The European Union (EU) and Ukraine need to find a solution that would allow Ukrainian farmers to work, exporting grain to the EU in the volumes they need, Croatian Minister of Agriculture Marija Vučković said at an online meeting with Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky on Tuesday.
Vučković is confident that the restrictions on the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to Europe, which were introduced by the European Commission until June 5, should not be extended after this date, the press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said.
Solsky, in turn, thanked his colleague for understanding. He also said that Croatia became one of the signatories of the letter of the European Commission sent by the relevant ministers of 14 states of the European Union. In this appeal, they expressed concern about the temporary ban on importing Ukrainian agricultural products to five states of the European Union.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security Center in the United States and other groups of experts have together warned that the development of AI technology threatens the extinction of humanity and that measures must be taken to prevent such a scenario.
“Reducing the risk of extinction that could occur because of AI should be a global priority along with other threats such as pandemics and nuclear war,” the Center for AI Safety said in a statement published on its website.
The document was signed by AI experts, as well as experts in information technology, economics, mathematics, and philosophy. Among them are the CEO of Open AI and programmer Sam Altman, and one of the developers of AI, British scientist Jeffrey Hinton.
The initiators of the statement circulated in order to raise awareness of the risks of AI, to start discussions on the topic, and to talk about the increasing number of experts and public figures who take the threats from advanced AI technology seriously.
The Associated Press recalls that earlier this year, Twitter, SpaceX and Tesla owner Elon Musk and more than 1,000 scientific researchers and technicians signed a letter calling for a six-month suspension of AI development programs because, in their words, “it poses serious risks to society and humanity.”
The Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGVFL) has put up for auction in the Prozorro.Selling system a number of assets of insolvent MR Bank, including the Magellan shopping and entertainment center (SEC) in Kiev at a starting price of UAH 498.3 million, according to a press release from the FGVFL.
The lot price is six times lower than the previous attempt to sell these assets in the autumn of 2022, when the starting price of the lot was 3.1 billion UAH.
The lot includes the receivables under credit agreements, receivables and real estate, including retail and entertainment center “Magellan” (Kiev, 13-B, Glushkov Ave, total area 28.5 thousand square meters) and a property complex of 13 thousand square meters in the village of Krupets in Khmelnitsky region.
As reported, the National Bank of Ukraine on February 25, 2022 revoked banking licenses and liquidated banks under the Russian Federation: JSC “International Reserve Bank” (formerly – Sberbank) and “Joint-Stock Commercial Industrial Investment Bank” (PJSC “Prominvestbank”), which is 99.77% owned by Sberbank and the State Development Corporation “VEB.
The Magellan shopping mall was previously among the assets of businessman Anatoly Yurkevich’s Krai group. In mid-September 2017, the AMCU granted permission to Sberbank PJSC (Kiev) to purchase the assets of Kray Property in the form of an integral property complex of the mall.
The auction will be held according to the English auction model on June 8.
The proceeds from the sale of assets will be directed by the Fund for settlements with creditors of “MR BANK” JSC.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine included sugar (trade item according to UKTVED 1701) to the list of goods, export of which is subject to licensing for the period from June 5 to September 15, 2023.
According to the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk in Telegram, the relevant decision was taken at a government meeting on Tuesday.
“Amended Annexes 1 and 5 to the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of 27.12.2022 N 1466 “On approval of the lists of goods, exports and imports of which are subject to licensing and quotas for 2023”. Sugar has been included in Appendix 1 “Quotas for the goods subject to export licensing” of the decree ¹ 1466 with a volume of quota of 0 tons and a licensing period from June 5 to September 15, 2023,” he wrote.
At the same time, sugar is excluded from Annex 5 of the same decree “The list of goods, the export of which is subject to licensing.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has spoken in favor of developing economic relations with South Korea and called for allowing the delivery of Korean anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.
“Given the resources Ukraine has and the technology Korea has, I believe we can achieve great results in the field of lithium batteries,” he said in an interview with Chosun Ilbo.
“We are trying to rebuild the country by learning from Korea’s experience in the ruins of war and combining it with our own experience. We can cooperate a lot in security and defense, advanced technology and cyberspace, and in the process of rehabilitating our people after the war. We are also very interested in cooperation in the field of green energy. Given Ukraine’s resources, Korea’s large reserves and technological capabilities, I think the field of lithium batteries is very promising. After lithium extraction in Ukraine, it’s possible to produce related products. We have lithium production capacities from the time of the former Soviet Union,” he also said.
In addition, Zelensky noted assistance to Ukraine in terms of demining. “Currently, about a third of Ukraine’s territory is covered with anti-personnel mines. Thousands of farmers, civilians and children have been killed or disabled because of Russian anti-personnel mines. Mine clearance equipment is one of Ukraine’s most important defense systems that saves lives. The demining equipment that South Korea has decided to provide will save the lives and health of countless farmers and children,” Zelensky said.
The president also called for assistance to Ukraine with deliveries of anti-aircraft systems. “We know that there are several restrictions on arms support. However, I believe that Korea’s principles should not apply to defense systems and equipment to protect energy systems. Air defense systems are purely defensive equipment, not weapons. There must be a “sky shield” to rebuild Ukraine. We sincerely hope that Korea will support us in this area. Besides, there is an early warning system for Russian air strikes, which also needs help from South Korea,” the president said.
Ukraine resumed export of nitrogen fertilizers and exported 12 thousand tons in January-April this year, Infoindustriya news agency reported.
“The focus on export is not accidental: because of the decrease of activity in the domestic market of Ukraine producers will have to go to foreign markets (Turkey, Moldova, EU countries). We can even export complex fertilizers, although the cost of phosphate remains high, but the available potassium and the low price of gas opens other opportunities for producers”, – explained the director of the agency Dmitriy Gordeichuk.
According to the agency, in the four months of 2023, Ukraine also exported to Moldova and the EU 3 thousand tons of carbamide, about 2 thousand tons of lime nitrate, 565 tons of urea.
Now Ukraine has low gas prices compared to the EU countries, which allow Ukrainian producers to export profitably, primarily urea, the analysts emphasized.
