The U.S. will finance the purchase of $53 million worth of power grid equipment to restore Ukraine’s energy system, CNN reported, citing a U.S. State Department report.
“This supply package will include distribution transformers, circuit breakers, arresters, disconnectors, vehicles and other key equipment,” the report specifies.
The funds will be in addition to the $55 million already provided for emergency support of the country’s energy sector.
The number of registered cases of coronavirus infection in the world as of Sunday morning reached 535 million 63 thousand 535, according to data from the American Johns Hopkins University.
Since the beginning of the spread of the virus in the world, 6 million 308 thousand 976 people have died from the consequences of infection with COVID-19.
Countries with more than 20 million infections continue to include the United States, India, Brazil, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The number of infected and those who died from the consequences of infection, respectively, amounted to:
USA – 85 million 500 thousand 976 and 1 million 11 thousand 260.
India – 43 million 222 thousand 17 and 524 thousand 761.
Brazil – 31 million 445 thousand 137 and 668 thousand 74.
France – 29 million 946 thousand 603 and 149 thousand 788.
Germany – 26 million 803 thousand 867 and 139 thousand 806.
Great Britain – 22 million 571 thousand 880 and 179 thousand 884.
According to the Worldometer portal, which specializes in statistics on major world events, the death rate per 1 million people on the planet reached 812.2 on Sunday morning. In the USA, 3 thousand 94 people died per 1 million inhabitants, India – 373, Brazil – 3 thousand 101, France – 2 thousand 269, Germany – 1 thousand 663, Great Britain – 2 thousand 613.
The U.S. will fully resume the work of its embassy in Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said.
“We will fully resume the work of the U.S. Embassy and fully resume the work of its staff,” Brink said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed Russia’s aggression in Ukraine during a telephone conversation on Saturday, the U.S. State Department reports.
“The Secretary [speaking about the situation in Ukraine] noted the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the basic principles of freedom, self-determination and sovereignty,” the State Department’s press release reads.
As noted in the department, Blinken told his Chinese counterpart that the countries of the world act in concert in relation to Russia “ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price.”
Earlier this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China intends to continue cooperation with Russia in the field of trade and does not support any illegal unilateral sanctions.
Beijing, for its part, welcomed the start of negotiations between representatives of Russia and Ukraine and expressed hope that the parties will continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation around Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Wednesday approved the draft decree on the signing of an agreement between the government of Ukraine and the government of the United States on projects in the field of research, developments, testing and evaluation, the authority to sign the agreement was given to Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran, according to the Press and Information Office of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
“The signing of this agreement will give the Ukrainian side the opportunity to: conduct joint research and development work on the development of weapons and military equipment, their individual components; obtain information about advanced defense technologies, trends in their development; conduct of tests and testing of military equipment using equipment and technologies that are not available in Ukraine,” the office said.
The agreement also opens up the possibility of attracting foreign funding for research work by Ukrainian research institutions, as well as increasing the research potential of Ukraine through cooperation with partners in joint projects.
The ministry said that the implementation of the agreements will take place under project contracts within the framework of the agreement concluded between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the U.S. Department of Defense.
“The signing of the Agreement is planned during the visit of the President of Ukraine to the United States and will be another important step in the development of strategic partnership with the United States in the field of armaments,” the Defense Ministry said.
U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Ukraine Kristina Kvien returned to Ukraine after a two-week vacation, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said.
“Welcome back, Chargé d’Affaires Kvien! And thanks to Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, who filled in as Chargé the last two weeks,” the embassy said on Twitter on Tuesday.
