Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has signed an agreement with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Kroo to finance EUR 150 million worth of recovery projects in Ukraine.
“In particular, the funds will be used to restore energy and social infrastructure in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions,” Shmyhal wrote on his telegram channel following the online meeting.
According to him, the signed agreement simplifies the implementation of joint programs and projects, and will contribute to the recovery, economic and social development of Ukraine.
Under the agreement, the Belgian development agency Enabel will open a representative office in Ukraine.
Ukraine will play its third and final group stage match at the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship against Belgium on Wednesday.
The match will start at 19:00 Kyiv time at the stadium in Stuttgart, and will be officiated by a refereeing team from England led by Anthony Taylor.
According to the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF), the starting lineup will include: Anatoliy Trubin, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Oleksandr Tymchyk, Mykola Matvienko, Oleksandr Svatok, Ilya Zabarny, Volodymyr Brazhko, Mykola Shaparenko, Hryhoriy Sudakov, Artem Dovbyk. Roman Yaremchuk.
As reported, Ukraine lost the first match to Romania with a score of 0:3, and in the second match it beat Slovakia with a score of 2:1.
In Group E, all four teams have three points before the last round and have a chance to reach the playoffs.
Belgium will allocate an additional 9 million euros in aid to Ukraine to repair its damaged energy infrastructure, Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Genne said on Friday.
“Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is old and too centralized, which makes it very vulnerable,” the minister said, as quoted by RTBF.
The 9 million euros will be channelled through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which has organized a system that allows for the rapid procurement of spare parts and the supply of new equipment to repair damaged or destroyed infrastructure. In doing so, UNDP “emphasizes sustainable and decentralized energy sources,” Genne explained.
According to her, “Together with military assistance, this support will help strengthen Ukraine’s resilience.”
The Eastern Interregional Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection has imposed restrictions on the import of meat products from Belgium due to the registration of bluetongue disease (ASF) in this country, the agency’s press service reports.
According to the order of the Chief State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine dated October 13, 2023, the ban applies to the import of animals susceptible to the bluetongue virus and genetic material from them.
Bluetongue is a viral disease of ruminants (small and cattle), also called “bluetongue” or “blue tongue”. It is characterized by lesions of the mucous membranes of the mouth and nasal cavity, swelling of the tongue, swelling of the face, lesions of the extremities, and changes in skeletal muscle.
The disease spreads through insect bites, causing loss of livestock productivity and infertility. Mortality in the herd can reach 70-90%.
Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder said that the federal government confirmed on Friday the participation of the Belgian side in training Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft.
“Along with this important contribution to the training and commissioning of fighter aircraft, our government officially expresses its support for helping to build this new capacity necessary for the modernization of the Ukrainian armed forces,” RTBF quoted the minister as saying in a communique.
According to her, Belgium is thus acting as part of the “F-16 coalition” led by the Netherlands and Denmark to train Ukrainian pilots and eventually supply combat aircraft of this type to Ukraine.
In the coming weeks, the Belgian Ministry of Defense will send three servicemen to a training center for Ukrainian F-16 pilots in Denmark, Dedonder said.
In 2024, the Belgian side will deploy two F-16B training aircraft and a unit of fifty military personnel, mainly technicians, to Denmark to maintain the fighter jets.
Four dry-cargo ships with more than 250,000 tons of food left Ukrainian ports on Wednesday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reports.
According to JCC the Laskaro S vessel will deliver 62 088 tons of corn to Belgium, the Astra Perseus dry-cargo carrier will carry 55 thousand tons of corn to Spain. Vessel Geneve is going to Turkey with 32 thousand tons of wheat and 33 thousand tons of barley. Andonis dry-cargo carrier set a course for China, carrying 48 502 tons of corn and 18.7 thousand tons of sunflower meal.
It is noted that four more dry-cargo ships are heading for the ports of Ukraine.
“The total tonnage of grain and other agricultural products exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 22,747,287 tons. The total number of agreed ship movements is 1,543,” the report said.
SKC reported that “100 applications for participation in the initiative have been submitted.”
