control with Moldova, will be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
The Ukrainian side called on Romanian colleagues to increase the number of phytosanitary and veterinary control specialists at the border.
The fast and rhythmic operation of export routes remains a strategic direction of work, Kubrakov emphasized.
Over 11 months of operation, the total volume of transshipment through Ukrainian Danube ports amounted to almost 30 million tons.
The European Commission is proposing to implement the biggest reform of EU animal welfare rules in 20 years, according to the European Commission’s website on Thursday, December 7.
“The Commission is proposing for the first time new EU rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats bred, kept and sold as pets for economic purposes,” the statement said.
The package includes a revision of the EU’s current rules on animals in transit, which will improve the welfare of the 1.6 billion animals transported to and from the EU each year.
The new rules will establish for the first time common EU standards for the breeding, keeping and treatment of dogs and cats in kennels, pet shops and shelters. The traceability of pets will also be strengthened through mandatory identification and registration in national databases.
Finally, the Commission proposes further steps to implement the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Europe without Fur”, which calls for an EU ban on fur farming and the sale of products containing such fur.
cats, dogs, EU, TRANSPORTATION
In November 2023, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC transported a record 14.13 million tons of cargo, which is 33.8% more than the average monthly volume of traffic during the year, said Valery Tkachev, Deputy Director of the Commercial Department of UZ, at a meeting with agricultural exporters on Thursday.
According to his information, 6.08 million tons were transported in the export direction in November, which is 24.7% more than a month earlier. This is also the highest figure in 2023.
“The main growth was due to the partial resumption of cargo shipment from the ports of Odesa,” explained Tkachev.
It is specified that in the structure of export transportation in November 2023, the first place was taken by grain cargo – 2.43 million tons (39.9%), the second place was taken by iron and manganese ore – 2.32 million tons (38.1%), and the third place was taken by ferrous metals – 0.41 million tons (6.7%).
In addition, in January-November 2023, the volume of grain cargo transported by UZ amounted to 19.989 million tons, which is 150.6 thousand tons, or 0.8%, more than in the same period of 2022. In November, the company exported 2.43 mln tonnes of grain cargo, up 40.4% (700 thsd tonnes) compared to the previous month. The structure of November cargo transportation of agricultural products was dominated by corn – 1,406.0 thsd tonnes (57.8%), wheat – 514.0 thsd tonnes (21.1%), and industrial crops – 442.5 thsd tonnes (18.2%).
At the same time, in November, the transportation of grain cargoes to the ports amounted to 1 713.4 thsd tonnes, or 70.5%, which is 1.7 times more than in October 2023.
“We had some suspensions due to bad weather at the end of November. Unfortunately, due to the aggressor’s strikes, we still have such indicators. But thanks to the operation of the temporary (sea grain – IF-U) corridor, we see good dynamics of grain cargo transportation,” stated Tkachev.
He noted that the average daily load in November amounted to 91 thousand tons of cargo, which is 20% higher than in October.
During the first week of December, UZ handled 429.1 thousand tons, of which 18.4% was grain cargo. The average daily load amounted to 79.2 thousand tons. Tkachev explained the decline in this figure compared to November by the weekend, during which elevators were closed.
During this period, 349.58 thousand tons of cargo were transported to seaports and 113.87 thousand tons were transported by land.
“For every 1 ton of cargo overloaded and transported in the direction of the western crossings, there are 3 tons of cargo transported in the direction of the ports, i.e. a ratio of 1:3. This is the usual proportion in the best periods of Ukrzaliznytsia’s operation, which remains the same,” said the UZ representative.
In December 2023, exports of oilcake through border crossings amounted to 59.61 thousand tons, and vegetable oil – 33.79 thousand tons.
As of December 7, the queue at the western border crossings amounted to 9.3 thousand cars, which is 8.4% less than the day before.
The Cabinet of Ministers has established a special border regime and banned free entry, stay, residence and movement of persons in the border zone.
According to Taras Melnychuk, a representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada, on Telegram, the decision was made at a government meeting on Thursday.
In particular, pursuant to the Law of February 24, 2023 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Protection of the State Border of Ukraine”, the Resolution “On the Border Regime” was amended.
Thus, a special border regime has been established and free entry, stay, residence, movement of persons and work not related to the defense or protection of the state border within the land plots provided for permanent use by military units of the State Border Guard Service for the construction, arrangement and maintenance of engineering and fortification structures, fences, border signs, border clearings, and communications is prohibited.
The law also defines the procedure for issuing permits for entry, stay, residence, work and access to the border strip.
In November, registrations of new commercial vehicles (trucks and special vehicles) in Ukraine amounted to 1,031 units, which is twice as many as in the same month last year, Ukravtoprom reported on its Telegram channel.
At the same time, registrations increased by 6% (or 54 units) compared to October this year.
Renault remains the market leader by a significant margin with 241 units. Peugeot took second place (compared to third in October) with 74 units. Ford is in third place (72 units), and Mercedes-Benz is fourth with 71 cars registered. MAN (67 units) rounds out the top five, having risen to second place in October this year.
In general, according to Ukravtoprom, in January-November 2023, more than 10.1 thousand new vehicles were added to the Ukrainian fleet of trucks and special vehicles, which is 71% more than in the same period in 2022.
As reported, in 2022, according to Ukravtoprom, the market for new commercial vehicles decreased by 2.3 times by 2021 to 6.9 thousand units.
OTP Bank has launched a charity Christmas auction, which will last from December 4 to December 25. All the funds raised will be transferred to the Superhumans Center to provide prosthetics to defenders who lost their limbs in the war and need comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation.
The auction participants will be offered exclusive lots: a Christmas lot from the First Lady, a flag of Ukraine signed by Valeriy Zaluzhny, boxing gloves signed by Vitali Klitschko, Elina Svitolina’s tennis racket, a T-shirt signed by billionaire Buffett, a collection of works by Serhiy Zhadan, as well as commemorative coins, stamp sets, unique Christmas decorations – all signed by celebrities.
All customers of the bank can take part in the charity auction through the OTP Bank UA app.
The full list of lots is available on the website.
“It is through charity that every responsible business today can and should help society. After all, the country, the economy, citizens, and, of course, our defenders need support. This is the second major charity auction held by OTP Bank to raise funds for prosthetics for our heroes,” said Volodymyr Mudryi, CEO of OTP Bank.
“I would like to draw attention to a unique opportunity, a feature that no other bank has: the auction is held online in the OTP Bank UA application. I am sincerely grateful to our development team who managed to implement such a seemingly “useless” feature in terms of banking operations, but such a relevant one for charity, which will help each client both to join the auction and simply donate to Superhumans. The aesthetic and emotional component is also important – those who make a donation will receive a unique author’s “shirt” on their bank card by Christmas. Let’s do a good deed and help our 25 Heroes by December 25!” called Lesia Syrota, OTP Bank Retail Sales Director and team leader of the OTP Bank Helps Ukraine project.
She also emphasized that the lots presented at the auction are unique. “For example, collectible cards are a limited collection: “MOST WANTED. Ukrainian edition”, which cannot be found on sale. Or a flag of Ukraine with the DIU emblem and Kyrylo Budanov’s signature, or a didukh signed by the genius Ada Rogovtseva, a symbol of Christmas in Ukraine. But the most important thing is that the funds raised will be used to provide real help to our soldiers in need of prosthetics. And it is in your power to support Ukrainian heroes,” summarized the project’s team leader.
Superhumans Center is an ultra-modern center for the rehabilitation of adults and children affected by war, established on the basis of the Yuriy Lypa Lviv Regional Hospital for War Veterans and the Repressed in April 2023. The center provides prosthetics, complex reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation and psychological support to Ukrainians who have been injured in the war. The center plans to treat up to 3,000 patients annually.
