The U.S. presidential administration will send armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine for the first time, they are part of a new military aid package for Ukraine, Reuters reported on Friday.
“The projectiles, which could help destroy Russian tanks, are part of a new military aid package for Ukraine to be unveiled next week. The munitions could be fired from U.S. Abrams tanks, which a source familiar with the situation said are due to be delivered to Ukraine in the coming weeks. One official said the future aid package would range from $240 million to $375 million, depending on what is included,” the report said.
Depleted uranium, is used in munitions because its extreme density gives projectiles the ability to easily penetrate armor and self-ignite in a scalding cloud of dust and metal. Although depleted uranium is radioactive, it is much less so than natural uranium, and also its particles can persist for a considerable amount of time.
Earlier it was reported that the British authorities in April transferred to Ukraine several thousand shells for Challenger 2 tanks, some of which contained depleted uranium.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-send-its-first-depleted-uranium-rounds-ukraine-sources-2023-09-01/
Velta group of companies with titanium ore mining assets in Novomyrhorod (Kirovograd region) has signed an agreement with international consulting company Hatch to design a titanium powder plant in the United States.
According to a press release on Tuesday, the agreement was signed between Velta Holding US Inc and Hatch.
It is noted that the new plant will be one of the first in the U.S. to operate based on Ukrainian low carbon footprint technology developed at Velta’s research center.
“This partnership agreement brings the Velta team closer to presenting the solution of Ukrainian scientists to the US titanium market, which is dangerously dependent on external supply chains,” the press service quotes Velta CEO Andriy Brodsky as saying.
At the same time, he expressed confidence that thanks to Hatch’s design expertise, the plant will be able to quickly and efficiently meet the demand for titanium for the countries that are Ukraine’s allies in the war.
The capacity of the first plant is designed for 1,000 tons per year of titanium powder with the potential to scale up in the future.
The company also emphasizes its intentions to build a similar plant in Ukraine.
Hatch is a leading consulting company for project design and implementation. The company’s professional experience includes projects in more than 150 countries in the metals, energy and infrastructure sectors, including four major TiO2 projects in Canada, South Africa and Senegal. The company also works closely with the communities where it operates its projects to avoid negative environmental impacts and promote economic development.
Velta Holding US, Inc. owns Velta LLC, a Ukrainian titanium feedstock producer that has built a titanium mining complex in Ukraine.
“Velta launched its R&D center in 2017 to develop a new method of titanium production. To date, the technology has already received two patents in the US.
PKF Velta LLC was registered in April 2000. The main activity is mining and production of ilmenite concentrate.
LLC VELTA Holding owns 100% of LLC PKF VELTA. The ultimate beneficiaries are three individuals: Andrey Brodsky (60%), Vadim Moskalenko (20%) and Vitaly Malakhov (20%).
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for citizens of Ukraine until April 19, 2025, due to Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.
“Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an 18-month extension of Ukraine’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from October 20, 2023, to April 19, 2025, due to the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent safe return,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on its website Friday.
The program will also be expanded to allow Ukrainians who were living in the U.S. as of Aug. 16, 2023, to apply for temporary protection.
In addition, students from Ukraine who study in the U.S. and are in the country on an F-1 visa will be able to apply for work authorization and workload reduction without losing their visa for the duration of temporary protection.
Reportedly, approximately 26,000 Ukrainians now enjoy temporary protection in the U.S., and another 166,700 may be eligible. “Current beneficiaries who wish to extend their temporary protected status must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from August 21, 2023 to October 20, 2023,” the report said.
“Russia’s ongoing military incursion into Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis require the United States to continue to provide security and protection to Ukrainians who may not be able to return to their country,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who is quoted in the report.
US inflation is slowing but still remains too high, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (FRB) Governor Neel Kashkari said.
“The question that concerns me is whether we have done enough to bring inflation back to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target or whether we need to do more,” Kashkari said during an event on Tuesday.
“Inflation is slowing. We’ve made progress and good progress. I’m happy with that. But it’s still too high,” Market Watch quoted Kashkari as saying.
The pace of U.S. consumer price growth accelerated to an annualized rate of 3.2% in July, up from 3% in June.
The head of the Minneapolis FRB has a vote on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) this year.
The Fed raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25-5.5% in July, a 22-year high. Judging by the quotations of futures on the rate level, traders expect it to remain at the same level following the results of the September FOMC meeting.
Another $1.25 billion grant from the United States arrived in Ukraine on Monday through the multi-donor World Bank Trust Fund, the Finance Ministry said.
“Irrevocable financial assistance from the United States is an extremely important element in supporting Ukraine’s state budget while it resists Russia’s full-scale aggression. The next grant will help the Ukrainian government to reimburse priority expenditures in the social and humanitarian sphere,” Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was quoted as saying in the release.
The Finance Ministry specified that in 2023 Ukraine has already received $8.45 billion in grants of direct budgetary support from the United States, and in total, $20.4 billion in grants from the United States have been received in the state budget since the beginning of the full-scale war.
As previously stated by the Ministry of Finance, as of July 21 this year, the state budget of Ukraine received funding from international partners in the amount of $23.6 billion, compared to $32.1 billion last year, while the need for this year is about $42 billion.
Since then, the budget has also received EUR1.5bn of the sixth tranche of EU macrofinancial assistance and $1.5bn through the World Bank’s Trust Fund mechanism under the guarantees of the Japanese government.
Saudi Arabia will increase prices in August for all oil grades for US, Northwest Europe and Mediterranean customers as well as for some grades for Asian customers.Saudi Arabia raises oil prices slightly for US and Europe
The most significant price increases will be for customers from the Mediterranean (1-1.1%) and Northwest Europe (0.8%). For the US, Saudi oil will rise by 0.1%.
The cost of the main grade supplied to Asia, Arab Light, will increase by $0.2 per barrel next month. As a result, it will be $3.2 a barrel more expensive than the Oman and Dubai oil basket.
EUROPE, OIL, SAUDI ARABIA, US
