The number of inbound border crossings into Ukraine exceeded its outbound crossings for the third week in a row, and the difference between the two continues to grow: it reached 36,000 this week, up from 21,000 a week ago and 10,000 two weeks ago.
According to data from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, published on Facebook, exit crossings rose from 348,000 last week to 360,000 this week, while entry crossings jumped even more – from 369,000 to 396,000.
The total number of border crossings in both directions reached 756 thousand for the week – this is the maximum since mid-March last year.
The number of vehicles crossing the western border of Ukraine, according to the agency, in the 31st week of the year also increased – from 140 thousand to 143 thousand, as well as the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian goods – from 788 to 839.
As indicated by the Western Regional Department of the State Border Service, since the beginning of the summer season through checkpoints in Lviv region crossed the state border in both directions 3 million 111 thousand citizens and almost 600 thousand vehicles.
“Characteristics of passenger traffic for two months indicates that during July the number of travelers increased by 326 thousand, transport – by 28 thousand units”, – noted in the Department, also indicating that in July the number of citizens who proceeded to enter Ukraine, prevails over the number of missed on the exit.
It is indicated that the busiest checkpoints remain “Krakivets” and “Shehyni” out of six, round-the-clock functioning in the region. On Friday, August 4, queues to leave Ukraine ranged from 50 to 140 cars at all checkpoints.
“We recommend citizens to follow the approximate state of the queues in front of the checkpoints on the page of the Western Regional Directorate on Facebook. And travelers who follow through Poland in transit, choose for crossing the border checkpoints within the Transcarpathian and Chernivtsi regions”, – added in the Department.
Border Guard Service of Poland for the last seven days also recorded a significant increase in the excess of flow into Ukraine over the flow out – up to 28.5 thousand from 16.5 thousand last week and 9.4 thousand – two weeks earlier.
According to the Polish ministry, the number of people entering Poland from Ukraine increased from 223.8 thousand to 231.8 thousand during the week, while the return flow from Poland to Ukraine increased from 240.3 thousand to 260.3 thousand.
In general, since the beginning of the war, by August 4, 2023, 14.28 million people arrived in Poland from Ukraine, while 12.50 million people traveled in the opposite direction.
As reported, since May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine was replaced by an inflow, which lasted until September 23 and amounted to 409 thousand people.
However, since the end of September, possibly under the influence of news about mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, and then massive shelling of energy infrastructure, an excess of the number of those leaving over those entering was recorded. It temporarily stopped in the second half of December and the beginning of January for the period of holidays, but from the second week of January it resumed again and in total since the end of September by the anniversary of the full-scale war reached 223 thousand people.
From that time until today, thanks to the statistics of the last three weeks, the number of border crossings to enter Ukraine has exceeded the number of border crossings to leave Ukraine by 60 thousand.
As Deputy Minister of Economy Serhiy Sobolev noted in early March, the return of every 100 thousand Ukrainians home gives a 0.5% increase in GDP.
According to the UNHCR, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of August 1 was estimated at 5.873 million, and in the whole world – at 6.231 million, which is 12,000 and 13,000 more than a week ago.
In Ukraine itself, according to the UN data as of the end of May, there were 5.088m internally displaced persons.
In January-June 2023, InterExpress Insurance Company (Kyiv) collected insurance payments in the amount of UAH 26.099 million, which is 16.79% more than in the same period a year earlier, according to the information of the rating agency Standard-Rating on updating the company’s credit rating / financial strength (reliability) rating of the insurer on the national scale at uaAA.
It is noted that revenues from individuals increased by 46.59% to UAH 10.626 million in the analyzed period, while revenues from reinsurers in the analyzed period amounted to only UAH 19 thousand.
Despite the increase in premiums from individuals, the insurer’s client portfolio is dominated by legal entities, as indicated by their share in gross premiums, which amounted to 59.22% in the first half of 2023.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in the first half of 2023 decreased by 28.33% to UAH 2,881 million compared to the same period in 2022. Thus, the ratio of reinsurers’ participation in insurance premiums decreased by 6.95 p.p. to 11.04%.
Net written premiums increased by 26.69% to UAH 23,218 million, while earned premiums increased by 3.56% to UAH 24,256 million.
The volume of payments and reimbursements made by the insurer in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022 increased by 1.33% to UAH 9.191 million. Given the higher growth rate of gross premiums compared to claims, the level of payments decreased by 5.37 p.p. to 35.22%.
It is also noted that the company’s activities in the analyzed period were profitable: for the first half of 2023, the financial result from operating activities amounted to UAH 2.306 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 2.497 million.
As of June 30, 2023, the company’s assets increased by 12.75% to UAH 53.997 million, equity showed an increase of 20.60% to UAH 45.307 million, liabilities decreased by 15.81% to UAH 8.690 million, cash and cash equivalents decreased by 35.94% to UAH 4.140 million.
The RA also notes that as of July 1, 2023, PrJSC IC “InterExpress” invested UAH 8,011 million in government bonds. The availability of such investments had a positive impact on the provision of PJSC IC “Interexpress” with liquid assets, which in total exceeded the insurer’s liabilities by 1.4 times.
IC “InterExpress” was registered in 2004 and specializes in risky types of insurance.
Insurance company “Ridna” (Kiev) in January-June 2023 collected UAH 5.456 mln of net insurance premiums, which is 3.95 times less than in the same period a year earlier, according to the annual financial report of the company, published in the information base of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NCSSM).
According to it, the volume of gross insurance premiums for 6 months amounted to UAH 8,153 mln (+13,6%). UAH 2,527 mln (+43,6%) has been transferred to reinsurance.
During the reporting period the company paid UAH 1,013 mln, which is 5,6 times less than in January-June 2022.
Administrative costs of the company for the first half of the year increased by 33.4% to UAH 3.025 million, sales costs amounted to UAH 419 thousand (-18.5%)
It is noted that the company finished the first quarter with net profit of UAH 2,562 mln, which is 2,1 times less than in January-June -2022.
IC “Ridna” was registered in 2006. It specializes on rendering services in the sphere of risk insurance.
The Carpathian Mountains are one of the most popular tourist regions in Ukraine, attracting visitors with their Carpathian landscapes, unique culture and hospitality. The Carpathian resorts are a place where you can find unique mineral waters, vineyards, castles, delicious cuisine and a wide range of outdoor activities, from hiking in the mountains to rafting.
The developed hotel infrastructure of the Carpathians and Zakarpattia includes a large number of hotels and resorts of various categories. There are hotels for families with children, for outdoor enthusiasts, for those wishing to immerse themselves in SPA treatments, and for fans of ecotourism. Zakarpattia offers hotels and resorts for every budget and taste. That’s why we’ve selected the five best places to stay in the Carpathians in 2023.
Fifth place – Grand Hotel Pylypets and HVOYA Hotel
The Grand Hotel Pylypets is a luxurious 4-star hotel and restaurant complex, picturesquely located on the outskirts of the mountain village of Pylypets in the Mizhhirya district. Pylypets is famous as a Carpathian resort, equipped for active recreation – hiking, cycling and skiing, as well as for SPA relaxation.
The hotel’s territory is located in close proximity to the Ploshanka River and the Shipit Waterfall, under the steep slopes of the Borzhavsky Ridge, reaching an altitude of approximately 1500 meters above sea level. Just a few minutes’ walk from the hotel is a 2-section cable car, which transports tourists to the top of Mount Gemba (1498 m) throughout the year.
Opened in January 2012, the Grand Hotel Pylypets with its unsurpassed elegance and high-quality 4-star hotel service was recognized as the “Best Hotel Complex of Transcarpathia – 2012” and won the regional stage of the All-Ukrainian competition “100 Best Products of Ukraine”. Hotel services include: a choice of rooms of different categories; restaurant and banquet hall; terrace by the river on the territory of the hotel; gazebos and recreation areas on the territory of the hotel; conference hall; outdoor swimming pool with heated water; traditional bath by the river; Finnish sauna; massage services; salt room; fitness room; billiards; children’s group and children’s playground; parking with round-the-clock security.
In 2013, Grand Hotel Pylypets was ranked among the 100 best hotels in Ukraine and was awarded a diploma. In the same year, the hotel won first place in the nomination “Best Hotel in the Carpathians” and was awarded the Carpathian Travel Awards for efficiency and high quality of tourist services.
Address: 352 Pylypets village, Mizhhirya district, Zakarpattia region, Ukraine
Website: https://grandhotelpylypets.com/
HVOYA Hotel is a unique complex consisting of two buildings located in the picturesque Vyshnі tract in Bukovel, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Due to its location, it provides a great opportunity for winter and summer activities.
The hotel’s two buildings combine modernity and comfort, and guests are offered different types of rooms, depending on their needs and requirements. The hotel has two reception areas operating around the clock, which ensures convenience and efficiency of guest service.
The restaurant at HVOYA Hotel offers breathtaking views of the Carpathians. Here guests can enjoy gourmet cuisine while soaking up nature through the large panoramic windows.
The SPA area includes a variety of treatments and services, including various types of massages, therapies and other relaxation treatments.
The hotel has an underground parking lot that can accommodate up to 110 cars, which provides additional convenience for guests traveling by car.
For the safety of guests, the hotel is equipped with a modern video surveillance system and has its own security. In addition, reliable OTIS lifts have been installed to ensure comfortable and safe movement around the hotel. For skiing enthusiasts, the hotel offers a ski room with a drying room for equipment. Uninterrupted Internet access guarantees communication with the outside world and the ability to work or have fun online.
HVOYA Hotel is an ideal place for those who appreciate comfort, quality of service and sophistication of the atmosphere.
Address: Vyshni tract, Bukovel, Ivano-Frankivsk region
Website: https://invest.hotelhvoya.com/
Both hotels are distinguished by a high level of service, attentive attitude to guests and an attractive location that allows you to quickly reach the main tourist attractions. They are ideal for family vacations, romantic trips or corporate events.
Fourth place: Yaremche Club Hotel
Yaremche Club Hotel is proud of its magical location among the panoramic Carpathian mountains, 550 meters above the sea, in the resort area of the picturesque city of Yaremche.
The uniqueness of this hotel lies in its special design: the exterior style of the hotel reflects the traditions of local architecture, while inside it provides modern service, a pleasant atmosphere and hospitality of the staff. Visitors can expect to relax in comfort while enjoying the beauty of nature and extraordinary views.
The Yaremche Club Hotel offers a wide range of services for complete relaxation and re-energization for any season of the year. Guests can relax and unwind in the comfortable rooms and suites, of various categories, from standard to executive suites, all equipped in accordance with European standards.
There is also a large outdoor heated pool, a furnished terrace, a spacious lobby and an exclusive restaurant with a signature menu from renowned chef Andrey Ivanov. The hotel offers breathtaking mountain views, creating an unforgettable experience.
For those who prefer a more private vacation, there are separate cottages with two bathrooms, a sauna, a kitchen and a private terrace. For younger guests, a children’s playground has been created on site, promising unforgettable impressions and joy of games.
Club Hotel Yaremche is a combination of traditional mountain hospitality and modern comfort, a place you will definitely love.
Address: Yaremche, 6 Petrash St.
Website: https://yaremche-club-hotel.com/
Third place: Verkhovyna Medical & Wellness Resort
Verkhovyna Medical &Wellness Resort is a harmonious symphony of style and comfort, embodied in three buildings with exceptional architectural design, both inside and out. There are 77 large rooms on the territory, which have been carefully prepared to provide maximum comfort during the period of rest and recreation.
Regardless of the time of year, guests have the opportunity to move between the buildings through stylish glass passages with air conditioning. This makes it possible to visit the spa, undergo medical procedures or swim in the pool directly from the room.
Verkhovyna Resort also features a prestigious congress center with advanced technologies for business events of any format. The restaurant service offers guests a wide range of choices from traditional dishes to exquisite gourmet cuisine.
For guests’ entertainment there is an entertainment center with bowling and billiards, phytobars, a tasting room, and comfortable lounge areas. All this is combined with the natural environment and maximum comfort of all the benefits of civilization, while being in close proximity to the regional center.
“Verkhovyna” is surrounded by a forest at the top of the mountain, on its own fenced territory. The resort’s core is an advanced health rehabilitation center equipped with the latest medical equipment and an individual approach to treatment programs. Visitors also have access to an aesthetic and anti-aging medicine center.
The spa facilities include a hammam, a classic bath, a Finnish sauna, a Thai herbal sauna, a salt room, a snow room, a contrast shower, a whirlpool and a spinal stretching pool.
“Verkhovyna also offers a variety of balneological treatments and programs to restore energy, improve well-being, relaxation and recreation. A pool palace with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness center, and a panoramic sun terrace complete the uniqueness of this resort.
In addition, guests can enjoy the crystal clear mountain and mineral water, the sources of which are located nearby.
Address: 100 Uzhanska Street, Kamianytsia village, Uzhanska Street, Uzhhorod district, Zakarpattia region.
Website: https://verkhovyna-resort.com/
Second place: Derenivska Kupil Resort
Located in the scenic foothills of the Carpathians, this unique resort offers you health from the Derenivka spring, whose water has been famous throughout Europe for four centuries.
Noblemen, voivodes, traders, and artists used to come to Derenivka to taste the healing water from the baths, which was believed to restore not only health and energy, but also to give youth.
Today’s Derenivska Kupil has exploded with new life, offering hotels, restaurants, SPA-zones, places for active recreation, business spaces, and places for art. Additionally, you will find a botanical garden and a unique sculpture park within its foreseeable area.
The accommodation facilities include the Iris Hotel, the Apartment Hotel and the SPA Hotel. Thanks to the silicon water of Derenivska Kupil, modern technologies, and cosmetic products of well-known European brands, Iris offers a unique set of health and body and face care procedures. In the Silver Therms SPA complex you will find everything for wellness, including a Roman steam room, a Transcarpathian bath, a Finnish sauna, balneological and massage rooms, a contrasting foot bath, an ice fountain, a tropical shower, and a relaxation area overlooking the botanical garden.
The Salamander restaurant offers exquisite cuisine with an author’s vision, the Iris restaurant is a fresh and innovative vision of gastronomic traditions, and the Salamander Cafe is a cozy place to enjoy delicious food on the territory of the SPA center.
The resort also has conference rooms, places for corporate recreation, bowling, billiards, karaoke, a relaxation area and a golf club. “Derenivska Kupil is the only complex in Ukraine that has received a certificate from the European Resort Association.
Address: Ukraine, Transcarpathian region, Nizhne Solotvyno, 150.
Website: https://derenivska-kupil.ua
Renaissance Billiard & Lounge Bar is located in the business center of the hotel, on the second floor. Renaissance Billiard & Lounge Bar perfectly combines comfort, classic elegance of style and a refined atmosphere of prestige.
Fito Bar is a corner of relaxation and health, located on the first floor of the balneological department and in the hotel’s SPA center, near the swimming pools and saunas. Here you can relax and rejuvenate. You can choose from freshly squeezed juices, smoothies, fruit, tea, oxygen cocktails and cocktails made from spirulina or sprouted wheat. Sports nutrition is also available.
“Med Palace is a medical and diagnostic rehabilitation center that is one of the most modern medical centers in Western Ukraine. Highly qualified specialists use resort resources and the latest achievements of world medicine in the treatment process.
DoReMINI is a playroom that is a favorite place for our youngest guests from 0 to 4 years old. Children will be delighted with a variety of games and activities in the pools with balls, slides, mysterious tunnels and stairs, climbing walls and lots of toys. Kids can be in this room only under parental supervision.
For corporate clients, the complex offers an effective combination of high-quality conferences, corporate events, business meetings and seminars with a unique vacation in Truskavets.
Address: 1 Kobzar Square, Truskavets, Lviv region, Ukraine.
Website: https://mirotel.ua/
All of the hotels listed above are distinguished by their unique style, impeccable service, and exciting atmosphere. These are the places where you can conquer the mountain peaks during the day and relax in the evening in comfortable conditions, enjoying luxurious SPA treatments or a delicious dinner. After visiting the best hotels in the Carpathians, you will realize that they deservedly occupy a place among the best places to relax in Ukraine.
77.6% of the polled Ukrainians believe that the president is directly responsible for corruption in the government and military administrations.
This is evidenced by the data of a public opinion poll on the adaptation of Ukrainians to life in war conditions, conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in July by order of the Ilk Kucheriv Foundation for Democratic Initiatives.
“Delaying solutions to problems that undermine people’s faith in victory will also hit the president himself. The poll showed that according to 77.6% of citizens, “the president is directly responsible for corruption in the government, military administrations,” – said the executive director of the Foundation “Democratic Initiatives” Petro Burkovsky.
As the sociologist noted, “the widespread argument that ‘the government does not have time everywhere’ does not work after 16 months of war and will no longer play the role of an indulgence for abuse, indifference and incompetence of persons who were elected and appointed precisely so that they ‘had time to do everything and everywhere’ using their powers, all the more expanded under martial law.”
“That is, it is the officials who do not fulfill their duties that are no less a dangerous enemy at this stage than Russia. And citizens expect Vladimir Zelensky’s determination to remove such individuals from power, to listen to and promote performers who honestly point out problems and competently offer solutions,” Burkovsky continued.
“Therefore, the cleansing of the TCC from “invaluable personnel” should be a starting point, not a point in the process of change in the defense sector. In this case, we should not go the way of simple solutions. In particular, we can reasonably assume that the majority of citizens may support such a “simple idea” as “transferring military offenders to the front line.” However, can we trust weapons and soldiers’ lives to people who cynically peddled certificates to evade service? It is unlikely that such a decision will be supported in combat units. But the proposal to replace corrupt officials with veterans will resonate with the public,” summarizes the political analyst.
According to the survey, 72.9% of Ukrainians support the dismissal of wounded military personnel from the ranks of the AFU with the payment of all due compensation for treatment and rehabilitation, and 46.3% – transfer at will to positions in military commissions instead of current employees.
All-Ukrainian survey “Public and Political Attitudes of the Population of Ukraine” was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in July 2023 at the request of the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives. The survey was carried out by the method of personal interviews using a tablet. Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts were immediately excluded from the sample due to security issues. Kherson region was initially included for calculations, but due to security issues the task for Kherson region was implemented in the neighboring Mykolaiv region.
A total of 2011 interviews with respondents living in 135 localities of Ukraine were conducted as part of the study. Under normal circumstances, the statistical error of the sample does not exceed 3.3%
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the continuation next week of the “cleaning state institutions.”
“Next week will be a continuation of our work on cleaning state institutions of those who tried to drag from the past all those old habits, old schemes that weakened Ukraine for a very long time, for decades,” he said in a video address on Saturday.
“There will be no more old formats in our country – those formats when some defended the state and people, and others tried to put both the state and people at the service of their own benefit. No matter, who this person is – whether he is a ‘military commissar,’ whether he is a deputy, or whether he is an official – everyone must work only for the sake of the state. So be it,” he said.
