Business news from Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS: NUMBER OF REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE REACH 3 MLN

Russia’s military offensive against Ukraine forced 2.952 million people to leave the country in 19 incomplete days of the war in search of safety, protection and assistance, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said as of 13:00 (Kyiv time) on March 14.
The Office said the Ukrainian-Polish border accounted for 60.7% of all refugees.
According to the UNHCR, the number of refugees from Ukraine to Poland since February 24, when Russia started the war, has reached 1.791 million.
Romania received 453,430 people, of which 250,800 people were in transit through Moldova, the department said.
According to it, some 263,890 people arrived in Hungary, some 213,000 in Slovakia, some 86,380 in Moldova.
According to the UNHCR, the flow of refugees from Ukraine to Russia amounted to 142,990, to Belarus (data for March 13) some 1,230.
“As the situation continues to evolve, about 4 million people may leave Ukraine,” the UNHCR said.
According to its estimation two days ago, there are now at least 1.85 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine and another 12.65 million directly affected by the war.
UNHCR said that by the middle of 2021 there were 53,470 Ukrainian refugees in the world who applied for the appropriate status, of which 36,490 were in Europe.
As of the middle of 2020, the UNHCR estimated the Ukrainian diaspora in the world at 6.1 million, including 5 million in Europe.
The organization said the right to free movement within the Schengen area means that there are very few border controls in the European Union, so arrivals in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia only reflect border crossings in these countries, however, according to the UN, a large number of people moved to other countries.
In addition, UNHCR does not take into account persons from border countries who leave Ukraine and return home.

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CHRONICALLY ILL CHILDREN FROM UKRAINE TRANSFERRED FROM POLAND TO ITALY

The European Union coordinated the first MEDEVAC operation for transferring Ukrainian children with chronic diseases from Poland to Italy, the European Commission said in a statement.
“The operation was financially and operationally supported by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and is part of the European solidarity mechanism for intra-EU medical transfers of refugees and displaced people,” it said.
The operation was carried out by an Italian medical team at the request of and in close cooperation with Poland.

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FRANCE CAN ACCOMMODATE UP TO 100,000 REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE

French authorities have the necessary resources to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine on their territory, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday.
“Today, we can host up to 100,000 refugees. This has become possible thanks to the considerable efforts of the state and local authorities,” Le Figaro quoted him as saying.
“We continue to work on scenarios under which we can accept even more people,” the minister said.
The newspaper notes that about 13,500 Ukrainian refugees are currently registered in France.

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CHINESE RED CROSS AND COMPANIES PROVIDE AID TO UKRAINE

On March 14, the third batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine from the Chinese Red Cross Society will be shipped from Poland, and on March 15 it will be delivered to Lviv, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine.
Earlier, the first and second batches of humanitarian aid from China were transferred to Ukraine in transit through Romania and Hungary, respectively.
In addition, given the lack of food for residents of some regions of Ukraine, recently Chinese enterprises that have been operating in Ukraine for many years began to use their canteens and equipment for making bread and processing buckwheat. Food products are sold at cost to local residents who come and go shopping in droves, the embassy said.

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AMBASSADOR OF UKRAINE TO ISRAEL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST LOCAL INTERIOR MINISTRY REGARDING ACCEPTING REFUGEES

Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Israel against the actions of the Israeli government and personally Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on the issue of accepting refugees from Ukraine.

The suit, according to ITV channel 12, alleges that Minister Shaked violates the agreements reached earlier by Jerusalem and Kyiv on a visa-free regime, using “vague language” for this. The ambassador noted that he decided to resort to filing a lawsuit after all diplomatic options had been exhausted to protect Ukrainian citizens seeking asylum from the war.

The lawsuit focuses on the fact that the Interior Minister of Israel does not have the authority to make a sole decision on the issue of accepting refugees from Ukraine; the plaintiffs believe that this issue should be decided by the government of the Jewish state in close cooperation with the Knesset commission on international affairs.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry extended the period of stay in Israel for Ukrainian tourists legally staying in the country by two months.

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UKRAINE TAKES SECOND PLACE AT PARALYMPICS IN BEIJING

Ukrainian athletes have earned record 29 medals at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.
“The national team of Ukraine has put a golden end to its performance at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing. On the final day of the competition, our athletes won the victory in cross-country skiing in the 4×2.5 km open relay,” the press service of the National Olympic Committee said.
In particular, Dmytro Suyarko (guide Oleksandr Nikonovych), Hryhoriy Vovchynsky, Vasyl Kravchuk and Anatoliy Kovalevsky (guide Oleksandr Mukshyn) brought Ukraine 11th gold and a total of 29th medal in Beijing 2022. “This is an absolute record for Ukraine at the Winter Paralympics,” the Committee stressed.
Thus, Ukraine takes the second place at the Paralympics with 11 gold, ten silver and eight bronze medals.

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