Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio had a 30-minute phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, discussing Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Japanese prime minister’s possible visit to Kiev.
According to NHK television, Kishida assured that he would play an active role during Japan’s G7 presidency.
“I strongly condemned Russia’s continued aggression and said that Japan will do everything possible to help, including surviving the winter to protect the lives of Ukrainians,” he said.
For his part, President Zelenskyy expressed his deep appreciation for Japan’s position and spoke about the current situation in the country. The interlocutors also discussed the possible visit of Kishida Fumio to Ukraine, who received an invitation to visit Kiev.
“Nothing has been decided yet, but I will consider it under different circumstances,” he added.
International hotel operator Accor Live Limitless (France) opened apartment hotel Adagio Kyiv Beresteiska, general director of Accor Northern Europe – Ukraine, Georgia and CIS region Andrey Davidenko told Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“At Adagio Kyiv Beresteiska, sales are open from December 29, 2022. Now is the soft opening period, not all works are 100% finished, by January 9 we plan to open the restaurant. ibis Kyiv Beresteiska will not open until the war is over,” he said.
Both hotels are located in one building on the Victory Avenue, 55, in Adagio Kyiv Beresteiska 105 rooms, in Adagio Kyiv Beresteiska – 156.
Adagio Kyiv Beresteiska is an apartment hotel, and the rooms are adapted for longer stays: they have fully equipped kitchens, special work spaces, WIFI and other amenities for work and rest. According to Davidenko, there are already clients, who have chosen the hotel for a long stay; there is also a possibility to rent a room for a short term.
As it was reported, the international hotel operator Accor Live Limitless was planning to launch three new hotels in Ukraine in 2022-2023, ibis & Adagio Kyiv, ibis Lviv and Novotel Lviv. A 77-room ibis Styles Lviv Center hotel, located in the business center of Lviv on Shukhevicha Street, 3, began operations in December 2022.
In addition, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank intends to provide a EUR 8 million loan for the construction of a 4-star hotel Novotel with a room capacity of 128 rooms in Lviv to Real Estate Development Center LLC.
“Now it is very difficult to talk about any timeline for Novotel Lviv, perhaps at the end of 2024 we will open. Everything depends on the end of the war,” Davidenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
Accor Group – one of the leading hotel operators in the world – opened the first hotel under the brand Novotel in Lille (France) in 1967.
Accor, as of December 2022, had more than 5.3 thousand hotels, resorts and residences in 110 countries under more than 40 brands (Raffles, Sofitel, Fairmont, OneFineStay, MGallery, Pullman, Swissotel, Grand Mercure, The Sebel, 25 hours hotel, Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, Mama Shelter, Ibis, Ibis Styles, Adagio success, Ibis Budget, Jo & Joe, hotelFormule1, hotel F1, Thalassa sea & spa, greet and others).
Accor SA shares are listed on Euronext in Paris and traded over-the-counter in the U.S. market.
In Ukraine AccorHotels manages 3-star Ibis hotels in Kyiv, Ibis Styles and Gruner in Lviv, 5-star Fairmont Grand Hotel in Kyiv, as well as Mercure Kyiv Congress Hotel. In addition, one hotel managed by Accor is located in Odessa – MGallery Hôtel de Paris.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held the first telephone conversation of the new year with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the president’s press service has said.
“The interlocutors discussed the expected results of the next Ukraine-EU summit, which will take place in Kiev on February 3 this year, and agreed to intensify the preparatory work,” the statement said.
Kyiv has received the first two of 20 planned high-capacity generators (300-800 kVA) as part of a memorandum between Kyiv and Taiwan on assistance in acquiring alternative power sources, the press service of the capital’s mayor said Monday.
“The first two generators have already been transferred to Kievteploenergo, they are used in city boiler houses. As part of the project, about 20 generators are expected to be transferred to power critical infrastructure facilities in the capital. We are very grateful to our partners for support of Kyiv and Ukraine,” Vitalii Klitschko said during the transfer of generators to the communal enterprise “Kyivteploenerho”.
Last December, Kiev and Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding to help the Ukrainian capital purchase diesel power generators with the help of a donation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kiev’s permanent population is currently about 3.6 million, including 300,000 refugees from other regions of Ukraine, compared to 3.8 million before the war, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
In an interview with Spiegel published Friday, when asked if he knew how many people were left in Kiev, the mayor answered in the affirmative, referring to statistics on cell phone usage.
“We count how many cell phones are being used. Before the war there were 3.8 million people here, in March less than a million, in July two, two and a half million, now 3.6 million. 300,000 of them are registered refugees from other parts of the country. The city is full,” Klitschko said.
Asked about the restoration of power, water and heating supplies in the Ukrainian capital, he said that water and heating are already back in almost every apartment in Kiev. “The power supply deficit is 50%. Sometimes we turn off electricity in one district to turn it on in another district and vice versa. The situation is complicated, but under control,” the mayor said.
When asked how he assesses Germany’s position on Russia and Ukraine since the war began, the mayor replied, “The biggest mistake of Western politicians was thinking that Putin would be satisfied with the annexation of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. I know Putin’s mentality: he goes as far as we allow him to go.”
Klitschko also said that “the war will end when the last Russian soldier leaves our territory.”
According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the population of Kiev in 2019 was 2 million 966 thousand people. The population of the Kiev agglomeration (Kiev with its suburbs) exceeds 4 million people. Also a significant number of people registered in other localities live permanently in the capital.
London has sent Kiev over 1,000 metal detectors and 100 bomb disposal kits to help the Ukrainian authorities in demining, the British Defense Ministry said Friday.
“The United Kingdom has donated over 1,000 VALLON metal detectors and 100 bomb disposal kits to Ukraine to assist it in demining and in making the area, homes and infrastructure safe,” the department said in a statement.
In particular, the kits are designed to disarm unexploded bombs, ammunition and improvised explosive devices.
The Ministry of Defense promised to continue supporting Ukraine in 2023. The ministry recalled that in 2022 it had delivered £2.3bn worth of military aid to Kiev and promised to maintain the same level of support in the coming year.
