The neighboring countries of Ukraine, in addition to Poland, Belarus and the Russian Federation, are in the “red” zone for COVID-19, according to data published on the website of the Ministry of Health as of December 24.
The “red” zone includes countries with an incidence rate per 100,000 population over the past 14 days higher than in Ukraine (374). There are 45 countries in total.
Of the closest neighbors of Ukraine, the “red” zone includes Slovakia (634,900 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population), Moldova (460,400), Romania (400,300) and Hungary (521,700).
Lithuania, Georgia, Slovenia, U.S., Montenegro, Sweden, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Great Britain, Turkey, Austria, Germany are also among the countries of the “red” zone.
The list of countries of the “green” zone includes, in particular, Italy, Israel, Belgium, France, Canada, Spain, Greece, Japan, India, and Egypt.
Of the closest neighbors of Ukraine, the “green” zone includes Belarus (279 cases per 100,000 of the population), the Russian Federation (206,900) and Poland (366,700).
Belarus has placed temporary restrictions on the importation of poultry from the Republic of Tatarstan; the regions of Rostov, Samara, and Tomsk, Russia; the areas of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony, Germany; Corsica, France; Central Jutland, Denmark; as well as the provinces of Groningen and Gelderland, the Netherlands, the Veterinary and Food Supervision Department of the Agriculture and Food Ministry of the Republic of Belarus said.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health, cases of highly pathogenic influenza in birds have been reported in these areas, the Belarus department said on its website.
Consequently, as of November 23, temporary restrictions have been introduced on the importation of live poultry, hatching and edible eggs, poultry meat, egg powder, egg mixture, egg albumen and other processed food from chicken eggs, down and feathers, non-disinfected game bird trophies, feed and feed additives, as well as other products from the said regions to Belarus.
All previously issued permits to import the specified goods and products have also been suspended. Meantime, goods and products subject to veterinary oversight and supervision that are subject to the restrictions and which have originated from the said regions prior to November 22 of the current year inclusive follow as per the usual regime, the department added.
“Meanwhile, additional oversight measures must be taken in order to ensure the biological protection of poultry facilities of all types of ownership,” the department said in the statement.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) at a meeting on Monday allowed a nonresident individual to acquire over 50% of the shares of BTA Bank (Kyiv).
“Permission is granted to an individual – a citizen of the Republic of Belarus to purchase shares of JSC BTA Bank, which grants that 50% of the votes in the management body of the company are exceeded,” the committee said on its website on Monday.
BTA Bank was founded in 1992. According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), at the beginning of 2020, Kenes Rakishev was a shareholder of the bank, who indirectly owned 100% of the bank’s charter capital.
According to the NBU, as of October 1, 2020, BTA Bank ranked 71st in terms of assets (UAH 385.612 million) among 74 operating banks.
The Belarusian side has limited the admission of foreign citizens to its territory since October 29, arguing such actions by the need for additional measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection, in connection with it there is a decrease in the number of travelers at checkpoints wishing to enter the territory of Belarus, the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has reported.
“Compared to last weekend, the passenger traffic has decreased by an average of 15%. Such situation is observed even at checkpoints, where traffic is usually heavy. Namely, in Novi Yarylovychi (Chernihiv region), Vystupovychi (Zhytomyr region) and Domanove (Volyn region),” a statement, released on Monday by the press service of the border department, said.
Now, at the checkpoints to exit Ukraine, the border is mainly crossed by participants in international road transport.
On average, Ukrainian border guards during the day register more than 1,700 people and about 1,000 vehicles at the Novi Yarylovychi checkpoint, about 300 people and almost 180 vehicles at the Vystupovychi checkpoint, and more than 600 people and nearly 100 vehicles at the Domanove checkpoint. There are no trucks and cars queues.
“We add that during the past weekend, the Belarusian side did not let in and returned to the territory of Ukraine 20 citizens of Ukraine and two foreigners,” the press service said.
The first container train on the China-Kazakhstan-Russia-Belarus-Ukraine new route, which delivered 41 containers with refrigeration equipment, has arrived in Ukraine.
The press service of Ukrzaliznytsia said on Thursday morning that the train had been on the way for 19 days.
Work is underway on the frequency of the train running once a week. “If there is sufficient cargo, the frequency of running will be increased and the train will run according to a clear schedule,” the press service said.
Work on the route’s capacity filling continues, “especially in the direction of receiving subsidies from China for cargo, so that the conditions of cargo transportation are economically attractive for carriers.”
In addition, Ukrzaliznytsia is developing an online service to enable customers to order a container seat on a train and pay for the service online, similar to purchasing tickets for passenger trains.
Ukrzaliznytsia recalled that direct container trains from China to Ukraine began to run on the territory of four countries from June 8, 2020. During this time, 13 trains have already arrived.
Container traffic accounts for 2.3% of the total volume of cargo transportation by rail in Ukraine. Currently, 36 container trains organized by Ukrzaliznytsia run on a regular basis across Ukraine.
Dozens of Belarusian IT companies have already moved to Ukraine thanks to the IT Relocate Belarus project, which is being implemented by the team of the Ministry of Digital Transformation with the support of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Borniakov has said.
“We have created IT Relocate for those who want to relocate themselves or move their team from Belarus to Ukraine, and are ready to provide support in the future. As the AIN.UA source said, Wargaming has moved hundreds of employees to Ukraine. The company is the developer of the world famous online games World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Warplanes,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
According to him, another Belarusian IT company, PandaDoc, is opening its office in Kyiv. Founder Nikita Mikado notes the talents of Ukrainian specialists, favorable tax conditions and the actions of the Ukrainian government in supporting the IT industry in Belarus.
“Ukraine is rapidly digitalizing, becoming a global IT hub and creating comfortable conditions for the development of the IT industry. Ukraine is ready to provide Belarusian specialists with opportunities to work on a simplified registration system,” Borniakov said.
The IT Relocate Belarus project offers 90 days of continuous stay for 180 days without obtaining a visa, an average salary of $2,000, 4G in all major cities, more than 5,600 service and technology companies, affordable housing and office rent.
