Business news from Ukraine

On Monday in Kiev up to plus 34°

The weather in Ukraine on Sunday, June 30, will be without precipitation, reports Ukrhydrometcenter.

Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s.

The temperature will be 16-21° at night, 29-34° during the day, in southern and central regions in some places 32-36°; in the highlands of the Carpathians at night 10-15°, 22-27° during the day.

In Kiev on June 30, no precipitation. Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s.

The temperature is about 20° at night and 30-32° during the day.

According to the Central Geophysical Observatory named after Boris Sreznevsky in Kiev. Boris Sreznevsky in Kiev on June 30, the highest daytime temperature was 34.1° in 1898, the lowest nighttime temperature was 7.6° in 1894.

On the first day of July in Ukraine in the western regions, rain with thunderstorms, hail and squalls 15-20 m/s, temperatures at night 15-20°, daytime 27-32°.

In the rest of the territory hot weather without precipitation, the temperature at night 17-22 °, during the day 30-34 °, in the southern part, Kirovograd, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in some places strong heat 35-37 °.

Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s.

In Kiev on July 1, hot weather without precipitation. Wind of variable directions, 3-8 m/s.

The temperature is 20-22° at night and 32-34° during the day.

 

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Cost of land in Ukraine has risen by 8.2% over month

The prices of sale and purchase of agricultural land in May 2024 significantly increased compared to the previous months and are now the highest for the entire existence of the land market: the weighted average price per hectare in May was 45.0 thousand UAH, which is 8.2% higher than in April 2024, and 5.6% higher than in March this year, according to a study by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), which is conducted on behalf of the USAID program.

According to analysts, the price of land with the intended purpose “for commercial agricultural production” was even higher and reached UAH 46.2 thousand.

“The above prices are based on the official prices registered in the Register of Property Rights during sale and purchase transactions. Market prices for land can be much higher, because most of all transactions are concluded at a price that does not differ from the normative-monetary valuation (the minimum price established by law for former sub-moratorial lands) by more than 2%,” the KSE clarified.

At the same time, experts believe that a slight decrease in prices in April 2024 and an increase in the cost of agricultural land in May this year is unlikely to be a long-term trend.

Since the beginning of 2024, average land prices remain significantly higher than in previous periods. Consequently, it can be stated that the opening of the land market for legal entities in January 2024 has led to structural changes in the market conditions, and as a consequence has led to an increase in the value of agricultural land, according to the KSE study “Land of Indestructibility”.

 

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Volume of construction works in Ukraine in January-March jumped by almost 60 – statistics

The volume of completed construction works in Ukraine in January-March 2024 increased by 56.7% compared to the same period of 2023 – up to 35.5 billion UAH, according to the data of the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).

In March-2024, the index of construction products exceeded the index of March-2023 by 69.3%, and the previous month – by 92.3%, notes the State Statistics Service.

As reported by the State Statistics Service, in January-March 2024 to the same period of 2023, the growth in the volume of

construction was observed in all segments. Thus, in residential construction growth amounted to 39.2%, in non-residential – 49%, in engineering – 66%.

According to seasonally adjusted data of the department, the indexes of construction output in March-2024 in residential construction amounted to 55.9%, in non-residential construction – 105.5%, in engineering – 193.4%, and taking into account the effect of calendar days, the indicators are 52.1%, 82.6% and 148.6% respectively.

The proportion of new construction to the total volume of completed construction works in the first quarter amounted to 46.7%, repair – 25%, reconstruction and technical re-equipment – 28.3%.

The State Statistics Committee notes that the publication of data was postponed due to martial law. Statdata indicators are given without taking into account the temporarily occupied territory and the part of the territory where hostilities are (were) conducted.

 

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Nuclear regulators of Ukraine and Norway implement common projects to counter challenges of Russian aggression

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency (DSA) are working on the implementation of 18 common projects to counter the challenges caused by Russia’s military aggression, particularly in the area of developing policies and procedures to restore regulatory control over nuclear facilities affected by occupation and hostilities.

Gosatomregulirovanie said on Wednesday that the joint projects of the Ukrainian nuclear regulator and DSA, launched after February 24, 2022, also cover such areas as surveying territories affected by enemy military occupation; managing critical knowledge needed to protect personnel, the public and the environment during nuclear or radiation incidents caused by hostilities; and providing radiation reconnaissance equipment in previously occupied territories.

“I am grateful for DSA’s active participation in projects to address the pressing challenges faced by Gosatomregulirovanie after the rf’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Over the past two years, 25 projects have been initiated to counter the challenges caused by Russia’s military aggression. As of today, 18 projects out of them are being implemented,” said Oleg Korikov, head of the DSA.

Korikov and DSA Director General Per Strand discussed the status of implementation of joint projects and further cooperation, plans for which are envisioned in the Roadmap for Cooperation between DSA and Gosatomregulirovanie for 2024-2028, at a meeting during the Seventh Conference of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) held in Brussels on June 24-25.

“In our decade of cooperation since 2014, we have established a sustainable mechanism for planning, coordination and timely implementation of joint projects. This strategy includes regular assessment of regulatory threats and challenges faced by Gosatomregulirovanie, which are reflected in the Threat Assessment Reports,” Korikov added.

 

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Ukraine eliminated from European Football Championship

Ukraine’s national team played a 0-0 draw with Belgium in the third match of the 2024 European Football Championship.

In a parallel match, the national teams of Slovakia and Romania also played a draw 1:1.

Thus, all national teams scored four points, but Ukraine took the last place in the group on additional indicators – the worst goal difference.

Romania took the first place in the group, followed by Belgium and Slovakia. All of them will continue playing at the European Championship. Ukraine is eliminated from the tournament.

As reported, the first match Ukraine lost to Romania with a score of 0:3, and in the second – beat Slovakia with a score of 2:1.

 

 

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EU launches formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova

The membership negotiations began on Tuesday, a landmark move aimed in particular at signaling a vote of confidence in Ukraine’s future.

The European Union launched accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday, June 25, setting the fragile ex-Soviet states on a long path towards membership that Russia has tried to block. The landmark move is aimed in particular at signaling a vote of confidence in Ukraine’s future as Moscow has momentum on the battlefield almost two and a half years into the Kremlin’s invasion.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called it a “historic day” ahead of the start of talks between officials from Kyiv and the EU’s 27 member states in Luxembourg. “We will never be derailed from our path to a united Europe and to our common home of all European nations,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media.

Ukraine and later its neighbour Moldova lodged their bids to join the EU in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s all-out assault in February 2022. The start of the talks marks just the beginning of a protracted process of reforms strewn with political obstacles that will likely take many years — and may never lead to membership.

Read more Subscribers only European Union approves opening of formal accession negotiations with Ukraine

Standing in the way along that journey will be not just Russia’s efforts at destabilisation but reticence from doubters inside the EU, most notably Hungary. But European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the opening of talks “very good news for the people of Ukraine, Moldova, and the entire European Union. The path ahead will be challenging but full of opportunities,” she wrote on X on Tuesday.

So far, Ukraine – represented at the talks by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna – has won plaudits for kickstarting a raft of reforms on curbing graft and political interference, even as war rages. “Today is a historic day for Ukraine and Moldova, but also for the EU,” said Germany’s Europe minister Anna Luehrmann. “Both countries have made enormous progress in the area of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and freedom of the press.”

Complex process

Russia’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated a push in the EU to take on new members, after years in which countries particularly in the Western Balkans made little progress on their hopes to join. The EU in December 2023 also granted candidate status to another of Russia’s former Soviet neighbours, Georgia. It likewise approved accession negotiations with Bosnia and has talks ongoing with Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia.

The meetings with Ukraine and Moldova on Tuesday will set off a process of screening of how far laws in the countries already comply with EU standards and how much more work lies ahead. Once that is done the EU then has to begin laying out conditions for negotiations on 35 subjects – from taxation to environmental policy.

It appears unlikely that there will be progress onto the next step in the coming six months, when Hungary – the friendliest country to Russia in the bloc – holds the EU’s rotating presidency. “It’s very difficult to say at what stage Ukraine is,” said Hungary’s Europe minister Janos Boka. “From what I see here as we speak, they are very far from meeting the accession criteria.”

The start of the talks resonates powerfully in Ukraine as it was a desire for closer ties with the EU that sparked protests back in 2014 that eventually spiralled into the full-blown crisis with Russia. The talks also come at a tense time in Moldova after the United States, Britain and Canada warned of a Russian “plot” to influence the country’s presidential elections coming up in October.

Wedged between war-torn Ukraine and EU member Romania, Moldova’s pro-Western authorities frequently accuse the Kremlin of interfering in its internal affairs. President Maia Sandu has accused Moscow – which has troops stationed in a breakaway region of the country – of aiming to destabilise Moldova ahead of the vote. “Our future is within the European family,” Sandu wrote on X. “We are stronger together.”

Le Monde with AFP

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