The situation with Ukrainian refugees is not improving, and a more active state policy is needed, says the Center for Economic Strategy (CES) in its report “Refugees from Ukraine: Intentions to Return, Impact on the Ukrainian Economy and Recommendations for State Policy.”
“According to different scenarios, from 1.3 million to 3.3 million Ukrainians may remain abroad. This is 0.4-0.6 million more than in the calculations for December 2022,” the document says.
According to CES estimates, as a result, the Ukrainian economy may lose 2.7% to 6.9% of GDP annually.
According to the researchers, the number of Ukrainians who have moved abroad is 5.6-6.7 million, which is 0.3-0.5 million, or 5% more than at the end of 2022.
“This was a result of the strikes on Ukraine’s power grid in the winter of 2022-23, the intensification of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in May, and the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in early June 2023,” the study says.
It is specified that 63% of refugees, according to a study by Info Sapiens commissioned by the CES, plan to return to Ukraine, but this share is falling.
“We are not sure that all of them will really return. First of all, the longer the war lasts, the more Ukrainians adapt to life abroad. In addition, some Ukrainians (6.8%) believe that the prospects for their children are better abroad,” the document says.
According to it, people with higher incomes before the war are more likely to return, while people with higher incomes now are less likely to return. In addition, students are one of the largest groups who would like to stay abroad.
It is noted that the majority of refugees are women (the largest share of women aged 35-49 is 18%) and children. Compared to 2022, the share of children has slightly decreased from 52% to 51%, with girls and boys being approximately equal among them.
Among adults, the proportion of men slightly increased from 17% in November 2022 to 22% in May 2023, in particular among people with temporary protection status in the EU – from 27% to 29%.
It is specified that the distribution of Ukrainian refugees by country of residence has also changed: the share of Poland has decreased from 42% to 29%, while the share of Germany has increased from 18% to 26%.
It is noted that a significant number of Ukrainian refugees lost most of their income after the start of the full-scale invasion, but as of May 2023, the economic situation of Ukrainian refugees abroad has improved: the share of those who have to save on food or have enough money for food has decreased from 40% to 35%.
The CES has identified four groups of refugees using cluster analysis. The first group (25% of all refugees) are classic refugees: mostly middle-aged women with children who have moved to Poland. They are not very adapted to life abroad, as 41% of Ukrainians in this group have never been abroad before. In addition, they mostly lived in settlements that were outside the combat zone but were subjected to rocket attacks (central and western Ukraine, as well as Odesa region). Accordingly, the main reason for going abroad was fear for their own safety.
The second group (29% of all refugees) are quasi-labor migrants who went abroad not only because of the war, but also for work. They are the most adapted to life abroad, as 25% of people in this group have already had experience working abroad. Also, for this group, external factors – both the hostilities and the policy of the Ukrainian state – will have the least impact on their decisions to return to Ukraine.
The third group (29% of all refugees) are professionals, people who mostly work in their specialty and are less willing to work outside of it. They often had their own business before the war. This group is more loyal to Ukraine and more often than others plans to return to Ukraine.
The fourth group (16% of all refugees) is people from the war zone, Ukrainians who suffered the most from the war. People from this segment are the most ready to take steps to adapt abroad. At the same time, they also express the greatest readiness to return to another region of Ukraine if it is impossible to return to their home region. Their decision to return will depend on the conditions created for this.
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has opened access to the Unified state register of persons who have committed corruption or corruption-related offenses, the press service of the agency reports.
“With the beginning of a full-scale invasion, state bodies, including the NAPC, had to limit access to a number of registers, including the Unified state register of persons who committed corruption or corruption-related offenses … taking into account the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “Some issues of ensuring the functioning of information and communication systems, electronic communication systems, public electronic registers under martial law” from 12.03.2022 ¹ 263″, – stated in the message published on the website
At the same time, the agency notes that there is significant public interest in opening the data of this Register.
“Lack of access to such information significantly complicates the activities of state bodies and other organizations, in particular when appointing applicants for relevant positions, public procurement and other transactions and the like,” the report stresses.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense gave a response to the NAPC about the absence of risks in case of restoration of access to the Register, however, provided that will not reflect information about the place of work, as well as the position at the time of committing a person of corruption or corruption-related offense.
In turn, the head of the agency, Alexander Novikov, noted that the open data of the Register is a powerful anti-corruption tool.
“The opening of the data of the Register of persons who committed corruption and corruption-related offenses, indicates that, taking into account the security aspects can be open and the data of the Register of declarations”, – said the head of the NAPC.
The agency expects the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of the bill №9534, restoring the electronic declaration of the state of officials, which was suspended in connection with the introduction of martial law, the bill should also regulate the issue of public access to the data of the Register of declarations.
The Unified State Register of persons who have committed corruption and corruption-related offenses can be viewed at the link: https://corruptinfo.nazk.gov.ua.
The NACC reminds that this register contains information about all individuals and legal entities that have committed corruption offenses. In addition, in the register you can get a certificate on the presence or absence of information about yourself and the legal person to whom criminal law measures have been applied for a corruption offense.
The NAPC is the administrator of this registry since February 2019.
Retail sales of emergency contraceptive drug “Postinor” for 1.5 years of war increased by 20%, follows from the released data of the company “Business Credit”.
Thus, during the six months of 2023, an average of about 22.6 thousand packs of this drug were sold per month, while in 2022 an average of 18.779 thousand packs per month, in 2021 – 17.163 thousand.
At the same time, the average price of the drug at the end of 2021 was 232, 49 UAH per pack, at the end of 2022 – 335 UAH, at the beginning of the second half of 2023 – 360 UAH.
In total, according to analysts of “Business Credit”, in 2022, 225.354 thousand packages of “Postinor” were sold in the retail network (9.42% more than a year earlier) for a total amount of UAH 65.252 million (+36%).
At the same time, following the results of the first half of 2023, 135.549 thousand packs of this drug for UAH 48.382 mln were sold in the retail network.
“Postinor” – a drug of emergency contraception. Emergency contraception is a method that can be used episodically. It should not replace regular contraception. At the same time, emergency contraception does not prevent pregnancy in all cases.
As reported, on August 17, a petition on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers with a call to ensure over-the-counter sale of emergency contraceptive drugs has collected the required number of votes for consideration.
However, on August 30, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal in response to the petition instructed the Ministry of Health to further study the issue of ensuring over-the-counter sale of such drugs.
“The Ministry of Health does not deny the revision of the legal status (category of release), namely the transfer of drugs used for emergency contraception to the group of over-the-counter medicines with the introduction of certain restrictions on their release by the age of patients by making appropriate changes to the registration materials,” Shmygal’s response to the petition reads.
Earlier, a number of experts spoke out against the uncontrolled use of emergency contraception drugs.
In particular, oncogynecologist of the medical network “Dobrobut” Alena Samokhvalova believes that the need to obtain a prescription for such drugs will not affect the ability to use them effectively, as they can be used within 72 hours, but she noted the risks of frequent use of emergency contraceptive drugs.
For her part, Larisa Zakhurdaeva, head of the obstetrics department at the Leleka Medical Center, believes that the constant use of this method of preventing unwanted pregnancies is unacceptable, but that over-the-counter access to emergency contraception should be maintained in times of war, given the limited access to medical care, the high risk of violence during hostilities, and internal and external migration.
In February, in a resolution signed after a year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Parliament, among other things, condemned the use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war and emphasized that it constitutes a war crime. In doing so, it called on the EU and countries hosting women and girls fleeing Ukraine to guarantee access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services, in particular emergency contraception, including for rape survivors, and to support the provision of these services in Ukraine.
As of the end of June, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office had recorded 208 cases of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), 80 criminal proceedings were under investigation, 28 Russian military personnel had been notified of suspicion, five cases were pending in court, and one Russian military officer had been sentenced.
Revenue of “Auchan Ukraine” in 2022, taking into account three closed hypermarkets amounted to 10.737 billion UAH, which is 26.3% below the results for 2021 (14.573 billion UAH), the press service of the company told the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
According to the financial statements, Auchan Ukraine’s losses for 2022 amounted to UAH 1.236 billion, while in 2021 the network’s profit amounted to UAH 296.7 million.
The company paid UAH 994.5 million to the state budget last year, which is 14% lower than the figures for 2021, when the network replenished the state treasury for UAH 1.156 billion.
As reported, in 2022, the Ukrainian unit received $25 million from the parent company. In February, the CEO of Auchan Retail International, Yves Claude, visited Ukraine and expressed his support for the Ukrainian office and stated his readiness to invest in the development of the network in Ukraine.
According to the press-service, the funds received from the parent company were spent, in particular, on restoration of the store in Odessa, which suffered from rocket attacks, repayment of debts to suppliers and financial support of employees in difficult times. For 15 years of work in Ukraine, the company has demonstrated an exemplary reputation in settlements with partners. Despite the fact that the beginning of 2022 was difficult for Auchan Ukraine in this regard, up to the end of last year and currently the company has no debts to suppliers.
This year, Auchan Ukraine is expecting another tranche from the head office.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Auchan Ukraine has been actively supporting the civilian population and defenders. In particular, about 360 tons of goods worth more than UAH 53 million were transferred as humanitarian aid.
In the spring of 2022, the company established a fund to support employees affected by the war – “Auchan with You”, which provided assistance to fifty employees for more than 12 million UAH. The chain also continues to prepare and distribute free lunches weekly in the affected regions, in particular, in Kyiv region. In total, about 290 thousand lunches have been distributed since the beginning of the project.
Auchan Retail is an international retail company. The first store was opened in France in 1961.
Auchan Ukraine Hypermarket LLC has been operating in Ukraine since 2008. According to the Auchan website, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the retailer’s network had more than 30 stores of different formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, pick up points) in nine cities, and is also developing e-commerce.
Several restrictions will be imposed in the microdistrict of Uman, where Hasidic pilgrims will live on Rosh Hashanah, in particular, the sale of alcohol will be prohibited, the Uman City Council reports.
As reported on the page of the City Council in Facebook, from 9 to 22 September in the neighborhood will prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and alcohol-based substances (except for medicines approved for use and included in the State Register of medicines and disinfectants); sale and use of pyrotechnics, including salutes, fireworks, other explosives that create a noise effect, as well as the sale of pneumatic weapons and imitation toys.
The City Council notes that the restrictions are being imposed for the safe celebration of Rosh Hashanah under martial law.
In 2023, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) will be celebrated from September 15 to 17.
EUR60 mln will be invested in the construction of the Monsanto plant in Pochuiki village (Popelnyansky district, Zhytomyr region) by Bayer to produce corn seeds, said the head of Zhytomyr regional military administration Vitaliy Bunechko.
“Today together with the director of “Monsanto-seeds” LLC Vladimir Onishchenko laid a symbolic “time capsule” at the site of construction of new capacities of this enterprise. More than EUR60 million of additional investments during the war is the best evidence not only of international support for Ukraine, but also of the fact that large investors believe in our victory,” he wrote in Telegram.
Bunechko emphasized that Monsanto Seeds is already one of the largest seed plants in Eastern Europe. It provides corn hybrids not only to Ukrainian farmers, but also to agrarians in Romania, Hungary and France. After the construction of additional capacity, its potential will increase even more.
“Expansion of production is simultaneously the creation of new jobs in Zhytomyr region, increase of tax revenues to the budget, as well as foreign currency earnings, which is very important for the Ukrainian economy in war conditions,” he said.
At the same time, the head of Zhytomyr OVA noted the responsible position of Bayer, which in 2022, two months after the start of the full-scale invasion to support farmers who were sowing in super difficult conditions, gave them free of charge 140 tons of corn seeds of Monsanto selection.
The investment will reportedly be used to build a new seed dryer, purchase modern farming equipment, build storage facilities and two bomb shelters for employees. The plant employs about 100 full-time employees and 250 to 300 seasonal workers. The plant is one of the largest in the region.
Bayer is a multinational company that operates in the fields of medicine and agriculture. The company is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany. In 2022, Bayer Group employed about 101 thousand people and its sales amounted to EUR50.7 bln.
The company has been operating in Ukraine since 1992 and is represented by the pharmaceutical division, OTC department, as well as the agricultural division. The total number of employees is 700.
