Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are preparing for boosting defense cooperation in the sphere of joint production of new samples of weapons and equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on developments of Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv).
The press service of the Ukroboronprom state concern reported that the potential of the bilateral military and technical cooperation between Kyiv and Abu Dhabi was the subject of negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019 International Paris Air Show by Head of the state concern Pavlo Bukin and UAE Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Abdulla Al Hashmi.
Bukin said that among the promising defense cooperation projects considered by the parties are the establishment of joint production of UAVs based on the developments of the Antonov State Enterprise.
As the head of Ukroboronprom said, the reliable Antonov aircraft, capable of working in extreme climatic conditions, fully meets the needs of the military and rescuers, and it is in steady demand in the market, which was confirmed during the negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019.
“Today, the most promising market for us is the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia,” he said, adding: “We expect that in the near future Antonov’s products will occupy a significant part of the market in these regions.”
According to the report, during the talks, the parties discussed a wide range of cooperation, including logistics support for the needs of the UAE Ground Forces.
FlixBus low cost service (Berlin, Germany) is expanding its presence in Ukraine with opening of its representative office in the country.
“I am very pleased that after several months of planning and preparation, we can finally announce our further development plans in Ukraine. FlixBus is now officially registered in Ukraine and has a team in Kyiv, it pays taxes to the local budget,” FlixBus Managing Director in Poland and Ukraine Michal Leman said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
He said that the main routes of the company are routes to Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary.
Currently, trips are made only from Kyiv. However, until the end of 2019, the company plans to launch trips from Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Lviv. In addition, FlixBus intends to launch domestic trips in Ukraine by the end of this period.
“We are now negotiating with our partners. We are looking which lines will develop more actively. We will ask our partner if he has an opportunity of providing buses and drivers,” Lehman said answering a question ofInterfax-Ukraine.
According to the company, the cost of tickets (at a promotional price) starts from EUR 5. You can buy a ticket in the application and on the website of the company.
FlixBus began operating its first trips from Ukraine in 2017. As of June 2019, the company provides Ukraine with daily connections to Germany, Hungary, Poland and Austria. The routes are serviced by the bus partner of FlixBus – the Euroclub company.
Inflation in Ukraine in May 2019 was 0.7% compared to 1% in April, 0.9% in March, 0.5% in February and 1% in January, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine has reported. According to its data, in annual terms consumer price growth in May of this year accelerated to 9.6% from 8.8% in April and 8.6% in March.
In May 2019, underlying inflation dropped to 0.2%, while in April it stood at 0.4%, in March at 1.2%, in February at 0.2%, and in January at 0.3%. In annual terms, it remained at the level of April at 7.4% against 7.6% in March, 7.8% in February, and 8.3% in January.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the EU will continue to support Ukraine.
“The High Representative congratulated President Zelensky on his election victory and underlined that the European Union continues to stand by Ukraine, supporting the country on its reform agenda and with respect to its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement.
During their meeting in Brussels, Mogherini and Zelensky discussed possible ways to make progress in implementing the Minsk Agreements for Donbas.
“Federica Mogherini stressed that the European Union is ready to support the Minsk implementation with all available means. This can include the EU’s help in support of President Zelensky’s stated objective for an inclusive approach towards the Ukrainian citizens living in the non-government controlled areas in eastern Ukraine,” according to the statement.
“High Representative Mogherini also confirmed the EU’s socio-economic support to the Azov Sea region,” the EU spokesperson said.
“The European Union continues to expect that Russia will immediately release the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and return to Ukraine’s custody the three vessels,” the spokesperson said.
The sides also discussed the need to continue reforms in Ukraine.
“They look forward to continue the discussions and common work at the next EU-Ukraine Summit which will take place on 8 July in Kyiv,” the spokesperson said.
Ukrzaliznytsia in partnership with Slovakian Railways (ZSSK) from June 9, 2019 will launch daily trains between Kosice (Slovakia) and Mukachevo (Zakarpattia region). According to the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia, in particular, train pair Nos. 960/961 will depart from Kosice at 09:10 (local time) with arrival in Mukachevo at 14:00; and back – at 14:54 with the arrival at 18:13.
Train pair Nos. 962/963 will depart from Kosice at 12:01 with arrival in Mukachevo at 16:42; and back – at 18:20 with the arrival at 21:33. The train will make stops in Cierna nad Tisou and Chop. The ticket price will be about EUR 7.50.
SAS Airline (Scandinavian Airlines, Sweden) plans to resume flights to Ukraine, starting servicing direct Oslo-Kyiv flights from October 2019, according to the Google Flights ticket search engine. SAS’s website is not available for users with Ukrainian IP.
“Congratulations to Scandinavian Airlines on its return to Ukraine after eight years of break,” Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan said on his Facebook page.
Boeing 737-700 aircraft will service the Oslo-Kyiv SAS direct flights between the Gardermoen and Borispol airports with a frequency of three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The plane will depart from Kyiv at 14:00, and from Oslo at 09:30 local time.
“This decision is another reflection of the significant strengthening of Ukrainian-Norwegian relations in recent years, which, in turn, was the result of unprecedented intensification of contacts between people, including mutual trips between Ukraine and Norway,” Ambassador of Ukraine to Norway Viacheslav Yatsiuk said in a posting on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The ambassador believes that there is every reason to expect that the opening of the flight between Kyiv and Oslo will help further strengthen the interaction between the two countries, and the visa-free regime between Ukraine and Norway will contribute to the success of the future Kyiv-Oslo flight.
