Ukraine International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) has reached an agreement on wet-leasing of medium-haul Boeing 737-900 aircraft to the Latvian carrier airBaltic, the Ukrainian carrier said.
From May 1, the aircraft and crews of the Ukrainian airline will begin to be based at Riga Airport to serve the partner flight network, UIA said in a statement on Monday.
At the same time, it is specified that the UIA aircraft will provide connection to a number of European airBaltic destinations. In particular, the plane is booked for flights to Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, Oslo, Copenhagen and other destinations.
According to the press release, four crews of the Ukrainian carrier (28 people in total) will be involved in the operational work of the UIA aircraft on the partners’ routes. The aircraft will operate flights with the UIA corporate color and livery preserved, as well as the crews will work in the original uniform of the Ukrainian airline.
According to the terms of the contract, a service representative of the Latvian carrier will be present on each UIA flight on airBaltic routes.
“We are sincerely glad that our European partners are helping both the Ukrainian state and businesses with a clear, absolutely transparent support for Ukraine. This is especially true amid recent UIA compliance decision not to wet-lease its aircraft to operators who continue flying to Russia. Let this narrow down the scope of opportunities, but it is fully consistent with our morals,” UIA CEO Yevhen Dykhne is quoted in the message.
The deadline for operation of the UIA aircraft in the airBaltic fleet is currently being specified by partners.
Maintenance of Boeing 737-900 as part of the airBaltic fleet will be carried out by UIA foreign contractors.
The Ukrainian airline, as a long-term IOSA certified operator, will ensure operation in accordance with all international operational safety standards.
The number of people who entered Ukraine through its western border on April 30 rose from over 35,000 a day earlier to almost 40,000, the highest since the start of the war, the State Border Service reported on Facebook on Sunday.
According to its data, on the last day of April, a record number of vehicles passing through the border since the beginning of the war was also recorded – 19 thousand, which may be due to the expectations of closing the window for preferential import of cars into Ukraine in connection with the relevant law submitted to the Verkhovna Rada .
The exit flow on April 30 remained at the level of the previous day – 38 thousand, being less than the entry flow for the first time since April 24, the State Border Service indicated.
The agency clarified that over the past day, the number of registered vehicles with humanitarian cargo increased to 380 from 250 the day before.
The State Border Service recalled that, according to the Slovak side, from May 2, the Velke Slementse checkpoint (on the Ukrainian side – Malye Selmentsy) will operate from 09:00 to 21:00 (Kyiv time).
According to the data of the Polish border service on Twitter, on April 30, 26.8 thousand entered Ukraine from the country against 23.6 thousand the day before. In the opposite direction, the flow amounted to 23.5 thousand compared to 21.8 thousand a day earlier.
In total, since the beginning of the war, the Polish border agency points out, 3.076 million people entered the country from Ukraine, and 975 thousand people in the opposite direction.
According to UNHCR data, as of 13:00 on April 29, a total of 5.469 million people left Ukraine since the beginning of the war (excluding entry flow), of which 3.014 million went to Poland, 881.19 thousand to Romania and Moldova, and 656 to Russia 38 thousand, Hungary – 519.98 thousand, Slovakia – 371.92 thousand, Belarus – 25 thousand.
At the same time, according to the State Border Service, 1.29 million people have entered Ukraine by this date since February 28.
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.
