The United Nations in Ukraine, in coordination with the government, has established a flexible Ukraine Community Recovery Fund (UCRF), which has already attracted $7.25 million for mine action.
“The fund is designed to support an inclusive, locally-driven approach that is fully aligned with the early recovery priorities identified in the third Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA-3),” the UN website says in a presentation of the fund’s mine action.
It is specified that the UCRF, established in November 2023, is expected to raise $300 million over five years. By the beginning of May this year, $11.74 million had been received, including $7.25 million for demining: Denmark – $5.76 million (DKK40 million) and South Korea – $1.25 million.
It is emphasized that mine action is a key condition for the restoration of housing, energy, social infrastructure and investment in local economic development at the community level. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has led to the fact that up to 30% of the country’s territory is likely to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance, landmines and cluster munitions.
According to UN materials, the first mine action project of the fund will be the construction of a logistics base for humanitarian demining for the SES. The feasibility study, designs for all necessary works and site preparation are estimated at $1.18 million. With separate funding for the second phase, construction can be completed by the second quarter of 2025.
It is expected that this facility will significantly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of SES demining operations throughout Ukraine and enable it to better defuse explosive ordnance in affected communities.
It is also planned to establish the position of a senior advisor on mine action and community recovery, who will advise all stakeholders on improving the effectiveness of mine action for affected communities.
It is noted that the UCRF Mine Action Window is a tool through which the UN will stimulate strategic mine action efforts, address gaps in needs in targeted communities and pilot innovative mine action initiatives.
According to the RDNA-3, an investment of at least $300 million per year over the next five years is required for explosive ordnance survey and clearance. To sustain this level of financial commitment, national and international partners will need to work together to maximize the effectiveness of traditional mine action approaches, while implementing cost-effective, high-impact solutions and considering private partnerships as a way forward.
“UCRF’s Mine Action Window is aligned with the Government of Ukraine’s National Mine Action Strategy and focuses on its three pillars – demining, mine action training and victim assistance.
The UCRF Secretariat is located in the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Kyiv.
Ukrainian athletes have received 124 licenses to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (France), said Vadym Gutzeit, president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC).
“As of today, we have 124 licenses in total. These are 140 sportsmen and women who will participate in the Olympic Games. We have completed the selection for the Olympic Games, Ukraine finally has 124 licenses,” Gutzeit said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to him, on July 8, the NOC has already submitted an application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the team composition.
The head of the NOC said that Ukraine will be represented at the Olympics in almost all sports, except for the games.
At the same time, he emphasized that for the first time since the country’s independence, the Ukrainian national football team qualified for the Olympics.
As reported, the Summer Olympics in Paris will be held from July 26 to August 11.
Under the procedural supervision of prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ukrainian businessman Gennadiy Bogolyubov was served a notice of suspicion of illegally obtaining another person’s passport and organizing the illegal transportation of a person across the state border of Ukraine.
“According to the investigation, the suspect organized an illegal border crossing by involving the head of the group of border control inspectors of the Yahodyn border service inspectors’ department of the Lutsk border detachment. For this purpose, the businessman used the passport of a citizen of Ukraine, which was lost in 2022, and the State Migration Service of Ukraine was notified. On the night of June 24, 2024, with the assistance of a border guard who knew for certain that he had been provided with a document in the name of another person for verification, the Ukrainian businessman illegally left the country,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a telegram.
The message does not specify the name of the businessman, but according to a press release from the State Bureau of Investigation, it is the former co-owner of Privat-Bank, Gennadiy Boholyubov.
The border guard was also served a notice of suspicion on the fact of illegal transportation of a citizen across the state border of Ukraine (Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the request of the prosecutor, a custody was chosen as a measure of restraint with bail set at UAH 25 million.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
Real GDP in 2021-2025 (forecast)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Oil continues to fall in price on Tuesday.
Traders are assessing the effects of Hurricane Beryl, which hit the Texas coast on Monday, and are following the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Expectations that the parties will agree on a ceasefire with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt are putting some pressure on the oil market, according to a review by the StoneX team of experts, as quoted by Market Watch. Analysts, however, note that “such negotiations have failed many times before.”
The cost of September futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 8:15 a.m. is $85.54 per barrel, which is $0.21 (0.24%) lower than at the close of the previous trading. On Monday, these contracts fell by $0.79 (0.9%) to $85.75 per barrel.
August futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $0.22 (0.27%) to $82.11 per barrel by this time. As a result of the previous session, the value of these contracts decreased by $0.83 (1%) to $82.33 per barrel.
The effects of Hurricane Beryl were less severe than expected. However, some energy infrastructure facilities in Texas are still out of service due to the hurricane’s effects.
Traders’ attention this week is focused on the monthly reviews of the oil market by OPEC and the International Energy Agency.
In addition, the market is waiting for statements from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who will present a semi-annual report on monetary policy to the US Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
Ukraine exported 57.5 mln tonnes of grains and oilseeds in 2023-2024 marketing year, which ended on June 30, 2024, out of the harvest of 82.8 mln tonnes, while the carry-over stocks amounted to about 7 mln tonnes, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) reported.
“Last season, the most important factor for the export of Ukrainian grain was the opening of the Ukrainian Humanitarian Corridor, which allowed exports by sea from the deep-water ports of Odesa region. The second most important factor was the introduction by Ukraine, together with international partners, of a working mechanism for insuring ships entering Ukrainian ports, which reduced the costs of exporters and, accordingly, Ukrainian agricultural producers for export logistics,” the association noted.
According to the UGA analysts, referring to the information of the State Customs Service, in monetary terms, the exports of grains and oilseeds in 2023/2024 MY amounted to $10.76 bln, and exports including products from them, including sunflower oil and other oils, cake and meal – $17.86 bln.
Wheat exports amounted to 18.4 million tons worth $3 billion, with production of about 22 million tons. The top 3 importing countries of Ukrainian wheat were Spain, which purchased 5.899 mln tons, Egypt – 1.721 mln tons, and Indonesia – 1.515 mln tons.
Ukraine exported almost 2.5 mln tons of barley for $376 mln, against the production of 5.8 mln tons. The most active buyers were China – 702 thousand tons, Indonesia – 460 thousand tons, and Cyprus – 221 thousand tons.
Last season, Ukraine exported 29.3 mln tons of corn worth $4.7 bln, compared to last year’s production of 29.6 mln tons. Its main buyers were Spain – 6.011 million tons, China – 4.832 million tons, and Egypt – 3.874 million tons.
Almost 3 mln tons of soybeans were sold to other countries for $1.1 bln, with a harvest of 4.9 mln tons. The top 3 buyers were Egypt – 956 thsd tonnes, Turkey – 674 thsd tonnes, and Germany – 235 thsd tonnes.
Ukraine exported 3.7 mln tons of rapeseed worth $1.4 bln, compared to last year’s production of 4.5 mln tons. The most active buyers were Germany – 1.226 mln tons, Romania – 609 thsd tonnes, and the Netherlands – 420 thsd tonnes.
