Representatives of the US Embassy in Ukraine are preparing to return and resume work in Kyiv.
“It’s great to be back! Today, members of the Embassy team traveled to Lviv to meet with key partners, including the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. This visit was the first step towards more regular travel in the near future. Preparations are underway to resume work in Kyiv as soon as possible,” it said. in a tweet from the US Embassy on Wednesday night.
About 40% of public catering establishments have already restored work in Kyiv and Kyiv region, while most of the operating cafes are in the Transcarpathian region – 86% of the pre-war number, follows from a study by Poster.
“In Kyiv, 40% of small and medium-sized establishments operate in comparison with the figure on February 23, in the Kyiv region – 41%. The number of open establishments began to grow rapidly after the north of Ukraine was completely liberated from the invaders in early April. For comparison, in At the end of March, only 18% of establishments worked in Kyiv, and 16% in the Kyiv region,” the company said.
According to the study, the most operating establishments are in Zakarpattia (86%), Chernivtsi (81%) and Lviv regions (79%).
The largest increase in open establishments in April compared to March was shown by Chernihiv (from 1% to 20%) and Sumy (from 16% to 49%) regions. In addition, the number of open cafes in the Zhytomyr region increased by 23% (up to 63%), by 21% – in the Volyn region (up to 77%), by 20% – in the Kirovohrad region (up to 78%).
At the same time, the least operating establishments are in the east of Ukraine: in the Kharkiv region – 9% of the pre-war number, in the Donetsk region – 5%, in the Luhansk region – 0%.
As reported, the Poster cafe and restaurant automation service permanently disconnected 10,000 customers in Russia and Belarus from its services.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Monday that the US embassy in Kyiv could resume work in the next “couple of weeks.”
“As for the embassy, next week our diplomats will return to Ukraine, then we will begin the process of considering the opening of the embassy itself in Kyiv,” Blinken told reporters in Poland after a visit to Ukraine.
“I think it will happen within a couple of weeks,” he added, broadcasting the briefing was led by NBC News.
The US Secretary of State pointed out that Washington is acting “carefully” on this issue, and ensuring the safety of American diplomatic personnel remains a priority.
At a meeting with Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal welcomed the intention of the OECD to open a regional office in Kyiv.
“I informed the OECD Secretary-General about the creation in Ukraine of a plan and a fund for the restoration of our state. We strive to change the country and the economic model, based on the best world standards. Our goal is based on the principles promoted by the Ukrainian people: a European future, a transparent state and an open economy,” Shmyhal said on his Telegram channel following the meeting.
The prime minister said it is important for Ukraine to use the best practices of the OECD and implement them in the near future.
“I welcomed the intention to open a regional office of the OECD in Kyiv, this is an excellent opportunity to strengthen and accelerate our cooperation,” Shmyhal said.
Shmyhal also said the ‘green’ economy is the basic principle of the new economic model of Ukraine.
“Russia has destroyed and continues to destroy our infrastructure. There is no point in returning to the old models, so we intend to restore it according to modern principles and the latest technologies,” he said.
In addition, the prime minister said that Ukraine intends to make corporatization even more efficient, and in this matter counts on active assistance from the OECD.
Spain soon intends to return the embassy to Kyiv, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.
“Soon we will reopen the Spanish embassy in Kyiv,” he said in an interview with the Antena 3 TV channel.
The curfew in Kyiv and the Kiev region from April 17 will begin at 22:00 and end at 05:00, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.
“The time of the curfew is changing in Kyiv and the region. From today, from April 17, the curfew will start an hour later and end an hour earlier. And it will last from 22:00 to 5:00 in the morning,” Klitschko wrote in a telegram on Sunday .
