Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan discussed the security situation in Europe and the South Caucasus on the margins of the Dubrovnik Forum in Croatia.
“I thanked Armenia for participating in the first Peace Summit in Switzerland and informed my counterpart about further work on the implementation of the Peace Formula on the way to a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine,” Kuleba wrote on social network X.
The ministers also focused on ways to deepen bilateral ties and international cooperation, especially in light of Ukraine’s future membership in the EU.
Railcar-building company Dneprovagonmash JSC (DVM) plans to sell up to 100 railcars for export to Europe, businessman Sergiy Tigipko has said.
“Today we produce 80 railcars a month for the domestic market, but we have already started to produce for export… The European market is 8-9 thousand railcars a year, and we have set a goal of selling 100 railcars a month there. In terms of money, the average car is about EUR 100 thousand,” he said during the “Money for Victory” forum organized by Forbes Ukraine.
According to him, the Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine provides lighter and stronger metal for railcar construction, which is a competitive advantage in the European market.
For its part, the group is investing in the modernization of the enterprise (metal work, welding, painting) and staff training.
As reported, at the beginning of 2023, TAS Group became a strategic investor in the TransAnt GmbH railcar building joint venture of Austrian Voestalpine and ÖBB Rail Cargo with a 40% stake, and in the spring of 2024 it became the majority owner of TransAnt, increasing its stake to 61%.
In October 2023, as part of an innovative project with Austrian partners, Dniprovagonmash, a member of the TAS group, shipped the first lightweight modular freight cars (MultiBOX) for operation on the EU railways, and by the end of the year it had a full line of platform freight cars for the EU market.
According to TAS Dneprovagonmash’s financial report for 2023, this year it plans to invest UAH 100.2 million in the development of the European direction, including the purchase of equipment.
In 2023, the company produced 378 freight cars (including for the EU market), which is 34.8% less than in 2022, while sales decreased by 40.6% to 370 units.
Net income from sales of railcars and other products decreased by 2.8% to UAH 1 billion 77 million, while net profit increased slightly to UAH 49.2 million.
TAS Group was founded in 1998 by businessman Tigipko. Its business interests include the financial sector (banking and insurance) and the pharmacy sector, as well as industry, real estate, and venture capital projects.
Since the beginning of the Russian aggression, Ukraine has been forced to change the geography of agricultural exports, as a result of which the share of Europe reached 59% in January-October 2023 compared to 32% in 2021, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) reported on Facebook.
According to the report, such an increase in exports of agricultural products to Europe is forced and is explained by a decrease in supplies to other regions: the share of Africa decreased to 7% from 14%, Asia – to 12% from 19%, and Southeast Asia – to 4% from 13%.
“The main reason for these changes is the blockade of Ukrainian seaports by Russian troops. The development of alternative routes, which were possible only through the territory of the EU countries, led to changes. Ukrainian farmers were forced to look for buyers of their products in Europe,” the analysts explained.
The UCAB reminded that deliveries to Africa and Asia during the war became possible only thanks to the work of the grain corridor in cooperation with the UN and Turkey, as well as the temporary grain corridor, which is currently shipping.
In 2023, the structure of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products in terms of the main export items is similar to last year’s figures: 39% were grains, 26% were vegetable oils, 4% were meat, and 2% were dairy products, eggs, and honey. At the same time, exports of oilseeds decreased to 12% compared to 16% in 2022, while exports of oilcake increased to 6% from 5% during the year. The permission to supply sugar to foreign markets allowed producers to increase its share in agricultural exports to 3% over the year.
In pre-war 2021, the structure of Ukraine’s agricultural exports was as follows: cereals – 45%, vegetable oils – 26%, oilseeds – 9%, meals – 6%, meat – 3%, and tobacco products – 2%.
“The only way to resume exports to Ukraine’s traditional markets is to ensure the safety of sea export routes and increase the volume of shipments through this channel,” the UCAB summarized.
PJSC “Production Association “Stalkanat” (Odessa) is forced to reduce supplies to the EU due to restrictions at the Polish borders, – said the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” general director of “Stalkanat” Sergey Lavrynenko.
“We are currently operating roughly tentatively at about 60% for export, and 40% for the domestic market. But lately the deliveries to the EU have been delayed through Poland, and there are deliveries from Asian countries,” – stated the top manager.
According to him, the company has prepared for the winter period of restrictions, although the situation is difficult.
He added that he hopes that the state will protect Ukrainian companies in foreign markets.
As reported, “Stalkanat” is considering the purchase of a generator to stabilize the work after the shelling of the energy infrastructure.
PJSC “Stalkanat” is the largest producer of steel ropes in Ukraine.
According to the NDU, as of the fourth quarter of 2021, David Nemirovskyy (Ukraine) holds 50.0001% of the company’s shares, Anton Mykhalenko – 23.7%, and Edery Liron (both in Israel) – 23.1%
The United States and European partners are studying the legal basis for using frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine, including $300 billion, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.
“In my opinion, if you hack something, you have to pay for it. And if the Russians have hacked, they should pay for it. And one of the ways to do that is through these assets. We have to make sure that there is a legal basis for this. As I said, since most of these assets are in Europe, the Europeans also have to make sure that there is a legal basis for this,” he said during a discussion at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, October 4.
According to Blinken, we are talking about $300 billion.
The secretary of state believes that allowing Russia to do what it is doing to Ukraine without punishment will send a signal around the world to countries that are going to start aggression that they can get away with it: “This is opening a Pandora’s box of conflicts. No one will be happy in this world, a world of conflict and aggression,” he said.
In his opinion, in this world, the United States would invariably be involved in a conflict, and it would cost much more than supporting Ukraine.
Bleicken also noted that 50 countries are actively supporting Ukraine.
Citizens of Ukraine who left for the EU countries after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, evaluate online public services in Ukraine much better (71%) than in the EU countries (16%).
As noted in the results of the “All-European survey of Ukrainians in Europe”, conducted by the sociological group “Rating” on July 4-11, financial and banking services in Ukraine will also significantly benefit (70% vs. 14% in the EU). Ukrainians also assessed the sphere of medicine better in Ukraine than in Europe: both the availability of medical services (71% vs. 21%) and their quality (60% vs. 25%).
Preschool and school education was better in Ukraine (42%) than in the EU (35%), higher education – on the contrary: slightly better in the EU (43%) than in Ukraine (32%). Ukrainian students of European universities agree more than others that higher education is better in the EU.
The absolute majority of Ukrainians surveyed agreed that public transportation is much better in the EU (77%) than in Ukraine (14%). The opinion is similar regarding European roads, which are considered better there (85%) than in Ukraine (5%). But respondents consider housing in Ukraine more affordable (57%) than in the EU (22%).
According to Ukrainians, Ukraine has a much better beauty industry than the EU (85% vs. 5%), as well as cafes and restaurants (60% vs. 16%), postal and delivery services (54% vs. 25%), online shopping (51% vs. 22%), but with regard to retail chains and stores, opinions are divided: 42% consider them the best in Ukraine, 36% – in the EU.
Ukraine loses a lot to European countries in the level of corruption, however, in terms of bureaucracy and taxation rates, at home, according to the majority, more favorable climate than in the EU. 84% of respondents believe that the level of corruption in Ukraine is higher than in the EU (3%), at the same time the level of bureaucracy is higher in the EU than in Ukraine (50% vs. 25%). Also, according to the respondents, the level of taxation is higher in Europe (59%) than in Ukraine (16%). However, by the level of economic freedom Ukraine (25%) is inferior to Europe (52%), as well as by the level of income (3% vs. 87%).
87% of respondents assessed opportunities in the EU as a whole as higher than in Ukraine, especially in income (87% vs. 3%), social security (75% vs. 15%), protection of rights and freedoms of citizens (67% vs. 19%), opportunities to live comfortably (60% vs. 26%), to find a job (54% vs. 30%). According to the respondents, it is possible to succeed both in the EU (40%) and in Ukraine (41%), but doing business is still somewhat better in Ukraine (45%) than in the EU (34%).
4% of Ukrainians have bribed an official in the host country (most often in southern Europe), the same number refused to answer.
The study anonymously interviewed 2116 Ukrainians aged 18 and older who found temporary asylum in 31 European countries after February 24, 2022 using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) method. Results are weighted using current UNHC (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) data. The study’s representativeness error at a confidence level of 0.95: no more than 3.2%.
