Hungary will open all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine from Monday, June 29, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto has said.
“On Monday, next week, we will open all checkpoints between Hungary and Ukraine… Thus, we will ensure the movement across the border. However, the rules of entering another country will remain in effect,” he said during a joint press briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart, following the fourth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian Commission on Economic Cooperation in Kyiv on Thursday.
The minister also said that the rules for entering Hungary will not change: Hungarian citizens will be able to enter the country without restrictions, and Ukrainians will transit Hungary or move at a maximum distance of 30 kilometers for 24 hours.
Szijjarto noted that he could not voice the dates of resumption of air and railway traffic between Ukraine and Hungary so far.
The operation of the Solotvyno-Sighetu Marmatiei checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Romanian border was resumed from 18:00 on Wednesday, June 17, the State Border Service of Ukraine said.
“According to the Romanian Border Police, admission to the territory of Romania will be provided for citizens who are officially employed in Romania and have supporting documents (without passing a mandatory observation) and persons in transit (within 48 hours),” the service said in a statement.
The remaining categories of people arrived in Romania have to pass a procedure of observation.
“We emphasize that foreigners are allowed to enter Ukraine with the obligatory presence of medical insurance, which provides for COVID-19 treatment and observation. For people arriving in Ukraine from countries with a significant [coronavirus] COVID-19 outbreak, observation or self-isolation with Diy Vdoma (Act at Home) application is provided,” the State Border Service said.
On the night of June 16, the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland (PBG) announced the resumption of vehicle traffic through the Medyka checkpoint,” the State Border Service of Ukraine has said. “On the same night, the State Border Service of Ukraine provided the possibility of passenger and truck vehicles to pass through the Shehyni checkpoint, opposite the Polish Medyka checkpoint,” the service said in a statement.
As of Tuesday morning, four checkpoints for motor service operate at the border with Poland, namely Krakovets-Korchova, Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne, Yahodyn-Dorohusk and Shehyni-Medyka.Pedestrian crossing is available only through the Shehyni-Medyka checkpoint, where from the beginning of June there has been an increase in passenger throughput and crowding in front of the Polish checkpoint due to durable control and sanitary measures.
“In this regard, the State Border Service initiates and provides the measures to expand opportunities and improve the conditions for citizens to cross the border with Poland,” the service said in the statement.
Ukraine has opened all border checkpoints at airports, Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv region) has accepted its first flight on the route Minsk (Belarus)-Kyiv.
According to Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy, Lufthansa flights are planned this week on the route Frankfurt-Kyiv-Frankfurt, KLM on the route Amsterdam-Kyiv-Amsterdam, SWISS International Airlines on the Zurich-Kyiv-Zurich route, Belavia on the route Minsk-Kyiv-Minsk.
In addition, according to the minister, Wizz Air Hungary plans from June 16 to fly from Ukraine to Austria, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia and the United Kingdom, it has already received the relevant permits. And from June 21, the Irish company Ryanair plans to fly from Kyiv to Barcelona, Madrid and Krakow (permits for flights are expected).
Ukrainian companies will begin to carry out international flights from June 22, the minister said.
Charges brought in a case opened into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for the construction of fortifications, also known as Project Wall, along the border with Russia have been forwarded to the Darnytsky District Court of Kyiv. “Charges have been filed against three officials of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, three directors of contractor firms and two intermediaries. A total of eight people will go on trial,” the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine said on its Facebook page.
These persons are suspected of embezzling Ukrainian budget money allocated for efforts to equip the Russian-Ukrainian state border, territories adjoining the zone of the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the post said.
Investigators have established that Ukrainian State Border Guard Service officials, acting in complicity and with the help of companies, misappropriated UAH 16.688 million (over $630,000) worth of budget funds.
Project Wall includes the construction of fortifications along the Russian-Ukrainian state border and in territories adjoining the area of the anti-terrorist operation in Donbas.
In February 2019, Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesman Oleh Slobodian estimated the readiness of Project Wall at around 30% at that time.
Belarus is considering the possibility of building a river port on the Dnipro River in Gomel region near the border with Ukraine in order to use river-sea vessels to put out to the Black Sea. The Turkish investor Derin Shipping & Trading Co. might be involved in the project.
According to the state agency BelTA, Ambassador of Belarus to Turkey Andrei Savinykh states that the implementation of the project “will turn Belarus into a maritime state.” The project could be implemented by building a port terminal in the village of Nizhniye Zhary (Gomel region).
“Our Turkish partners are considering the possibility of building a port in Nizhniye Zhary, which will turn Belarus into a maritime state,” the official told journalists in Gomel during the visit of the Turkish delegation to the regional center.
It is assumed that the main volume of cargo turnover will be provided by oil products (Mozyr Oil Refinery is located near Gomel) and Petrikovsky GOK being under construction in Gomel region (the project of Belaruskali, the capacity is about 2 million tonnes of potassium chloride per year).
ACCESS, BELARUS, BLACK SEA, BORDER, BUILD, RIVER PORT, TURKISH INVESTOR
