Meest China, which is part of Meest group of companies, has launched direct air delivery of commercial freight to Ukraine from China. Meest said on its Facebook page that flights will be operated on Beijing-Boryspil and Guangzhou-Boryspil routes twice a week. Cargoes are accepted in volumes of three cubic meters, which is convenient for small and medium-size entrepreneurs.
Meest Group (part of Meest Corporation Inc., Toronto, Canada) provides postal and logistics services in 20 countries in particular, Canada, the United States, Ukraine, Australia, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland, China, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel.
In Ukraine, the group is represented by the postal and logistics operator Meest Express, which has been providing targeted delivery services since 2005.
A plane chartered by PJSC Donbasenergo on April 19 delivered 12 tonnes of personal protective equipment (PPE) to combat COVID-19 from the Chinese city of Chengdu (Sichuan Province), the company’s press service has said.
According to its data, in particular, the cargo included 15,000 reusable protective suits for doctors, 500,000 disposable masks, 400,000 disposable gloves, 150,000 respirators, 20,000 glasses and protective shields, and 800 non-contact thermometers.
“All these means are intended to protect the public and medical personnel working in the difficult conditions of confronting the deadly disease. Donbasenergo thanks partners from Dongfang Electric International Corporation (Chengdu) who helped implement this difficult project,” the company said.
It is planned that on April 21 most of the PPE will be transferred to the department of health of Donetsk region.
The An-225 Mriya aircraft belonged to Antonov State Enterprise flew to China on April 15 to deliver medical supplies to help in fight against the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic in France.
The state-owned enterprise (SOE) Antonov said on its Facebook page that the Mriya aircraft will take on board a new batch of medical supplies in China to fight COVID-19 and will land at Chalons Vatry Airport in France on April 18.
The enterprise also said that Antonov Company continues manufacturing the An-178 aircraft under the contract concluded by SpetsTechnoExport with the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Peru. As of today, the preparatory works for jig assembly of the aircraft’s fuselage have been completed.
“Assembly of the fuselage nose part (F1) and the fuselage center section (F-2) are at the final stage in the production shop. Manufacture of the central part of the wing, left and right cantilever parts of the wing, empennage has been fully completed. Two engine pylons are ready for further integration into the aircraft,” the company said in the statement on its website.
According to the company, to date, Antonov Airlines has already transported more than 1,400 tonnes of cargo from China to various countries in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East.
Another three planes from China with special means for fighting coronavirus have arrived to Ukraine, as was reported at the regular meeting chaired by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
“Delivered medical supplies will be distributed not only to the supporting hospitals, but will also be delivered to the large retail chains,” the press service of the head of state said.
At the meeting, it was also decided to monitor the existence of the masks in the pharmacy chains. “If there is no basic protective equipment on sale, administrative response measures will be taken,” reads the report.
In China, the loading of another plane with medical supplies designed to combat the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine has been completed, the Ukraine’s Embassy in China said.
“Today, on April 2, at the international airport in Xiamen (Fujian province), the loading of another plane with medical supplies for Ukraine has been completed. About 109 m3 of medical protective equipment for Ukrainian citizens were loaded on board the aircraft,” the Ukrainian Embassy in China said on Facebook on Thursday.
In addition, the preparation of several more aircraft with a similar mission is currently being agreed with the PRC authorities.
Ukrainian diplomats explained that the flight is carried out within the framework of an air bridge between Ukraine and China, which was built with the aim of delivering the most necessary medical supplies to Ukraine as quickly as possible to counter the spread of COVID-19.
The Embassy also provides support for this campaign in the PRC in cooperation with the Coordination Council on countering the spread of COVID-19 under the President of Ukraine and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Shanghai. The Ukrainian participants of the campaign are assisted in communication with Chinese partners.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytor Kuleba has held a video conversation with Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong, during which he thanked the PRC for the party of humanitarian aid that will arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday, the press service of the Foreign Ministry has said.
“Kuleba expressed gratitude to China for helping Ukraine in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the humanitarian aid party, which will arrive in Ukraine on April 1. It will include PCR tests, remote thermometers, medical glasses and other personal protective equipment for medical personnel,” the message said.
The parties also agreed to continue cooperation in this area. In particular, Xianrong, at the request of Kuleba, confirmed the possibility of facilitating the centralized delivery to Ukraine of the assistance that Chinese cities collected for Ukrainian twin cities.
In addition, with the aim of developing a strategic partnership between Ukraine and China tomorrow, April 1, Kuleba and Wang Yi will hold the first telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Among other things, the parties discussed trade and investment between the countries, in particular, promising projects that could soon be implemented in Ukraine with the participation of the Chinese side.
“Supporting Ukrainian exporters is my priority. According to the results of 2019, China has become the main trading partner for Ukraine. The trade turnover between our countries reached a record $12.8 billion. This year we must not only maintain, but also develop this success by balancing the structure of trade,” Kuleba said.