Medical aid donations from the UK to Ukraine will reach over 11 million units in the coming days, the UK government said.
“A fourth tranche of aid left from across the UK during the last week, carrying: 4.2 million doses of medicines – including painkillers and antibiotics that are critical for treating infections caused by battlefield trauma and limited hygiene facilities 1.5 million items of other supplies – including PPE and respirators,” the British government said in a press release on its website on Friday.
Nearly 16 million people are reported to be in need of humanitarian assistance within Ukraine, with access to care badly needed for those in cities worst hit by Russian attacks like Mariupol and Irpin.
The government said the latest supplies are being sent in direct response to a request from the government of Ukraine. They will provide treatment for people injured in the brutal and intentional Russian attacks on civilians across Ukraine, as well as help the government prepare for potential future threats.
In addition, further donations to Ukraine of new ambulances are reported to support advanced life-saving efforts in Ukraine.
” The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian friends. As the medical emergency inflicted by Russia escalates, we have responded with life-saving medical supplies where they are needed most. As one of the largest humanitarian donors, Britain will continue to help care for those bravely resisting Putin’s vile aggression until Ukraine succeeds,” British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.
Ukraine and the UK have legally secured the abolition of import duties and tariff quotas in bilateral trade by signing a relevant agreement, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine reported on Wednesday.
“The agreement will be valid for 12 months, but can be extended by agreement between the parties for a new period,” the release states.
According to it, now Ukrainian producers can export more products to the British market. First of all, we are talking about flour, grain, dairy products, poultry meat and semi-finished products, tomato paste, honey, corn, wheat, juices, mushrooms, and sugar – these are the goods Ukraine traditionally exports to the UK.
The Ministry of Economy noted that in 2021, the trade turnover between Ukraine and the UK increased by almost 57%, to $2.2 billion, with exports especially intensified (up by 62%), exceeding $1 billion.
The ministry recalled that the European Union also recently announced its intention to cancel the collection of all import duties on Ukrainian goods for a year.
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is working on the organization of centers for the national multi-subject test in the countries of the European Union and the UK.
“Now we are working on organizing the work of national multi-subject test centers abroad. Minister Serhiy Shkarlet made a relevant request to his colleagues in European countries,” the ministry’s press service said in a statement.
It is noted there is already a preliminary agreement on two centers in Germany, two in Italy and six in Poland, since most Ukrainian children are in this country.
CENTERS, EDUCATION MINISTRY, EU, MULTI-SUBJECT TEST, ORGANIZATION, UK
The UK is handing over another batch of mobile power generators to Ukraine, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko and British Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on their Twitter pages on Wednesday.
“Thanks to mobile generators we will ensure a stable power supply to important facilities, despite yet more damages caused by Russian shellings,” Haluschenko wrote.
“More mobile generators heading to Ukraine. The UK is donating 570 generators to ensure hospitals, phone masts, shelters and water pumping stations can continue to operate in the face of continued Russian attack,” Kwasi Kwarteng said on Twitter.
The UK handed over the first part of the 570 generators – almost 200 – to Ukraine in April. They already serve as backup power sources for reliable power supply to various social and infrastructure facilities in case of damage to electrical equipment and networks
The cancellation by the UK of all duties and quotas on products from Ukraine to support it in the face of a military invasion by the Russian Federation may allow Ukrainian farmers to increase their presence in the UK markets of poultry meat, walnuts, honey, cranberries, blueberries and peas.
The list of high-margin agricultural products that Ukraine could supply to the UK at a time when the export of its traditional agricultural raw materials is blocked by the aggressor country of the Russian Federation was published on the website of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) on Wednesday evening.
According to the results of 2021, agricultural products worth $553 million were exported from Ukraine to the UK, including sunflower oil (31% of export earnings), rapeseed (28%) and corn (24%). However, the supply of traditional agricultural crops in 2022 is difficult due to the naval blockade of Ukraine by Russian warships, as a result of which the country can potentially increase the export of a number of other agricultural products by road.
Ukrainian farmers, in particular, can focus their export efforts on the supply of poultry meat to the UK. The volume of its export in 2021 was 2,600 tonnes. The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 1%. Main competitors: the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium.
The export of walnuts without shells is also promising. The volume of its export in 2021 was 0700 tonnes. The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 6%. Main competitors: the United States, Germany, and China.
According to the UCAB, Ukrainian farmers can increase honey exports to the UK (800 tonnes were delivered in 2021). The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 1%. Main competitors: China, Poland, and Mexico.
The export of cranberries and blueberries is also promising (supplies in 2021 – 200 tonnes). The share of Ukraine of UK imports is 0.3%. Main competitors: Spain, Peru, and Chile.
Ukraine exported 4,900 tonnes of peas to the UK in 2021, which amounted to 12% of the UK market in 2021. At the same time, Russia is Ukraine’s main competitor in this market, which, taking into account the economic sanctions imposed against it, adds an advantage to Ukrainian suppliers.
“Now the railways and seaports of neighboring countries are heavily loaded due to the export of grain crops, the volumes of which we have the largest. Therefore, to increase export earnings, we should focus on the export of goods that have a higher price with less weight and thus export by road,” UCAB cites a promising export model from its analyst Svitlana Lytvyn.
BERRIES, HONEY, PEAS, POULTRY, UK, UKRAINIAN FARMERS, WALNUTS
The British authorities, in response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, on Tuesday distributed an updated sanctions list with technical changes in relation to 195 Russian individuals and legal entities included in it, there are no new defendants on the list.
According to the document, changes have been made, in particular, to the data of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Nikolai Evmenov and his deputies, who fell under sanctions in March, as well as to sanctioned members of the Federation Council and the State Duma.
Also, technical changes have been made to the data of the Deputy Ministers of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin, Alexei Krivoruchko, Yuri Sadovenko, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Timur Ivanov. The data of a number of other Russian military personnel has also been updated.
