The Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development is designing a new road parallel to the existing Odesa-Reni highway, part of which runs through the territory of the Republic of Moldova (Palanca village), Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Yuriy Vaskov said.
“We are designing a road in parallel with the existing Odesa-Reni highway to organize a connection on Ukrainian territory,” Vaskov said at Infrastructure Day 2023, organized by the European Business Association in Kyiv on Friday.
According to him, the construction of a facility is planned directly on the Odesa-Reni highway.
“In order to solve the problem point by point, we, as the Ministry of Reconstruction, have found funding and want to build a structure to avoid stopping vehicles,” Vaskov said, adding that the issue is being coordinated with the Moldovan side, in particular, with territorial communities in Moldova.
The Deputy Minister noted that there are attempts to illegally cross the border, both successful and unsuccessful.
As you know, a part of the Odesa-Reni highway on the section from Mayaky village to Udobne village (from 51 to 50 km) runs through Moldovan territory.
On June 30, 2011, an act was signed in Chisinau (Moldova) to define and fix the boundaries of the Odesa-Reni highway section near Palanca village and the land plot. Palanca village, as well as the land plot on which it runs. The road section was de jure transferred to the ownership of Ukraine on November 18, 2001, but the act of determining the boundaries on the ground was never determined.
According to the 1999 border agreement, Moldova transferred a 7.7 km section of the Odesa-Reni highway to Ukraine for use, but the territory adjacent to the road near Palanca remained in Moldovan ownership. After the change of power in Moldova in 2009, Ukraine demanded that the territory of almost 1,000 hectares be transferred to its ownership, arguing that Moldova had transferred 450 meters of the Danube coastline to Ukraine in 2002, which enabled it to build the Giurgiulesti seaport.
In January-October, Papir-Mal Cardboard and Paper Mill (Malyn, Zhytomyr region) produced products worth UAH 382.5 million, which is almost 2.2 times higher than the same figure for the first 10 months of 2022.
According to UkrPapir Association statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the growth in production volumes was primarily driven by a more than 2.2-fold increase in the production of containerboard (including corrugated paper), up to 57.8 thousand tons.
As reported, last year the plant put into operation a second cardboard machine with a production capacity of 800 m/min (twice as much as the first one).
In addition, in January-October, the company produced 4.1 thousand tons of base paper for sanitary products, up 19%, and 22.3 million rolls of toilet paper, up 43.8%.
According to statistics, in October, Papir Mal increased its paper and cardboard production by 20.2% compared to October 2022, to 6.4 thousand tons, which is 4.8% less than in September this year.
The company specializes in the production of sanitary paper products and packaging cardboard (liner and fluting).
According to UkrPapir, the company’s production volume in 2022 decreased by 4.7% compared to 2021, to UAH 247 million.
The cargo turnover of the seaports of the Danube Region in January-October 2023 amounted to 27.6 million tons, which is 2.2 times more than in the same period of 2021 (12.6 million tons), said Yuriy Lytvyn, Head of the State Enterprise “Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority”.
At the “Infrastructure Day 2023” organized by the European Business Association in Kyiv on Friday, he recalled that in 10 months of 2021, cargo turnover in the Danube ports amounted to only 4.4 million tons.
According to Lytvyn, the number of vessels handled in Danube ports in 10 months of this year increased by 54.3% compared to 10 months of last year – from 7,780 thousand to 12,005 thousand, while in 10 months of 2021 there were 2,897 thousand.
The Head of USPA clarified that out of 40 million tons of cargo for 10 months of this year and last year, 18.3 million tons were grain cargo, 3.6 million tons – ore, 3.2 million tons – vegetable oil, 2.6 million tons – oil products and 12.4 million tons – other cargo.
The Infrastructure Day also noted that the Ukrainian corridor under the control of the Ukrainian Navy to the Black Sea ports of Greater Odesa (Odesa, Chornomorsk, Pivdennyi), which was fully operational in August-September, exported 1.994 million tons in October, and 1.591 million tons since the beginning of November, compared to 0.278 million tons in September and only 0.06 million tons in August.
In January-October 2023, Ruta, a major Ukrainian manufacturer of sanitary and hygienic paper products, whose management company is VGP JSC (Lutsk), produced UAH 1 billion 345.6 million worth of products, which is 83.8% more than in the same period in 2022.
According to UkrPapir’s statistics provided to Interfax-Ukraine, the company has thus slowed down the growth rate of production in monetary terms slightly compared to the same period last year: in nine months, the figure was 90%, and in eight months, 97.1%.
In terms of volume, the company’s production of toilet paper in rolls increased by 47% to 111.3 million units, which is still the third best result in the industry after Kyiv Cardboard and Paper Mill (213.3 million units) and Kokhava Paper Mill (113 million units).
The company produces pulp-based sanitary and hygiene products from imported base paper.
VGP’s brand portfolio includes napkins, toilet paper, paper handkerchiefs, and kitchen towels under the Ruta, Ruta Selecta, Fesko, Nosovic, Polotenchko, 100% paper, Servetta, and Ecolo brands. The assortment includes more than 180 items.
As reported with reference to Ukrpapir’s data, in 2022, VGP JSC produced products worth UAH 977.61 million, which is 2.8% more than a year earlier. At the same time, according to the company’s report, in physical terms (tons), production decreased by 27% due to the loss of some markets with the beginning of Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine.
Exports accounted for more than a quarter of sales in 2022. The paper used as the basis for production was purchased mainly in Turkey and Romania.
On November 18-19, 2023, the National Squash Cup of Ukraine 2023 tournament will be held at the courts of the SPORT LIFE fitness center in Kyiv with the assistance of the Ukrainian Squash Federation and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine.
The competition is held to popularize a healthy lifestyle and determine the best squash players in Ukraine.
The tournament will take place for 2 days in 7 categories:
Men, Women, Boys under 11, Girls under 11, Boys under 13, Girls under 13, Boys under 15.
A total of 130 players will take part in the tournament.
Players from Kyiv, Lviv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, and Odesa will take part in the tournament.
The competition will be held at 8 Samaila Koshky St., Kyiv.
Competition schedule:
Saturday, November 18, 10.00 – 20.00
Sunday, November 19, 10.00 – 18.00
The honorary guests of the competition will be Matviy Bidnyi, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Georgiy Zantaraya, World Judo Champion, Head of the NOC of Ukraine Athletes Commission, Kyiv City Council member, Yulia Khan, Director of the Department of Youth and Sports in Kyiv, Stanislav Medvedenko, two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The awarding ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 19 at 18.00 in the SHEF restaurant.
“The Ukrainian Squash Cup 2023 is the most famous tournament in independent Ukraine. The scale of the championship is evidenced by both the number of participants and the large number of organizations involved in the preparation and holding of the competition.
The main organizer of the tournament is the NGO Squash Federation of Ukraine.
The main fitness partner of the event is the Sport Life fitness club network.
The main media partners of the tournament are Interfax-Ukraine and the Experts club analytical center.
Prizes and gifts from REIMA, TECNIFIBRE and EYE.
The official medical partner of the tournament is the ADONIS clinic network.
The official water of the tournament is KRAINA.
The official hotel of the tournament is FAVOR.
The partner of the party and awarding ceremony is the SHEF restaurant.
On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö decided to send another military equipment to help Ukraine on the proposal of the government.
According to the Finnish government’s website, this will be the 20th delivery of military equipment to Ukraine. The replacement of the defense equipment contained in this package will cost Finland approximately EUR100 million.
“The total compensation value of the 20 packages of Finnish defense equipment now amounts to EUR 1.5 billion,” said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen.
For operational reasons, and to ensure that the aid reaches its destination safely, no further information will be disclosed about the contents of the package, the method of delivery or the schedule.
The government noted that the decision to provide additional assistance took into account both the needs of Ukraine and the resources of the Finnish Defense Forces.
“The prospects for security in Europe and Finland in the current decade are at stake in Ukraine’s defense struggle. Together with our allies, we remain unwavering in our commitment to support Ukrainians,” Mr. Kaikkonen emphasized.
