Ukrzaliznytsia JSC (UZ) with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will develop a feasibility study (FS) of the euro track project that will connect Mostyska station on the Polish border to Sknylyv (a settlement in the suburbs of Lviv), the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure (MCDI) said on Friday.
The corresponding memorandum was signed by Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksandr Kubrakov, U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink, from UZ – head of the board Eugene Lyashchenko and board member Vyacheslav Eremin.
It is indicated that further development of the 1435 mm wide section of the track will include its connection to Uzhgorod, Kovel, Chernivtsi, and at a later stage to Kiev and eastern Ukraine.
“The track will be used not only for freight, but also for passenger transportation in the direction of EU countries,” Kubrakov said.
He stressed that one of the important tasks to increase export capacity is to modernize and replace the tracks, and if necessary, to build new ones.
“The signing of the Memorandum with USAID will have a tangible impact on the recovery of the Ukrainian economy and contribute to the European integration processes in general,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Earlier, the head of the UZ board, Yevhen Lyashchenko, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the design of the construction of the Euroway from the state border with Poland to Sknyliv will be completed by the end of this year. According to him, the implementation of this project will make it possible to organize communication by euro track from Lviv to Krakow, Prague and Vienna.
As reported, the construction of euro track in the direction Mostyska-Sknyliw was planned to begin in 2020. Also in 2020 the government included this project in the list of priority investment projects until 2023.
The railway station Sknyliw is located in Lviv at a distance of 5.5 km from the Lviv station, 3 km from Lviv airport and 1 km from the bus station.
BRIDGET BRINK, Eugene Lyashchenko, UKRZALIZNYTSIA, USAID, Вячеслав Еремин, Олександр Кубраков, УЗ
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink had a “valuable discussion” with Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on negotiations with UN and Turkey on establishing grain transport corridors through the Black Sea.
“Ukraine is ready to export grain to countries in need; the United States continues engaging with partners to provide safe passage for grain,” she said on Twitter on Saturday following the discussion.
In addition, Brink met with Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko. “So proud to call the beautiful city of Kyiv our home… With victory, we can’t wait to realize Kyiv’s future as a great European capital,” the U.S. Ambassador said.
The new US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink arrived in Kyiv on May 29, according to a message on the website of the US Embassy in Ukraine.
“Ambassador Brink was appointed by President Biden as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine on April 25, 2022, confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on May 18, 2022, and arrived in Kyiv on May 29, 2022,” Brink’s biography on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine reads.
U.S. President Joseph Biden intends to nominate Bridget Brink as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
“Today, President Biden announced his intention to nominate veteran U.S. diplomat Bridget A. Brink to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine,” the White House said on its website on Monday.
Bridget A. Brink, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. Prior to that, she served as Senior Advisor and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, with responsibility for issues related to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Brink spent her twenty-five-year career in the Foreign Service focused on advancing U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia. She was the Director for the Aegean and the South Caucasus at the National Security Council and served in the State Department as the Deputy Director for Southern European Affairs, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, and Cyprus Desk Officer. She began her career in Belgrade, Serbia.
Originally from Michigan, Brink is the recipient of numerous performance awards. She holds Master’s degrees in International Relations and Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Kenyon College. She speaks Russian and has studied Slovak, Serbian, Georgian, and French.
U.S. President Joe Biden intends to appoint Bridget Brink, who currently represents Washington in Slovakia, as the country’s ambassador to Ukraine, CNN said on Monday.
The appointment will take place when the Ukrainian side gives formal confirmation, the television channel said.
The United States has not had a permanent ambassador to Ukraine since 2019. At the moment, Kristina Kvien serves as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
Brink has been representing the United States in Slovakia since August 2019. She served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs from 2015 to 2018. She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Uzbekistan (2014-2015) and Georgia (2011-2014).
