Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has announced that he is resigning from his post because he bears political responsibility for the situation with fake disabilities for prosecutors.
“I believe that the position of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is absolutely correct that not only should all unlawful decisions on granting disabilities, relevant pension and other accruals be canceled, there should be not only clear legislative and organizational changes, but also personal responsibility. In the middle of them, political responsibility,” Kostin said in a message on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
He added: “I am grateful to the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for their trust. But in this situation, I consider it right to announce my resignation from the post of Prosecutor General.”
According to Kostin, on Tuesday, the President of Ukraine held a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council “regarding the obviously immoral situation with fake disabilities of state officials.”
“Currently, inspections are underway at all levels of the state, and criminal proceedings are being investigated. Many shameful facts of abuse have been established in the system of prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine,” he said.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of achieving peace in Ukraine as soon as possible. He said that India supports efforts to restore stability and favors a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The three-day summit, which began on October 22, was the largest international event in Russia since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Amid heightened security measures, Putin is using the meeting to strengthen diplomatic ties and promote the idea of resisting Western influence.
Modi noted that New Delhi is in constant contact with Russia on the conflict and is committed to finding peaceful solutions. Putin, for his part, praised the strategic partnership with India and expressed his readiness to develop it further.
India, balancing the interests of Kyiv and Moscow, provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine without directly condemning Russia’s actions. This year, Modi has already visited both Kyiv and Moscow in an effort to stimulate negotiations. India is also seen as a potential mediator in resolving the conflict.
The BRICS summit was attended by about 20 world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. An important topic of the meeting was the idea of creating an alternative payment system that could replace SWIFT, which was disconnected from the Russian economy.
Confrontation with the West and the BRICS’ internal policy
Although the United States denies that BRICS is a geopolitical rival, Washington is concerned about Russia’s attempts to increase its influence amid the conflict. In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin for deporting children from Ukraine, which limited his international travel.
Russia presents the BRICS summit as a diplomatic success, proving that the West has failed to isolate Moscow. This year, Russia has not only strengthened its position in eastern Ukraine, but also strengthened relations with countries such as China, Iran, and North Korea.
During his talks with Modi, Putin said that at the summit in Kazan, the leaders should make important decisions to improve the organization’s activities. During the event, the Russian president will also meet with other world leaders, including Xi Jinping and Erdogan, and talks with Guterres are scheduled for Thursday.
Security and challenges of the summit
Due to the increased frequency of drone attacks and Kazan’s proximity to Ukraine, security measures have been significantly tightened. Residents are advised to stay at home, and students have been temporarily evicted from their dormitories. Traffic in the center of Kazan is also restricted.
The West fears that through BRICS, Russia will be able to promote its ideas and increase its influence in the world. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed concern that if Russia is successful, other countries may follow suit in using force to resolve conflicts.
The BRICS, established in 2009, has gradually expanded to include countries such as South Africa, Iran, and Egypt. However, there are differences within the bloc, especially between India and China. Turkey, a NATO member, recently expressed its desire to join the BRICS, adding new diplomatic challenges. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Lula da Silva canceled his trip to the summit due to a head injury, which also became an unexpected factor in the event.
In January-September of this year, businessman Alexander Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group increased its payments to the budgets of all levels by 14.5%, or UAH 210 million, compared to the same period last year, to more than UAH 1.65 billion.
According to the PR department of DCH, the total amount of taxes paid by the group’s companies since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion has reached almost UAH 5.5 billion.
It is specified that the main increase in tax payments compared to 9 months of 2023 was provided by JSC Bank Credit Dnipro – by UAH 95 million, Kharkiv Tractor Plant (HTZ) – by UAH 32 million, and ORANTA Insurance Company – by UAH 70 million.
It is also reported that in particular, in January-September 2024, DMZ reduced the production of rolled metal products by 56.9% compared to the same period last year, while the production of metallurgical coke decreased by 0.4%.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Sukha Balka Mine commissioned 8 new blocks with total reserves of 906 thousand tons of ore.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, KHARTSYZSK PIPE has been in the war zone and the plant’s territory has been under constant shelling. Nevertheless, KHARTSYZSK PIPE continues to maintain production, electricity, gas and water supply to the plant and the city area, and continues to produce machinery for agriculture and the country’s critical infrastructure.
In June of this year, Bank Credit Dnipro, together with the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine and 18 major commercial banks, signed a memorandum of bank lending for energy infrastructure rehabilitation projects, which is dictated by the country’s strategic need to ensure energy independence.
A significant challenge for manufacturing companies is the outflow of personnel, in particular due to the mobilization of personnel. Since the beginning of the war, 465 employees of Sukhoi Balka and 268 employees of DMZ have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The companies’ operations are also affected by periodic power outages, when they have to reduce or stop production completely.
Today, DCH Group employs over 7.6 thousand people. 912 employees of the group serve in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, 55 of those who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces were killed.
DCH Investment Management is a financial and industrial group of companies that manages investments in ore mining and metallurgy, machine building, real estate, insurance, banking and hospitality.
Global warming threatens to affect a crucial current system in the Atlantic Ocean, leading to fundamental changes in the climate of Europe and North America, Western media reported, citing a letter from more than 40 climate scientists to the Nordic Council of Ministers.
“If Britain and Ireland become like northern Norway, the consequences would be enormous. Our research shows that the likelihood of such a scenario is not small. It is not something you can easily adapt to,” said Prof. Peter Ditlevsen from the University of Copenhagen, one of the authors of the letter.
Media outlets specify that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is in question. “Such a change in the circulation of ocean waters would have a devastating and irreversible impact, especially on the Nordic countries, but also on other parts of the world,” the letter noted.
Scientists suggested that the risk of changes in this system of currents is grossly underestimated, and the point of no return could be passed as early as the next decades. The UK Meteorological Service has previously noted that this process will lower temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, raise the level of the Atlantic Ocean, reduce precipitation over Europe and North America, and affect the rainy season in South America and Africa.
The Nordic Council of Ministers consists of five countries – Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland – as well as Greenland (Denmark), the Faroe Islands (Denmark) and the Åland Islands (Finland).
The volume of foreign trade in dairy products in the first half of October amounted to $20.4 million and increased by 7.8% compared to the first half of September, according to the expert and analytical service of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (UDEP).
According to the report, the volume of exports increased by 5.3% to $9.8 million, and imports by 10.2% to $10.6 million. In particular, the share of cheese exports increased by 67%, and fermented milk products by 4%.
Exports of whey decreased by 58%, butter and milk fats by 19%, and milk and cream by 6%.
At the same time, imports of butter and milk fats increased by 76%, whey by 14%, fermented milk products by 11%, and cheese by 5%. A 3% decline in imports was observed only for milk and cream, the UUL stated.
According to EastFruit analysts, wholesale prices for apples of “Gala” variety in Ukraine, Moldova and Poland are at record levels for this time for the last years. It is the most popular apple variety among exporters, as well as an increasingly popular apple variety among consumers, competing more and more successfully with the “Golden Delicious” variety.
While usually prices for Gala apple vary significantly in these three neighboring exporting countries, this season by mid-October prices in Moldova, Poland and Ukraine are almost identical, ranging from $0.51 to $0.53 per kg for a standard quality apple suitable for domestic fresh market sales.
As for the premium export quality apple, the prices are significantly higher. “The margin for the ‘premiumness’ of the apple is higher than usual in Eastern European countries this season. This is not only due to a general decrease in apple supply, but also to quality problems due to completely atypical weather conditions during the apple growing season,” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist in FAO’s investment department.
Read also: Prices for apples in Ukraine set new records
In less than a month, prices for “Gala” in Ukraine rose by 36%. In Moldova, the rise in apple prices began later, but over the past three weeks, prices have strengthened by 11% at once. In Poland, prices for the same variety increased by 6% in two weeks, although before that they tended to decrease from the incredibly high levels from which the season started and were much higher than in Ukraine and Poland.
According to traders, the main reason for the rise in apple prices is the reluctance of producers to rush their sales. Even in Ukraine, where Russian invaders attack civilian infrastructure, including the country’s energy facilities, on a daily basis, farmers are trying to keep their apples for longer, hoping for even higher price levels.
It should be noted that the increase in apple prices at this time of year is atypical for Eastern European countries, as apple supply is usually maximized and farmers are in a hurry to sell off the part of the produce that cannot be stored for a long period of time. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that in the winter-spring period, the prices for apple of popular varieties will unpleasantly surprise consumers.
