Hollywood actress and UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited the Lviv region, where she met with refugees and volunteers, head of the Lviv regional military administration Maxim Kozitsky said.
“In one of the medical facilities, she visited the children who had suffered from a missile attack by the Russian military on the railway station in Kramatorsk. She was very touched by their stories. One girl even managed to personally tell Ms. Jolie about her dream. The Ambassador also visited a boarding school. She talked and took pictures with She promised that she would come again,” Kozitsky wrote on the Telegram channel.
Jolie also met with volunteers who provide medical and psychological assistance at the Lviv railway station, and with migrants from war zones.
“For all of us, this visit was a surprise. Many people who saw Jolie in the Lviv region could not believe that it was really her. But since February 24, Ukraine has shown the whole world that we have a lot of incredible things,” the head of the OVA stressed.
The relevant bill will be considered in the Bundestag.
If adopted, from June 1, 2022, citizens of Ukraine who have received a residence permit in accordance with the law on the stay of foreigners will receive social assistance in the amount of 449 euros. Now the amount of payments is about 300 euros. More than 400,000 Ukrainian refugees have already arrived in Germany, and about 3,000 more are arriving every day, according to the Ukraine Round Table held in Berlin on Monday with the participation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
According to the information, more than 60 thousand Ukrainian schoolchildren are already studying in Germany, and graduates of Ukrainian schools were allowed to enter German universities without a diploma. According to the UN data, as of 13:00 on April 24, a total of 5.23 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding the entry flow), of which 2.91 million went to Poland, 843.74 thousand to Romania and Moldova. , Russia – 605.82 thousand, Hungary – 492.98 thousand, Slovakia – 355.59 thousand, Belarus – 24.48 thousand.
At the same time, according to the State Border Service, 1.17 million people have entered Ukraine by this date since February 28.
Head of Tesla Inc. Elon Musk, in addition to Starlink satellite Internet stations, donated Tesla Powerwall solar panels to Ukraine.
“Today, two outpatient clinics in Borodianka and Irpin have received Tesla Powerwall solar panels and energy saving systems,” Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram.
According to him, these solar panels and generators have become very popular in America.
“The Powerwall energy system has high autonomy and provides backup power in case of power outages. This ultra-modern equipment will help Ukrainians in the areas most affected by the Russian occupation,” Fedorov stressed.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he asked Congress to approve his request for additional financial assistance to Ukraine as soon as possible.
“I just signed a request to Congress for important security, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. (…) It is critical this funding gets approved and approved as quickly as possible,” Biden said, speaking at the White House.
He said he acknowledges that such assistance is “not cheap.”
Biden said the U.S. administration needs additional funds to transfer artillery, air defense systems, and armored vehicles to Ukraine.
“This assistance will give Ukraine additional artillery, armored vehicles, anti-tank and anti-air capabilities,” he said.
He said that a request to the U.S. Congress for additional funds for Ukraine should meet both the current defense needs of the Ukrainian military and longer-term security needs.
Biden said the United States and allies have already delivered over 50 million pieces of military equipment to Ukraine, including thousands of anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, helicopters, drones, grenade launchers and machine guns.
Additional funding to help Ukraine is needed, as the previously allocated funds are almost completely used.
Biden called on Congress to allocate $33 billion to help Ukraine in the defense and humanitarian spheres, as well as to strengthen the defense of European countries, the White House said. This funding is intended for the period until September 2022, the CNBC channel said.
The White House said in the statement that, among other things, some $20.4 billion is expected to be allocated both for military assistance to Ukraine and for “U.S. efforts to strengthen European security in cooperation with our NATO allies and other partners in the region.” This is about the supply of weapons to Ukraine and a number of European countries, artillery, armored vehicles, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. It is also planned to direct this assistance to strengthening the means of protection against cyberattacks, demining territories. At the same time, they plan to send $4 billion to the program of foreign military financing of the U.S. Department of State.
Of the funds requested by Biden, some $ 8.5 billion will be directed to support the Ukrainian economy. These funds are intended to finance the Ukrainian government, help Ukraine in the food, energy and medical fields.
The CNBC television channel, in turn, said, thus, in nine months, the total U.S. spending on Ukraine would exceed $36 billion.
In addition, according to the White House, some $3 billion will be allocated for humanitarian assistance around the world in the form of supplies of wheat and other goods. In addition, they plan to allocate $500 million as assistance to domestic production. This amount is expected to support U.S. production of food crops that are in short supply around the world due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
In addition, Biden decided to ask Congress for approval of a package of laws that will help the administration use the confiscated assets of individuals associated with Russia to provide assistance to Ukraine. The White House said in the statement that the president “will send a proposal for a comprehensive legislative package that will enhance the United States Government’s authority to hold the Russian government and Russian oligarchs accountable for President Putin’s war against Ukraine.” Biden’s proposals, in particular, provide for the use of confiscated assets of persons subject to sanctions.
In parallel, similar measures are being considered in the U.S. Congress. Thus, on Thursday night, the House of Representatives approved a bill that gives the president the opportunity to use some of the assets frozen under sanctions against Russia to provide humanitarian and military assistance to Kyiv. ” The Asset Seizure for Ukraine Reconstruction Act takes an important step in rebuilding the country Russia has destroyed,” Congressman Tom Malinowski, co-author of the document, said on social media.
The New York Times said that 417 congressmen supported the bill, with eight opposed.
Bulgaria will be pleased to participate in the restoration of Ukraine, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has said.
“As for your proposal to Bulgaria to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, we will be more than happy to do so. We have many cities with many Bulgarian-speaking Ukrainians, and Bulgaria will be pleased to take a constructive part,” Petkov said at a press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday.
The head of government said Bulgaria can also help Ukraine with the help of the trans-Balkan gas pipeline.
“When we talk about energy security, Bulgaria can help Ukraine through the use of the trans-Balkan gas pipeline, through which we can supply gas from LNG terminals in Greece and Turkey to Ukraine, which will give both our countries a lower price and the possibility of deliveries,” he said.
In addition, Petkov said Bulgaria supports Ukraine’s accession to the EU.
“It is very important for Bulgaria that Ukraine sees a clear path to the EU. It is time for us to say that Ukraine belongs, is part of the European family, and we must give a clear sign and a clear path as soon as possible. You have a strong voice for Bulgaria when we meet with many European colleagues,” he said.
The fall of the Ukrainian economy in 2022 will be about 33% according to the baseline scenario, in which the war will last for another month and a half at the most, Alexander Pecheritsyn, a leading analyst at Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv), said.
“If the war lasts until the end of the year, then (GDP) could fall as much as 45%,” he said at a zoom conference on Tuesday.
Pecheritsyn specified that this is the bank’s third forecast since the beginning of the war. According to him, the initial decline in the economy was estimated at about 15% based on previous fast-moving conflicts in the world, for example, in Georgia. Then, in March, the bank estimated a decline as low as 24%, taking into account the gross regional product and the map of hostilities. In particular, as part of this analysis, a 34% decrease in this year’s crop is expected.
Serhiy Kolodiy, Chief Manager for Macroeconomic Analysis at Raiffeisen Bank, recalled that in 2014-2015, the fall in GDP was approximately 25% compared with pre-war Ukraine (in official statistics, data are compared only for controlled territories).
Pecheritsyn added that in terms of GDP, the bank estimates a 39% drop in private consumption due to the emigration of 15% of the population, lower incomes and negative consumer expectations.
According to him, domestic investment, which is the most vulnerable component, will fall by half this year under the baseline scenario.
“On the positive side, production relocation programs have little effect, but on the scale of the total output, of course, it is small,” the analyst said.
Speaking about inflation, Pecheritsyn noted that the bank still maintains its forecast for this year at 17% after 10% in the past. He explained that the volume of purchases by the National Bank of military bonds in the amount of UAH 60 billion is still within the limits of controllable, in addition, state control over prices and the freezing of utility tariffs affect.
In general, speaking about the work of analysts during the war, Pecheritsyn said that the bank began issuing weekly military reviews.
“War is a new challenge, we are no strangers to them, since there was a coronavirus two years ago. But the current (challenge) is much more difficult,” he stressed.
Pecheritsyn until February of this year served as chief economist at Credit Agricole Bank (Kyiv).
As reported, according to the World Bank, which before the war expected the Ukrainian economy to grow by 3.2% this year, it will fall by 45.1%. According to his report from early April, in 2023 the Ukrainian economy is expected to recover by only 2.1%, which is also worse than previous expectations of 3.5%.
The National Bank of Ukraine predicts a decline in the country’s GDP this year by at least a third, refusing to make more detailed estimates. The IMF expects a 35% decline.
