Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk said he hoped Austria would realize the strategic role of Ukraine as a guarantor of security for Europe.
“I hope Austria will realize the strategic role of Ukraine as a guarantor of security for Europe as well as economic potential of our country and support Ukraine’s EU aspirations,” he said during a meeting with President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka in Vienna on Tuesday.
According to a statement posted on the website of the Ukrainian parliament, the officials discussed support for Ukraine on its way towards obtaining the status of EU candidate, Austria’s participation in the revival of Ukraine, and punishment for the aggressor country Russia for waging the war against Ukraine.
Stefanchuk stressed the importance of a regular inter-parliamentary dialogue and the recognition by the Austrian parliament of the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine in Ukraine genocide against the Ukrainian people.
He also invited his Austrian counterpart to visit Ukraine.
11 units of fire and rescue equipment, five resuscitation vehicles, as well as equipment and machinery from Austria have arrived in Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reports.
“11 units of fire and rescue equipment and five reanimobiles arrived in Ukraine today. They were provided by the emergency services of Vienna. In addition to equipment, a lot of other equipment and equipment arrived, which is so necessary for our victory over the Russian occupiers,” reads a message published in telegram channel.
It is emphasized that “all this valuable technical assistance will be able to strengthen the combat capability of the units of the State Emergency Service of those regions that are working to eliminate fires and emergencies caused by the war.”
Austria will accept up to 100 seriously wounded women and children from Ukraine for treatment and rehabilitation, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
“Yesterday I spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal. I offered to accept, treat and provide rehabilitation for up to 100 seriously wounded women and children. We will continue to help as much as we can!” Nehammer wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
From May 16, Austria removes all coronavirus-related restrictions for foreign tourists, they will no longer need to present a vaccination certificate, a certificate of illness or a test upon entry, the country’s official tourism portal reports.
The so-called 3-G rule (presence of vaccination, certificate of past illness or negative test) is removed from May 16 for those entering Austria from all countries.
Since April 16, many “covid” restrictions have been lifted in Austria. Thus, a vaccination certificate, masks and tests are not required to enter most public places, restaurants, bars and museums. The requirement to wear masks at all times has also been lifted, but they remain mandatory in hospitals, supermarkets and public transport.
Agrosem LLC (Kyiv), a distributor of agricultural products, seeds and agricultural machinery, has launched a railway route from Ukraine to Austria, which will export batches of Ukrainian corn on a weekly basis.
Agrosem’s Facebook page reported on Tuesday that the first train of 25 hopper cars arrived at the Austrian customer on May 6. Based on the average carrying capacity of grain wagons of 72 tons, the volume of a weekly consignment of corn sent to Austria will be approximately 1.8 thousand tons.
“Customers in Ukraine and Austria are happy with the result, but the process was complicated, especially due to the difference between the width of the tracks in Ukraine and Europe. This required finding stations where it would be possible to transfer from the Ukrainian train to the Austrian one, and it was also necessary to find out the availability free wagons in both countries. But we are confident that the train will run weekly, delivering products to Europe,” the company explains.
According to the director of “Agrosem” Oleksiy Kulik, whose words are quoted by the press service of the company, it is now very important to support Ukrainian farmers and find solutions for the export of grown products. “We must do everything to ensure that Ukrainian farmers can sell their products in Europe at market prices,” he stressed.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Austria Vasyl Khyminets, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Ecology and Water Resources of Austria Elisabeth Kostinger, General Director of the Austrian Federal Railways Andreas Matt and Director of Agrosem Kulik participated in the organization of the export route.
“Agrosem” is the official distributor in Ukraine of agricultural machinery and spare parts, seeds, fertilizers and plant protection products. The company offers solutions in the field of precision farming, telematics systems, automated and unmanned vehicles aimed at improving product efficiency and saving resources in the agricultural production process.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of Agrosem LLC is Oleg Zvyagintsev with a 35% stake in the company’s authorized capital, Igor Zvyagintsev (15%), Alexei Kulik (15%) and US citizen Alexander Weiner (35%).
The Foreign Disaster Response Fund (AKF) of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will allocate EUR41.96 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of the “Neighbors in Need” fundraising campaign in connection with the humanitarian catastrophe in the country as a result of Russia’s brutal war of aggression .
According to the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the decision was made by the government on June 4, this will be the largest payment from the AKF in history.
According to the release, due to the serious consequences of the war in Ukraine, which are felt far beyond the region, another EUR4 million will go to the World Food Program (WFP) for important work in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Libya.
“By a decision taken today by the Council of Ministers, the federal government is fulfilling its March pledge by doubling all donations for Ukraine received by Easter Monday as part of the ORF Neighbors in Need campaign,” Chancellor Carl Nehammer said in a statement.
He emphasized that Austria considers it its humanitarian duty to help alleviate the suffering of people in Ukraine, and recalled that since the beginning of the war, the country has already provided a number of emergency services, including the provision of EUR 17.5 million from the Foreign Assistance Fund and the supply of civilian ambulances, helmets, protective vests and fuel.
“It is very clear: we are on the side of the Ukrainian people. With EUR42 million, we want to provide quick and unbureaucratic assistance to Neighbors in Need. Together we can better support everyone who especially needs our help and solidarity,” said Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler thanking all donors.
According to the release, at least EUR15 million of the funds allocated by the government should be used to finance projects aimed at alleviating humanitarian hardships, especially for women and children, and at least EUR5 million should be allocated to organizations to work in Moldova, which has been particularly affected by the flow of refugees from Ukraine.
This increases the Austrian aid provided to Ukraine and other particularly affected countries since the start of the war of aggression with Russia, to a total of more than EUR80 million.
