ArcelorMittal remains committed to Ukraine and believes in its future, despite the huge difficulties in the work of its own mining and smelting plant, ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog (AMKR), caused by full-scale armed aggression of Russia, said Vijay Goyal, ArcelorMittal executive vice president and CEO of ArcelorMittal CIS.
“Every day we lose more than $1 million. 10% of our staff is at war, 67 people died defending the country… But I not only hope, but I believe that we will come out victorious. We are willing, able and ready to rebuild,” he said at a business forum on the rapid reconstruction of Ukraine in Luxembourg organized by the Ukrainian-Luxembourg Business Club.
ArcelorMittal board member Michel Wurth noted that since buying Krivorozhstal in a privatization tender in 2005, more than $10 billion has been invested in Ukraine in total, and in 2021 the plant, which employs 26,000 people, was a record producer.
“We remain committed to Ukraine, to its people, and we plan to participate in the rebuilding of Ukraine as quickly as possible,” he stressed
Goyal noted that the management and staff of AMKR set an incredible example of indestructibility, organizing the work of the enterprise during blackouts, without access to the Black Sea ports, during shelling.
According to him, ArcelorMittal counts on the high quality of state administration after the war, continued anti-corruption efforts, efficient infrastructure, as well as the provision of security conditions given the large number of weapons in the country.
For its part, he said, the company is exploring all opportunities to better integrate AMKR into the global market and bring new technologies to Ukraine.
For his part, Wurth added that the issue of public-private partnerships and attracting financing remains important.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns in Ukraine the largest mining and metallurgical plant “ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog” and a number of small companies, in particular PJSC “ArcelorMittal Beryslav”.
Raiffeisen Bank (Kyiv)’s profit in 2022 amounted to UAH 1.5 billion, which is 3 times less than in 2021 (UAH 4.6 billion), the bank’s press service said on Wednesday.
According to the press release, the bank’s operating profit almost doubled to UAH 11.4 billion.
In addition, the bank increased allocations to reserves to cover war-related risks by UAH 9.5 billion.
According to the bank, the share of non-performing assets in its loan portfolio increased to 14%, and the lost income from commission and interest operations, in particular from the abolition of fees and the introduction of “credit customers”, is estimated at UAH 400 million.
It is noted that the financial institution’s liabilities portfolio grew by 35% over the year at the expense of individuals and legal entities, which allowed the bank to increase its share in the liabilities market by 0.8 percentage points to 7.8%.
It is also noted that the bank’s total loan portfolio increased by 1% to UAH 71.39 billion.
At the same time, according to the press service, Raiffeisen Bank focused on lending to critical sectors of the economy, namely the agricultural sector, logistics and retail, pharmaceuticals and fuel supply.
In 2022, the bank issued UAH 10 billion of new loans using its own funds and participation in government programs, declared and transferred UAH 1.9 billion of taxes and fees.
In addition, in 2022, the financial institution increased the volume of cash foreign currency imports into the country by 4 times and helped to return to Ukraine more than UAH 1.2 billion of cash exchanged by Ukrainians abroad for local currencies.
“In 2022, Raif bought $2.5 billion more from its customers than it sold, which is four times more than in 2021. The bank sold most of this currency on the interbank market, thereby reducing the need for the NBU to sell currency from Ukraine’s foreign exchange reserves,” the statement said.
According to the report, in 2022, Raiffeisen Bank invested UAH 370 million in uninterrupted operation, providing 42% of its network, or 120 branches, with generators. The financial institution also increased staff support by UAH 271 million, retaining the salaries of 150 mobilized employees, and allocated UAH 220 million of its own funds for humanitarian aid to war victims.
The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPK) has put the American corporation Procter&Gamble (P&G) on the list of international sponsors of war, its website says.
“Unfortunately, due to the low moral threshold, hundreds of foreign companies remain operating in the Russian market, thereby financing the army and military-industrial complex of the aggressor state. Among the companies we know, besides P&G, there are already OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd, Minerva Marine Inc., Thenamaris Ships Management, Delta Tankers Ltd, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. eKassir, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry and Bonduelle. All information about their activities is transmitted to the international company LSEG and is included in the database World-Check to protect the international financial industry from the sponsors of the Russian war”, – the press service quotes the words of the NAPC chairman Alexander Novikov.
The reason for inclusion in the list of sponsors of war was the fact that, working in Russia, the company pays taxes to the Russian state budget and contributes to the mobilization measures.
In March 2022 P&G announced about reduction of assortment in the Russian market and promised to leave only products for health and hygiene. In August it was reported that it was no longer investing in business development in Russia. However, P&G is developing its business in Russia, in particular a household chemicals factory, the world’s largest producer of P&G detergents, and a plant making razor blades and shaving irons for Gillette are still operating in Russia. The company provides jobs for about 2,500 Russians.
P&G owns such subsidiaries and brands as Gillette, Fairy, Tide, Ariel, Lenor, Mr. Proper, Pampers, Always, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Old Spice, Hugo Boss, Max Factor and others.
In March 2022, after announcing the reduction of its presence on the Russian market, P&G raised prices for its own products in Russia by 40%, which almost offset the loss of revenue from the reduction of the brand portfolio. According to the company’s 2022 report, this price hike boosted the company’s organic sales in Russia.
In addition, the company promotes mobilization, because under new Russian law, corporations operating in Russia are forced to participate in mobilization activities, assist in recruiting employees to the army and finance their military equipment.
Source: https://sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/boycott/14/
Since the start of the full-scale war, 140-150 thousand Ukrainians have come to the UK, the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK Vadym Pristayko said.
“About 200 thousand visas have been issued. Reached British shores about 140-150 thousand. This figure fluctuates: someone has to go back to Ukraine, someone settled for a longer period, children went to school. All the Ukrainians who came here received financial assistance, they are connected to free programs, to the health care system. I am sure Ukrainians feel protected. There are many opportunities for employment,” Prystayko said at a briefing at the Ukraine Media Center.
According to some estimates, as the ambassador noted, “already half of all adult Ukrainians who have moved here have some kind of job.
Civilian casualties from February 24, when Russia launched its war against Ukraine, to November 13 totaled 16,631 civilians (16,462 a week earlier), including 6,557 deaths (6,490), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Monday.
“Most of the recorded civilian deaths or injuries were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide area of impact, including heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers, as well as rocket and air strikes,” the document said of the UN data.
This applies, for example, to such settlements as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Izyum (Kharkiv region), Lysychansk, Popasna, and Severodonetsk (Luhansk region), where numerous civilian deaths or injuries have been reported.
According to confirmed UN data, 2,559 men, 1,752 women, 204 boys and 170 girls were killed, while the gender of 34 children and 1,838 adults could not yet be determined.
The 1,074 wounded included 297 boys and 208 girls, and 245 children whose sex could not yet be determined.
Compared to the figures of 6 November, five children were killed and five others wounded.
Whereas previously the OHCHR Daily Casualty Report was issued on a daily basis and then only on weekdays, it has become a weekly report since July. This summary, like the previous one, provides data by month.
According to them, March remains the deadliest month for civilians, with at least 3,326 deaths. In April, the number of civilian deaths due to the war dropped to 702, in May to 473, in June to 374 and in July to 360, according to the OHCHR publication. There were 355 deaths in the first five days of the war from February 24 to 28, 305 in August, 312 in September, 284 in October and 66 in the first 14 days of November, the UN points out.
The number of wounded in September – 926 – was higher than in October – 783 and August – 895 and slightly lower than in previous months – July – 1,100, June – 1,030, May – 1,016, while in April and March there were 1,254 and 2,410 wounded respectively.
According to the report, 61 people died and 173 others were wounded from large-area explosive weapons in November, while mines and explosive remnants of war killed five people and wounded 25 (11 percent of total casualties).
Government-controlled territories accounted for 81 percent of the casualties in November, according to the UN.
The summary traditionally states that the increase in numbers to the previous summary should not be attributed only to cases after November 6, as the Office verified a number of cases from previous days during that period.
If the war drags on, the maximum number of emigrants from Ukraine may reach 5 million citizens, said Ella Libanova, director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
“(…) In addition to the 1.2 million who are already abroad, Ukraine may additionally lose at least 500-600 thousand people. The maximum number of emigrants can reach 5 million. This scenario will become real if the war drags on. Under such conditions, there is the risk that after the lifting of martial law, men will start moving in with Ukrainian women with children,” Libanova said during a seminar on Tuesday.
It is noted that in the period from February 24 to September 19, about 8.4 million people left Ukraine. During the same period of time, 7.2 million people entered. At the moment, 1.2 million people from Ukraine are abroad.
“A significant part of them, except for women with children, are small border traffic, business trips, vacations, the departure of foreigners in the first days of the war, crossing borders for the purpose of preferential import of cars, etc.,” said the director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research.
She also noted that “if this wave of emigrants stays in Europe for more than a year, there is a risk that the majority will not return home,” due to the fact that a significant part of the Ukrainians who left are children, and “there is fierce competition for labor resources in the world. Europe is aging more than Ukraine and is compensating for this aging with emigrants.”
“People should feel like Ukrainians and maintain ties with Ukraine. This requires efforts both at the level of the state and local communities, communities, gardens, employers. It is important that employers keep the employment of workers who left Ukraine. Otherwise, after the war, we will lose labor force” , – emphasize at the Institute of Demography and Social Research.
