Ukraine has issued the first two licenses for the production of alcohol distillates and spirits to small producers from Odessa and Kiev regions, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported.
The Ministry reminded that small entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to license production after the government adopted a resolution simplifying the obtaining of production licenses. For example, small producers have received the right to submit, instead of a production certificate, a declaration of compliance of the material and technical base of small distillate production with the requirements of the legislation, registered by the State Service of Ukraine on food safety and protection (Gospotrebsluzhba).
“Prior to the adoption of regulations, the craft spirits segment in Ukraine was absent or operated in the shadows due to the complex regulatory framework. Now producers have the opportunity to create their own business and process agricultural products into value-added products that will be in demand in domestic and foreign markets,” the report says.
In addition, the current legislation provides grounds for the development of drinks with special qualities and characteristics, which can be registered as geographical indications and become a visiting card of Ukraine, to stimulate the development of gastrotourism.
Continuation of small business development in the sphere of alcoholic beverages production is the Law “On State Regulation of Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol Distillates, Bioethanol, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco Products, Tobacco Raw Materials, Liquids Used in Electronic Systems” recently signed by the President of Ukraine. The document, in particular, provides for simplification of regulation of the activities of small wineries, small producers of distillates and small producers of beer, drew attention in the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to pay a historic visit to Ukraine in a few weeks, according to Sidhant Sibal, chief diplomatic correspondent for the Indian publishing house WION, citing his own sources in New Delhi. This visit, which is currently being prepared, is tentatively scheduled for the third week of August, probably on the 23rd.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally invited the Indian leader to visit the country during a phone conversation. Since then, the two countries have been holding active high-level talks. Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba discussed bilateral relations. National security advisors from both countries, Ajit Doval from India and Andriy Yermak from Ukraine, also held talks.
In June, Prime Minister Modi met with President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy. Discussing the current situation in Ukraine, the Indian leader emphasized the need for dialogue and diplomacy, stressing that India is ready to support a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
This visit will be the first personal contact between the two leaders since the beginning of the war, outside the format of the G7 summits. Prime Minister Modi may travel to Ukraine via Poland, and is likely to hold talks with the Polish leadership before traveling to Kyiv.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Ukraine comes almost two months after he traveled to Russia for the annual Russian summit, during which the war in Ukraine was also discussed. During his talks with Putin, Prime Minister Modi expressed regret over the deaths of innocent people and children at the Okhmatdyt hospital.
The US Mercury Bank has amended its policy, according to which it refuses to service accounts of legal entities whose founders are located in Ukraine, according to a message released by Mercury on social networks.
“While Ukraine is not subject to comprehensive sanctions, several regions of Ukraine have been sanctioned. We have previously utilized a regional model to support as many customers in Ukraine as possible; however, maintaining this policy while meeting our strict compliance standards has become increasingly challenging. We will continue to review this policy and hope to be able to modify it in the future,” the bank said in a statement to a client inquiry.
In Mercury clarified that the initial message that the bank refuses to serve and companies with founders with Ukrainian passport residing in the U.S., was erroneous.
On July 22, Petcube CEO Yaroslav Azhnyuk reported about the receipt of such a letter refusing to open accounts for applicants with passports of such countries as Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, regardless of their physical location. According to him, Ukrainian customers will have full access to their accounts until August 6, and already on August 13 their accounts will be closed.
However, in comments to the post, users published a screenshot of Mercury’s response on Linkedin, where the bank points out an error in its own statement, and says that these restrictions do not apply to Ukrainians living in the United States.
“We have always allowed (and continue to allow) customers with Ukrainian passports based in the US to use Mercury – we simply cannot support companies with founders based in Ukraine today. We apologize for the confusion caused by this error”, – stated in the message.
In turn, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, reacted to the situation by asking to forward to her Mercury Bank’s letters to Ukrainian clients with permission to explain the situation.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is making the first visit by a Ukrainian official to China since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
“Hello to all from China. Following up on the contacts between the leaders of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and China’s Xi Jinping, I am carrying out the first visit of a Ukrainian official to China since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine. This is also the first bilateral visit of the Ukrainian foreign minister to China since 2012,” he said on his Instagram.
He informed that ahead – detailed, substantive talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on ways to a just peace.
“Must avoid competition of peace plans. It is very important that Kiev and Beijing have a direct dialog and exchange of positions. We will also discuss bilateral relations. I am convinced: after Ukraine started negotiations on accession to the European Union, China should look at relations with our state through the prism of its strategic relations with Europe,” – said Kuleba.
As reported, July 23-25, Kuleba will pay a visit to China at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Ukrainian enterprises, according to the customs authorities, in January-June this year reduced imports of lead and lead products by 3.9% – to $560 thousand (in June – $137 thousand).
Exports of lead and lead products decreased by 30.8% over the reporting period – to $5.404 million (in June – $1.070 million),
The main use of lead is in the production of lead-acid batteries for the automotive industry. In addition, lead is used to make bullets and some alloys.
Over the past weekend in the water bodies of Ukraine killed 66 people, including 10 children, reported the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations (SSES).
“66 people, among them 10 children, died on the water bodies of Ukraine over the past weekend. Fortunately, 11 people, including 4 children, managed to save. In general, since the beginning of 2024 on water bodies of Ukraine killed 672 people, including 76 children,” – reported in the Telegram channel on Monday.
It is noted that the most victims were found in Kyiv, Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The State Emergency Service urges citizens to be careful while vacationing near water: to assess their physical capabilities, to choose only places adapted for swimming, not to swim too far, especially in unfamiliar bodies of water and to keep an eye on children.
