Switzerland organized another batch of humanitarian aid for the population of Ukraine in the form of 40 heaters and the same number of generators, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
“The materials were collected in Switzerland by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which also organizes transport. The possibility of sending additional relief materials is being considered,” the report said.
The agency reported that trucks with this equipment left for Ukraine on December 23. The shipment is part of a broader action plan to help the people of Ukraine survive this winter.
It is noted that Switzerland already delivered thirty generators last week.
The producer of tobacco products PJSC “Philip Morris Ukraine” in cooperation with DTF agency organized five social spaces “Spheres of the Sweet” with working areas in Kyiv, Odessa and Lviv, equipped with generators and Starlink satellite communication systems.
According to Philip Morris’ press service on Tuesday, the social spaces can keep you warm, recharge your devices, work and drink hot tea. They will be open until Dec. 30 and can accommodate about 100 people each at a time.
“We work for a large international company with offices and stores in many Ukrainian cities. Like all Ukrainians, we look for communication during blackouts, sit in shelters during alarms and worry if we can’t contact our families. We believe that resilient companies can help to survive a blackout together, so we organized autonomous stations with electricity, internet and heat”, – the company quotes the general director of “Philip Morris Sales and Distribution” Dmitry Zinchenko.
According to him, from the first days of the launch, social spaces have been very popular among city residents and help out in very unexpected situations.
“Employees of different companies during blackouts often make a field office with us. In Odessa, for example, during a blackout, girls from a nail salon nearby moved into the sphere. And in Kiev, our space even became a place for a wedding ceremony”, – added Zinchenko.
Social spaces are located in Kiev on Lesya Ukrainka Square, 1 (Central Election Commission) and Kontraktova square (near the Ferris wheel), in Odessa in the Park of enthusiasts (Akademika Zabolotnogo 66/2v) and in the Square “Ray” (Levitan 95a), and in Lviv on Vinnichenko Street 24 (Powder Tower).
Philip Morris International, which includes “Philip Morris Ukraine” is one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers. It operates in Ukraine for more than 20 years, owns a factory in the Kharkov region. Before the Russian armed invasion the company employed about 1.3 thousand people. Before the war, the factory was an export hub for more than 20 countries, in particular such major markets as Japan and Egypt.
Metinvest Mining and Metallurgical Group has sent another batch of assistance worth UAH 7 million to the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front militarized initiative.
According to the company’s press release, Metinvest has been supporting the GUR since the first days of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Previously, the reconnaissance personnel received special forces ammunition kits, a variety of tactical equipment and machinery. This time the company handed over 20 generators, 50 drones, 19 thermal imagers, as well as a “pickup truck” to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
“Metinvest” provided, in particular, drones Mavic 2, Mavic 3 and Autel.
It is recalled that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Metinvest Group has provided support to the army and military for more than 1.4 billion UAH.
“Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. The group’s enterprises are mainly located in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The major shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%) that manage it jointly.
Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of Metinvest Group.
The Verkhovna Rada Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Committee has recommended that the draft laws on the cancellation of VAT and customs duties on imports of generators and other energy equipment, as well as Starlinks, be passed in the second reading, the head of the parliamentary committee for financial, tax and customs policy Daniil Getmantsev said.
“The purpose of the bills is to introduce short-term tax and customs incentives for the restoration of energy infrastructure, namely exemption from import duty and value added tax (VAT) on imports of generators and other components until May 1, 2023,” he wrote in Telegram.
The corresponding bills № 8196 and № 8197 were voted for by 23 members of the committee.
People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak (faction “Voice”) noted that the bills will go to the session hall during this session and may be adopted.
He specified that the documents also take into account the exemption from payments for postal and express consignments and provide the opportunity to store fuel without a license up to 2 thousand liters.
Nardep noted that the import of equipment under the Energy Community technical assistance is also exempted from VAT and duties.
About 3 thousand generators are already working in the medical system of Ukraine, said Deputy Minister of Health Alexei Yaremenko.
“We understand that there are mass outages. About 3 thousand generators are already working in the medical system now,” he said on the air of the National Telethon on Thursday.
At the same time, Yaremenko noted that “a huge amount of fuel, at least 1,600 tons per day,” is needed to provide the generators.
“Providing fuel is the responsibility of the hospital and local administrations. However, given that hospitals are classified as critical infrastructure, they are the first to be included (in the grid – IF-U) and it is done so that hospitals can be led as much as possible on a fixed power grid. If there is no light in the hospital, generators are turned on automatically or manually,” he said.
Yaremenko reminded that equipping surgical clinics with generators has been an obligatory condition for several years, in order to be contracted by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) to participate in the Medical Assistance Program.
At the same time, Yaremenko specified that in the case of power outages, therapeutic patients who are not life-threatening will be advised to continue treatment at home.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aikhan Hajizada said Azerbaijan provided Ukraine with 50 generators and 45 power transformers as humanitarian aid.
“Azerbaijan continues to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. 45 power transformers and 50 generators provided by Azerenerji were sent to Ukraine. As of today, Azerbaijan has provided more than 30 million manats (more than $50 million) in aid to the needy population,” Hajizada tweeted on Sunday.
Azerenerji is the largest producer of electricity in Azerbaijan.
Exchange rate according to the Ministry of Finance on December 10: $0.59/AZN, AZN1.7/$1.
