The United States bans the supply of luxury goods to Russia, complicates the purchase of expensive goods for oligarchs in the country, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday.
Referring to the measures against representatives of major Russian businesses, Biden said the U.S. Administration is also going to make it harder to buy luxury goods in the United States for Russians.
“We’re banning export of luxury goods to Russia,” the U.S. president said.
He also said that new names of billionaires from Russia and their families will be included to the U.S. sanctions lists.
In addition, this decision also applies to Belarus. The U.S. Department of Commerce released a statement saying that its Bureau of Industry and Security has imposed restrictions on the export, reexport and transfer (in country) of luxury goods to all end users in Russia and Belarus, as well as to certain “Russian and Belarusian oligarchs.”
This decision is expected to come into force on March 11.
Ookla (the United States), the developer of the Speedtest service for determining the speed of mobile Internet connection, recognized Kyivstar as a mobile operator with the highest average mobile Internet speed and the largest network coverage in Ukraine in the second half of 2021, according to an Ookla Speedtest report published on the Speedtest website.
According to it, in Ukraine, in July-December 2021, the company conducted more than 1.113 million tests, in which subscribers of all mobile operators participated. In particular, the total number of tests on the Kyivstar network amounted to 532,488 with an average download speed (download) of 31.33 Mbps and data transmission (upload) of 14.59 Mbps.
Some 283,798 tests were carried out on the Vodafone Ukraine network with an average download speed of 29.18 Mbps, transmission – 11.69 Mbps; on the lifecell network – 276,225 tests with an average download speed of 12.36 Mbps and an upload speed of 6.26 Mbps.
According to Ookla, Kyivstar’s Speed Score was 41.25 (34.65 in the first half of 2021), Vodafone Ukraine – 38.60 (32.05), and lifecell – 16.05 (15.24). This indicator includes data on the speed of Download and Upload data, regardless of the standard.
In general, in Ukraine, the application was launched on 293,180 unique devices, of which the top five in terms of popularity includes iPhone 11 (9,325 tests), iPhone 7 (7,922 tests), Redmi Note 8 Pro (7,537 tests), iPhone Xr (6,999 tests) and iPhone Pro Max 5G (6,741 tests).
In addition, as noted in the Ookla report, Kyivstar received the highest number of points when testing coverage in Speedtest – 623 (versus 595 in the first half of 2021). This assessment is formed on an analysis of the number of locations where operators provide their services and the quality of mobile communications in each of them. Vodafone Ukraine got 488 (versus 493 points), and lifecell – 338 (versus 321).
At the same time, compared to the results of the first half of 2021, the results of testing the networks of Ukrainian mobile operators deteriorated slightly. So, in January-June 2021, on the Kyivstar network, an average download speed was 33.2 Mbps, and an upload speed – 15.7 Mbps. On the Vodafone Ukraine network – 30.37 Mbps and 13.73 Mbps; on the lifecell network – 15.72 Mbps and 8.15 Mbps respectively.
At the same time, over the past year, Ukraine has significantly improved its position in the Speedtest Global Index, Ookla’s global rating of mobile Internet speed, climbing 15 positions at once, from 77th place in January 2021 to 62nd position in January 2022.
The increase in the average speed of mobile Internet in Ukraine is associated with an increase in the number of 4G users, according to Kyivstar.
Ookla is a leader in testing and analyzing fixed and mobile internet speeds. Every day, thanks to the application, users around the world perform more than 10 million tests. At the end of 2018 and 2019, Kyivstar has already been marked by the company as an operator with the highest average mobile Internet speed in Ukraine.
The United States does not intend to send its military to Ukraine, but provides financial assistance, U.S. President Joe Biden has said.
“We will not send troops in to fight in Ukraine, but we will continue to support the Ukrainian people. Some $460 million in aid: from Javelin missiles to ammunition. Also, $100 million is humanitarian aid and economic support for Ukraine,” Biden said during a press conference from the White House on Friday.
He added that earlier the United States had announced $100 million in guarantees a week earlier.
“Thus, the United States will provide assistance to the Ukrainian people,” he said.
The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution in support of Kyiv on Thursday evening, The Hill reports.
“This was a very significant resolution that we passed. It was led by Senators Shaheen [democrat Jeanne Shaheen] and Portman [republican Rob Portman] and sends a very strong message to Mr. Putin that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans of all different ideologies, are united in defending Ukraine in the ways that the administration sees fit,” the Hill quoted Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer as saying.
And the fate of the resolution was in limbo earlier Thursday after republican Sen. Rand Paul warned that he would object to quickly passing it without changes, The Hill said.
Because senators wanted to fast-track passage of the resolution, they needed buy-in from all 100 senators, it said.
According to The Hill, sponsors of the resolution made changes to address Paul’s concerns, including adding language specifying that the resolution, which is nonbinding, was not meant to be viewed as authorization for the use of military force against Russia or authorizing U.S. troops for Ukraine.
The resolution was adopted due to the fact that senators could not agree on a bipartisan bill on sanctions against Russia initiated by Democrat Bob Menendez.
At the same time, Republicans in the Senate on Tuesday unveiled their own bill on sanctions against Russia.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine continues to operate in Kyiv, member companies of the business association also continue to do business and have business continuity plans in place already for several years, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine Andy Hunder has said.
“The American Chamber of Commerce team continues to operate in Kyiv. We are constantly in touch with our members, Ukraine’s government, and the US Embassy. This continuous dialogue and communication have been a strategic pillar of the American Chamber of Commerce for the past 30 years in Ukraine,” Hunder said in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine.
He said that American Chamber of Commerce member companies have had business continuity plans in place already for several years, which are being regularly reviewed and updated.
“American Chamber of Commerce member companies continue to operate in Ukraine, contributing to the country’s economy, having already invested over $50 billion in the country, employing people, and contributing to the state budget,” the president of the business association said.
The main staff of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has moved to Lviv, a U.S. State Department official said.
“The main staff of the embassy has moved to Lviv to continue our important work in supporting Ukraine and finding a diplomatic solution to this crisis, which, of course, Russia has created,” the official told Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
