Business news from Ukraine

Majority of Ukrainians consider Poland, USA, UK, Germany friendly countries

Some 94% of Ukrainians consider Poland a friendly country, 86% consider the United States friendly, 85% – the UK, 80% – Germany, 40% – Turkey, and 5% – China, according to a poll by the Rating sociological group in cooperation with public organization Transatlantic Dialogue Center.
At the same time, 2% of Ukrainians consider Poland a neutral country, 7% consider the United States neutral, 6% the UK, 14% Germany, 48% Turkey, and 52% China.
In addition, 1% of Ukrainians consider Poland to be an enemy country, 2% consider the United States to be an enemy, 1% – the UK, 2% – Germany, 4% – Turkey, and 34% – China.
The attitude towards Germany among Ukrainians has improved, as the percentage of assessment of its friendly country has increased from 65% last year to 80% this year.
“The attitude of Ukrainians towards China and Turkey is deteriorating in dynamics. If in October last year, China was considered rather a neutral country (63%), this assessment changed to a more neutral-negative one: 34% rated it as a hostile country, 52% as neutral. As for Turkey, its assessment as a neutral country has increased: 48% consider it neutral, 40% – friendly, while last year its assessment as a friendly country (51%) was more than neutral (39%),” the sociological group said.
The survey was conducted on June 1-2, 2023 among citizens aged 18 years and older in all regions, except for the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas, as well as territories where there is no Ukrainian mobile communication at the time of the survey. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, and type of settlement. The sample was 1,000 respondents. The survey method is computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The error is no more than 3.1%.

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Vienna court decides to review case on extradition of Dmytro Firtash to USA

The Vienna highest state court (Wiener Oberlandesgericht, OLG) decided on Friday to reconsider the extradition case against Dmytro Firtash to the US and return the case to the court of first instance.
“The February 2017 decision of the Vienna District Court (on Firtash’s extradition) has been reversed. Now the Vienna State Criminal Court (OG) will re-examine the question of the admissibility of extradition on the basis of new evidence,” the court said in a press release
The statement issued by Group DF, which unites the assets of the Ukrainian businessman, also said that the first instance court will consider the case based on new evidence and facts provided by the parties and that Firtash’s extradition is now stopped.
According to the lawyer of the Ukrainian businessman Dieter Böhmdorfer (Dieter Böhmdorfer), which are cited in the report, the defense has been seeking this decision since June 2019.
“Dmitry Firtash is grateful to the independent Austrian judicial system for the objective consideration of the case and quite logically – the appointment of a retrial on the basis of new facts and evidence provided to the court,” the lawyer pointed out.
The press service of Group DF and the lawyers would not comment on the details of the court battles and arguments to persuade the Austrian court to make an objective decision, the release said
As reported, the head of the Board of Group DF Firtash was arrested in Austria on March 12, 2014 at the request of the US authorities, issued in 2013, but then released on bail of EUR125 million. Under the US administration of Barack Obama, the Ukrainian businessman was accused that he wanted to obtain permits for titanium mining in India for the subsequent sale of finished products in the USA to Boeing with the help of bribes totaling $18.5 million. Firtash denies all accusations and calls them politically motivated, aimed at limiting his influence on the processes in Ukraine.
In April 2015, the OG rejected the request of the US Ministry of Justice for the extradition of Firtash, indicating that it is impossible to rule out political motives for the extradition request. However, in February 2017, the OLG reconsidered this decision on a complaint from the prosecutor’s office, and in June 2019, the Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) confirmed the legality of the extradition.
After that, the Austrian Ministry of Justice issued a corresponding ruling on extradition, but the process was suspended in July 2019 due to the Ukrainian businessman’s defense request to the OGH for a new review, taking into account additional data collected. According to Kurier, the OG decision was delayed due to the large number of documents submitted, communication problems due to the coronavirus and due to the change of judges.
In March 2022, Firtash’s lawyers reportedly filed an appeal with the OLG against the OG’s decision to reject the request for a retrial of the businessman’s extradition to the United States.

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Zelenskyy at meeting with delegation of politicians and businessmen from USA urged to invest in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with a delegation of politicians, businessmen and representatives of United States charities led by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The head of state noted the importance of such visits and meetings, which are a powerful signal of support for Ukrainians in our fight for freedom and democracy, the press service of the Office of the President reported Tuesday.
“I’m glad to see you have come with your friends,” the president said, addressing Mike Pompeo. – Comprehensive American support is very important to us.”
During the meeting, the head of state invited American business to actively invest in Ukraine. “We are open to this, we are ready to provide you with full assistance. It is very important for us,” he said.
Zelensky informed about business development opportunities in construction, agriculture, IT technology, etc. The president also emphasized the importance of continuing and strengthening defense assistance and joint development of defense technologies, taking into account the experience acquired by Ukraine during the war. “Invest in business, because business is what creates jobs. We are interested in people being able to find jobs and the budget getting revenue to strengthen our capabilities on the battlefield,” summarized the head of state.
A number of other topical issues were also discussed, in particular Ukraine’s movement to NATO, the importance of further strengthening the sanctions pressure on Russia. Zelenski noted the activities of American charitable organizations, whose representatives were present at the meeting, focused on helping displaced people, rebuilding destroyed housing stock, providing medical care, and providing drinking water and food.

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USA to increase military aid to Ukraine by another $10bn

The head of the US Department of State’s Interagency Assistance Department, Daphne Rand, has confirmed that Washington intends to provide Ukraine with an additional $9.9bn in budget support.
“The U.S. has provided $13 billion in budget support to the government of Ukraine, and we are working with Congress to provide another $9.9 billion in the coming months,” Rand told reporters.
She added that Washington “remains committed to working with the government of Ukraine to maintain its operational capacity and provide additional budget support as needed.”
The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the U.S. government is working to have Congress approve an additional $10 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
The newspaper noted that the next military aid package is expected to be announced next week, almost simultaneously with the announcement of additional sanctions against Russia.
At the same time, the newspaper wrote that a number of U.S. officials who visited Ukraine recently told Kiev that despite promises to support Ukraine “as long as necessary,” Washington expects to use the aid already provided more effectively.
Rand did not say what was planned to be included in the new aid package to Kiev. At the same time, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on the sidelines of a contact group meeting on Ukraine’s defense in Brussels that the West’s current urgent task is to provide Kiev with air defense equipment.
“We know that Russia has a significant number of aircraft and a lot of capacity,” he told reporters. – That’s why we stressed that we need to do everything in our power to provide Ukraine with as much air defense capability as possible.”

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President of Ukraine thanks USA for supply of Avenger air defense system

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for a package of assistance, including Avenger air defense systems
“Thank you Joe Biden and friendly U.S. people for showing solidarity once again – an aid package including Avenger air defense systems and missiles for Hawk air defense systems. Together we’re building an air shield to protect Ukraine’s civilians. We’re bringing victory over the aggressor closer!” He said on Twitter on Thursday evening.

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US Congress approves bill to provide Ukraine with a $12.3 billion military aid package

The United States Congress on Friday approved a bill to provide Ukraine with a $12.3 billion military and economic aid package, The New Yorks Times reports.

“On Friday, Congress gave final approval to a short-term package that would allow the government to operate until mid-December and avoid a midnight shutdown, as well as send about $12.3 billion in military and economic assistance to Ukraine,” the statement said.

It clarifies that the House of Representatives passed the document less than 12 hours before the funding deadline and submitted it to President Biden for signature.

This will allow the government to work until December 16, giving lawmakers time to iron out significant disagreements over a dozen annual spending bills.

According to them, the package of said assistance includes the third tranche of assistance to Ukraine to fight Russia, in addition to the total amount of about $54 billion approved earlier this year.

“Following Friday’s vote, Congress has given Ukraine more military aid than any other country in a single year since the Vietnam War, signaling a remarkable bipartisan consensus in favor of pouring massive amounts of American resources into the fight as the country seeks to wrest much of its power from Russia. territory,” the reporters said.

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