The Swiss authorities said that they rejected a request by arms manufacturing company Ruag AG for permission to sell nearly a hundred Leopard 1 A5 tanks to Germany for their subsequent transfer to Ukraine.
“The Federal Council on June 28 rejected a request from Ruag AG concerning the export of 96 Leopard 1 A5 tanks destined for Ukraine, as it is contrary to current legislation,” the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The council explained that such a sale would violate Swiss law in force. In addition, the deal “would violate Switzerland’s position on neutrality.”
Ruag AG submitted an export request to the authorities on June 27 for the resale of 96 used and inoperable Leopard 1 A5 tanks. The tanks are currently in storage in Italy and need to be repaired in Germany before being shipped elsewhere.
The Leopard 1 was the main battle tank of the FRG until the 1980s. It was produced from 1965 to 1984 and was in service with the Federal Republic of Germany until 2010. More than a dozen countries still have it in their armed forces, including Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Italy, Chile, Australia and Canada; the tank is continuously upgraded. Totally more than 4.7 thousand tanks of this model were produced. The tank is equipped with a 105mm rifled gun with a load of 60 rounds. The tank is equipped with optical stereoscopic rangefinder, binocular, monocular with night channel and telescopic sights. Speed of the Leopard 1 on a highway is 62 km/h, range – 600 km.
Change in prices of food raw materials from Ukraine (forecast up to 2025), %
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
June 27, the Supervisory Board of the insurance company “Inter-Policy” terminated the authority of a member of the Board Tatiana Novikova on the basis of her application, reported in the system of the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market (NSCSM).
It was noted that the decision of the Supervisory Board of the company appointed Alexei Shepitko as Acting Member of the Board, who in the past five years has been working as the head of the department of claims settlement of “Guardian” insurance company, the department of property and liability insurance settlement of IC “Inter-Policy”.
As it was informed, IC “Inter-Policy” was founded in 1993. It has 20 licenses for voluntary and compulsory insurance, branches and representative offices in all big regional centers of the country.
A Ukrainian retreat center has opened in Durres, Albania, inviting Ukrainians to engage in restorative bodily and spiritual practices in cozy rooms on the Adriatic Sea.
“Albania is a small and beautiful country in the Balkans with a long and powerful history that has hospitably opened its doors to Ukrainians. Our compatriots are organizing themselves in the community, opening businesses and helping other people. The Ukrainian Center in Durres offers our compatriots, whose emotional and physical condition requires care and attention, a series of restorative and supportive activities in a family atmosphere, in cozy 2-3 bed rooms on the Adriatic coast,” the organizers of the Ukrainian Center in Durres report.
“Family breakfasts and dinners of Ukrainian and Mediterranean cuisine – healthy, tasty and homemade – will be a great addition to the vacation. The hosts cook themselves, with love for their guests and care for the quality of the products. Albanian products are always fresh, natural, and cheap. Given the rising prices in Ukraine and Europe, an Albanian check will make everyone happy,” say the organizers of the Ukrainian Center in Durres.
“In ancient times, Durres, one of the oldest cities in Albania, was one of the world’s centers of worship for the goddess Aphrodite (Venus). Pilgrims from all over the world came here and made offerings to her asking for beauty, love, prosperity and health. These ancient energies still impregnate the city streets, coasts and mountains, which are literally bathed in the light and strong emanations of Aphrodite… Therefore, the Center has created separate caring programs for women. With the help of rehabilitation specialists from all spheres – physical, psycho-emotional and spiritual – 7-day express courses are held here, which include physical and psycho-emotional therapy, anti-stress cosmetology (on request) and art therapy,” the organizers of the Ukrainian Center in Durres emphasize.
These practices, in particular, include visits to places of power, yoga and qigong classes, drawing and dancing, singing and adding to oneself, and elements of vipassana: “The Center’s calendar of meetings and events includes master classes by well-known yoga masters, sound healing, vocal, and meditation. Concerts by Ukrainian musicians are also planned. The retreat center is already bustling with life, and all of our guests who come here will definitely stop by to say hello, have dinner and hang out with friends.”
Couples from Ukraine and other countries, as well as women, are welcome here from July to October.
The Ukrainian Center in Durres also accepts applications for all kinds of tasks that Ukrainians have: from renting, selling and operating an apartment to finding the right doctor, specialist, car, etc.
“We will help you feel at home! We hope that in the future many of our citizens will come to Albania who need to have their own, Ukrainian, not only at home but also in a foreign country,” emphasize the organizers of the Ukrainian Center in Durres.
Pavilion “Kviti-Kvity Ukrainy” in Kiev is for sale for $5 million, according to an announcement on OLX.
“Well-wishers”, who tried to destroy “Kviti Ukrainy”, put the building-monument for sale. In the description of the proposal there is no important information – the object in the courts and belongs to the cultural heritage of Kiev”, – wrote in Facebook a member of the public council at the Podolsk district state administration of Kiev, the former Director of “UkrNIIprojectrestravratiya” Olga Rutkovskaya.
She stressed that the sale of the pavilion is possible only with the approval of the Department of cultural heritage of the Kyiv City State Administration.
Initiative group “Zberegty Kviti Ukrainy” supported the idea of selling the building, taking into account the scandalous attempt of its owners to reconstruct the pavilion without saving its architectural elements.
“We are ready to support the new owner in the dialogue with the community and the building’s architect Nikolay Levchuk in facilitating a new thoughtful reconstruction project. We are also ready to transfer to the new owner all our preliminary ideas about the possible models of using the building,” the group says.
In his turn, Alexey Erinchak, the founder of Sens bookstore-cafe, put forward a proposal to buy the building from the owners through public crowdfunding and to open offices for urbanists and a bookstore in the pavilion.
In 2021, the pavilion’s developer reportedly began dismantling part of the building, causing a public outcry. Later in August 2021 the educational pavilion “Kviti Ukrainy” received the status of a discovered object of cultural heritage of Kiev and also was included in the register of state monuments of the Ministry of Culture.
According to Opendatabot, the owners of “Kviti Ukraini” are Avialine JSC, the main shareholders of which are Alexey Pyshny and Andrey Skalozub.
Ukrainian industrial company Interpipe intends to maintain its position in eastern markets, particularly in Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey and Thailand, according to Interpipe’s corporate Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to the press release, Interpipe took part in the international exhibition Eurasia Rail 2023 together with its Turkish partner Özar Group Railway Systems.
It is noted that this is a major exhibition of the railway industry in the region and one of the largest in the world. Every year the leading rolling stock manufacturers, infrastructure technology suppliers and rail logistics operators of Asia gather on this platform in Istanbul.
“For Interpipe, the Turkish market in particular and the Asian market in general are extremely important. The company has a long history of cooperation with Turkish Railways (TCDD), as well as with logistics operators in other countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, India and Thailand,” the Facebook post states.
And it is emphasized that “Our goal is to hold our positions, and participation in the exhibition is a good opportunity to maintain relationships with partners and clients.”
“Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company, producer of seamless pipes and railway wheels. The company supplies its products to over 80 countries via a network of sales offices located in key markets in the Middle East, North America, and Europe. In 2022, the company sold 384 thnd mt of tubes and 87 thnd mt of railroad products. The company sells its railroad products under the KLW brand.
Interpipe has 10 000 employees. In 2022 the company transferred 2.8 billion hryvnias to the budgets of all levels.
The company has five industrial assets: “Interpipe Nizhnedniprovsk Tube Rolling Plant (NTZ)”, “Interpipe Novomoskovsk Tube Plant (NMTZ)”, “Interpipe Niko-Tube”, “Dnepropetrovsk Vtormet” and the electric steelmaking complex “Dneprostal” under the “Interpipe Steel” brand.
The ultimate owner of Interpipe Limited is Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk and his family members.
