The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has amended the agreement on the ongoing Dolinskaya – Nikolaev – Kolosovka Railway Electrification Project, which will allow additional use of part of the EBRD loan in the amount of EUR98.5 million to provide liquidity to finance critical needs of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsya” (UZ).
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, EBRD Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone, and Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman Oleksandr Kamyshin signed the corresponding documents on Thursday, the Finance Ministry reported.
The repurposed portion of the EBRD loan will be secured by a guarantee from the French government or another G7 country.
“Damage and destruction of the railway infrastructure, loss of Ukrzaliznytsia’s rolling stock have a negative impact on ensuring the smooth operation of the society. Therefore, an increase in the EBRD loan to support the liquidity of Ukrzaliznytsia will help maintain the stability of its work in war conditions,” Marchenko commented on the agreement.
As reported, earlier this year, on June 10, similar amendments to the agreement were already signed, according to which EUR50 million was directed to support the liquidity of Ukrzaliznytsia. Thus, the total volume of the EBRD loan for the liquidity of UZ reached EUR 148.5 million.
Switzerland has allocated CHF2.5 million (about UAH 100 million) to support milk production farms in the war-affected regions – Chernihiv, Kyiv and Sumy regions, the main attention will be paid to the hygiene of the milking process.
The corresponding humanitarian project is being implemented at the request of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine in cooperation with the Association of Milk Producers of Ukraine (AMA), the #SaveUA international charitable foundation and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Wednesday.
The goal of the project is to ensure food security in the regions by improving the quality and safety of dairy products produced in the country, mainly by monitoring compliance with the hygiene of its production. In particular, the control over the hygiene of the culture of milking animals will avoid failures in the further processing of milk, on the one hand, and outbreaks of diseases among consumers, on the other.
The Ministry clarified that by August 1, 232 dairy farms had already confirmed the need for humanitarian assistance, of which 95 were from Chernihiv, 78 from Kyiv, 59 from Sumy region.
“With the support of Switzerland, interested milk producers in the affected areas will receive products for washing and disinfecting milking equipment, pre- and post-milk treatment, udder hygiene wipes, gloves, reagents for the detection of latent forms of mastitis, disinfectants for livestock buildings, etc. in the amount of their quarterly needs,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy said in a statement.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, until the completion of the project in November 2022, the supported farms will be able to significantly improve their financial condition by restoring product supply chains. It is also important that the purchase of goods will be carried out from Ukrainian suppliers who operated on the market before the war, which will enable them to continue to provide hygiene products and serve dairy farms in the future.
“On the path to restoring the capacity of the Ukrainian dairy sector, it is important to support production technologies built on high hygiene standards for high-quality and safe food products,” the agency concluded in a statement.
As reported, in June the Swiss government announced its intention to hold consultations for more than 100 dairy farms from the above three areas. The government of the country sent a group of consultants to Ukraine, who provided producers with recommendations in the field of restoring livestock productivity, quality control and safety of raw milk.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte issues of defense cooperation between the two countries, the export of agricultural products through Ukrainian ports, as well as financial support for Ukraine by the European Union.
“I maintain continued contact with our partners. Discussed the course of hostilities, Ukraine- Netherlands defense cooperation and financial support from the EU with Mark Rutte. Emphasized the importance of exporting Ukrainian grain by sea ASAP,” Zelensky said on Twitter on Thursday evening.
The member states of the European Union have agreed to mobilize the fifth tranche of military assistance in the amount of EUR 500 million in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell.
“Participated at Ministerial Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting. EU Member States agreed to mobilise 5th tranche of military assistance of EUR 500 million to further support Ukraine‘s Armed Forces. EU remains focused & steadfast in its support for Ukraine, together w partners,” Borrell said on Twitter Wednesday evening.
Ukraine has received $1.7 billion from the United States to support the Medical Guarantee Program (MGP), Health Minister Viktor Liashko has said.
“As a result of agreements with the U.S. government, Ukraine received $1.7 billion in support of the MGP. The funds were provided through the World Bank trust fund on a gratuitous, non-refundable basis to the state budget of Ukraine,” he said at a briefing on Tuesday.
Liashko also said that since the beginning of 2022, as part of the MGP, UAH 74 billion have been transferred to medical institutions, including more than UAH 54 billion directed to the salaries of doctors.
In addition, Liashko recalled that out of 834 health facilities destroyed by the aggressor, 123 cannot be restored.
“The terrorist country is destroying the walls of hospitals, but it will never destroy the heroism and dedication of our doctors, who continue to work in the most difficult conditions,” he stressed.
The Cabinet of Ministers has launched three new grant programs to support businesses, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal said.
“The first is irrevocable grants for the creation and development of processing enterprises. This may be an enterprise in the woodworking, metalworking, agricultural processing, furniture or construction sectors,” he said during a government meeting on Friday.
He added that the state will provide up to UAH 8 million in grant funds for those who already own a processing business or want to start one. It is fashionable to spend the grant on the purchase of equipment, the main requirement is to create at least 25 new jobs. In this case, the business owner must invest 30% of his investment. To receive a grant, an entrepreneur should submit a working idea, the prime minister explained.
The Cabinet of Ministers also approved a grant program for the IT sector and high-tech startups in the amount of UAH 750 thousand to UAH 3.5 million with the requirement to create at least five jobs.
In addition, the government launched the Start in IT grant program for IT education with a budget of UAH 1.8 billion, Shmygal noted. Thus, the state plans to finance educational grants up to UAH 30,000 for 60,000 Ukrainians. Funds can be spent on paying for a school or courses that will be determined by the Ministry of Finance.
This program is not for students or current professionals, but for those who have lost their jobs or are down and want to learn new skills in the profession of a developer or web designer, he pointed out.
Gradually, the details of these and other programs within the framework of the eWork project will become available in DIA, the head of government said.
