From May 15, the intervals between trains of the Kiev subway will be reduced, and second vestibules will be opened at some stations, according to the Kiev City State Administration
“From Monday, intervals between trains will be reduced on each subway line. The waiting time during peak hours on weekdays will be 3-4 minutes, during off-peak – 6-8 minutes. Also the interval between trains will be increased on weekends, during the day the interval between trains will be 6-7 minutes,” – said in a message of the KSCA in Telegram-channel on Friday.
At nine stations will work the second exits. At the station “Obolon” lobby number 1 will work (in the direction of “Minskaya” station). Concourse 2 will remain closed because of repairs.
Recall that “Akademgorodok”, “Darnitsa”, “Lesnaya”, “Minskaya”, “Pochayna” and “Vydubychi” stations have two exits.
In 2022, amid the full-scale war unleashed by Russia, 270 thousand domestic and international tourists visited the capital of Ukraine, which is 11.5 times less than in 2021, with 3.12 million tourists, the Tourism and Promotion Department of the Kyiv City State Administration reported during a report to the Public Council.
According to the department’s Facebook page, 98 thousand foreign tourists visited Kyiv in 2022, which is 10.4 times less than in the post-pandemic year of 2021, when 1.02 million travelers from abroad visited the Ukrainian capital.
At the same time, 172 thousand domestic tourists visited Kyiv last year, compared to 2.1 million in 2021. The leaders among the countries of the world in terms of the number of visitors to the Ukrainian capital in 2022 were Israel – 9.1 thousand tourists (against 105.1 thousand a year earlier), Turkey – 6.8 thousand (69.5 thousand), Germany – 6.4 thousand (71.7 thousand), the United States – 5.6 thousand (75.5 thousand) and the United Kingdom – 4.3 thousand (35 thousand). In 2021, Saudi Arabia was in the top five instead of the UK (46.9 thousand).
With the tourist flow falling by more than 10 times, revenues from the tourist tax fell by only half – to UAH 38.8 million from UAH 76 million a year earlier.
The report explains that the capital’s relatively successful tourist tax performance in 2022 was mainly due to visits by foreign delegations and media representatives who visited our city for work.
Canada is going to provide a $1.8 billion loan to Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in budget year 2023, CBC TV channel reported with reference to the country’s draft budget.
“Canada will extend a $2.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1.8 billion) loan to Ukraine in the coming budget year. The measure is contained in the latest federal budget, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland,” the report said.
The loan for Ukraine will be distributed through the IMF. It is intended to cover the budget deficit and pay for social services, including medical services.
According to the TV channel, separately, the Canadian federal budget also announced CAD 84 million (almost $62 million) in additional direct humanitarian aid for Ukraine in the coming fiscal year – money which will be used for mental health services, the removal of mines and other measures. The money will come out of the existing budget at Global Affairs Canada.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is on his way to Ukraine on an official visit to discuss the Istanbul “grain” deal, the UN press service said.
“The secretary general has just arrived in Poland on his way to Ukraine. On Wednesday morning he will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenski in Kiev to discuss the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in all its aspects, as well as other topical issues,” the report states.
It is noted that this is the third visit of the Secretary General to Ukraine in the last year.
As reported, the “grain” deal was concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. With the participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed two documents, one on creating a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odessa and Pivdenniy), and the other on removing barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.
The deal is set to expire on March 18. The UN Secretary General previously expressed hope that it would be extended.
The head of the European Parliament (EP), Roberta Metsola, arrived in Kyiv late Friday night.
“It is good to be back in Ukraine. To these brave people who inspired the world. To the heroes who refuse to give up. To those who sacrificed everything for our values. To the Europeans whose home is in our European Union,” Metsola wrote on Twitter’s microblog on Saturday night.
She stressed that “the future of Ukraine is membership in the European Union” and that Europe will “go all the way with you.”
Metsola also met with the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
“It’s good to see my friend Ruslan Stefanchuk again. Cooperation between the European Parliament and the Ukrainian Parliament will be strengthened”, – said the head of the European Parliament.
In turn, Stefanchuk stressed that the European Parliament is undoubtedly at the forefront of support for Ukraine.
The MP added that during the meeting the sides discussed sanctions against Russia, noting that “all possibilities of circumventing restrictions should be stopped”.
Also Stefanchuk thanked the European Union for financial support, for macrofinancial assistance.
In addition, the head of the Ukrainian parliament raised the topic of China’s proposals on the so-called “peace treaty.”
“He said that there is a formula for peace, proposed by Ukrainian President Zelensky. And it is to the support of this initiative we call the world”, – summed up Stefanchuk.
The first long-term blood storage bank in Ukraine has been opened on the basis of the Kyiv City Blood Center in Kyiv within the framework of the Bold Blood project, which allows freezing and preserving rare blood types for up to 30 years.
According to a press release of the project, the center will also allow for operational logistics under the most difficult conditions, including at the scene of hostilities to rescue the injured military and civilians.
According to the acting director of the city blood center, Vitaliy Demsky, previously such important blood components as erythrocytes could be stored for a maximum of 42 days, the new blood bank will extend the life of erythrocytes up to 30 years.
“Today, we have new special equipment that can store red blood cells at temperatures from -80°C and below, and also allows freezing and thawing blood components,” Demsky said.
The project was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Health, PariMatch Ukraine and Kyiv City State Administration.
