Excerpts from the most important news on Ukraine
Support Ukraine and find a response to challenges from russia – Borrell
26.05.2020
The EU must support Ukraine and find an adequate response to challenges posed by russia, EU High Representative Josep Borrell said during the Annual German Ambassadors’ Conference 2020. The full text of his speech has been published on the website of the European External Action Service.“To the east, we must support Ukraine and strengthen ties with all Eastern Partners for sure. But we also need a frank discussion on how to handle a russia that feels emboldened to challenge important common European ...Grand jury in Cleveland investigates money laundering by Ihor Kolomoisky
21.05.2020
A US federal grand jury in Cleveland is investigating massive money laundering of PrivatBank deposits into US real estate by Ihor Kolomoisky, BuzzFeed News reports.Kolomoisky and his partners reportedly became the largest commercial real estate investors in Cleveland, owning 2.8 million square feet, including “a 484-room, luxury hotel in Cleveland with lakefront views and a 21-story office tower…with vaulted ceilings and murals that once featured the largest bank lobby in the world.This case could be a tough test for ...russia continues to fuel war in Donbas
20.05.2020
russia has delivered more than ten tanks, eight armored combat vehicles, and vehicles loaded with ammunition to Donbas, ukrinform.net reported.“Last week, three wagons of ammunition, including for weapons of banned caliber, more than ten tanks (three new and the rest – repaired ones), eight armored combat vehicles, and up to 30 vehicles loaded with ammunition for small arms and grenade launchers were delivered from russian territory through uncontrolled border areas to the occupation units,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Spokesman Mykhailo Sharavara ...Socar would like to store oil in Ukraine for as long as it takes for prices to revive
18.05.2020
With the world awash in oil, Azerbaijan’s Socar would like to store oil in Ukraine for one year, or as long as it takes for prices to revive, says Nikolay Gavrilenko, head of Naftogaz’s oil division, ubn.news reported.To do this, Ukraine’s Finance Ministry has to create a duty free customs warehouse regime, similar to the one used by gas traders in western Ukraine. Gavrilenko calculates that 2.7 million barrels could be stored in an unused pipeline that runs east from ...ZTE to become the first tenant of the technology park in Kharkiv
18.05.2020
ZTE at Mobile World Congress 2015 BarcelonaChina’s ZTE Corporation, a major telecom equipment manufacturer, signed an agreement yesterday to become the first tenant of Ecopolis KhTZ, the industrial and technology park in Kharkiv, ubn.news reported.Vice President Xue Bin said the project “is in tune with the main tasks of ZTE in Ukraine and in the global market.” He did not outline ZTE’s investment plans. With revenue last year of $12.5 billion, ZTE is a major manufacturer of 5G telecommunications systems ...Swedish furniture giant opens online store in Ukraine
16.05.2020
Swedish furniture, home appliance and accessories giant IKEA launched online sales in Ukraine on 14 May. The long-awaited arrival comes following years of speculation over IKEA’s plans to enter the Ukrainian market, bunews.com.ua reports.IKEA will initially offer a range of around 3,600 household goods in Ukraine, which can be ordered online via the company’s Ukrainian site. These goods can be delivered direct to Ukrainian homes or picked up at selected Auchan and Metro stores.The initial IKEA outlets were scheduled to open in ...Ukraine’s shopping centers lost $1.85 billion in sales during quarantine
13.05.2020
The first two months of quarantine cost Ukraine’s shopping centers $260 million in lost rents and cost their tenants $1.85 billion in turnover, the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers reports.According to Maxim Gavryushin head of the council at UCSC, food stores lost 15% in revenue, other shops 50% and more. For now, only a few stores have closed, because most shopping centers stopped charging rents.“I think we’ll slowly recover all throughout the year and reach pre-crisis levels in the ...Otto A. Waterlander appointed as Chief Operating Officer at Naftogaz
12.05.2020
The Naftogaz supervisory board has appointed Otto A. Waterlander as Chief Operating Officer, while retaining his current position as Naftogaz group Chief Transformation Officer, ubn.news reports.A native of Holland, Waterlander worked for Royal Dutch Shell in 1990s, then the energy practice at Booz Allen Hamilton. Before joining Naftogaz in January, he was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company where he co-led the global oil and gas practice.Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev said: “Otto Waterlander intensified and practically relaunched the transformation ...Ukraine’s international reserves reached $25.7 bn
11.05.2020
Ukraine’s international reserves grew by 3.1% in April, hitting $25.7 billion, reports the National Bank of Ukraine. International reserves now cover 4.5 months of future imports – sufficient for Ukraine to meet its obligations, and for the government and the NBU to make their current transactions.In March, as investors reacted to the coronavirus economic downturn, reserves dropped by 7.8%. In April, the central bank’s net purchase of foreign currency amounted to $679 million.Ukraine is planning to use nuclear power plants for mining cryptocurrencies
11.05.2020
Ukrainian nuclear plants are generating the surplus of electricity due to the COVID-19 lockdown. According to the Ministry of Energy, cryptocurrency mining can be a contemporary and efficient way to use excess energy.“With a surplus of nuclear generation, one of the modern tools for using excess electricity is to use for cryptocurrency mining. This not only allows to maintain the guaranteed load on the NPPs , but also allows companies to raise additional funding. It opens the way to ...Three russian spies were identified among diplomats in Norway
11.05.2020
The three diplomats at the russian embassy in Oslo were identified by Aftenposten as having links to a russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU .The Norwegian Police Intelligence Agency PST claims that the “real number” of intelligence agents operating in Norway is “much higher”.“We can confirm that russia’s intelligence service and the services of other countries are using their embassy as a cover for their intelligence officers,” said Hanne Blomberg, head of counterintelligence at PST. ...SBU detains russian spy who gathered intel on Ukrainian missile systems
08.05.2020
The Security Service of Ukraine has detained a Luhansk resident whom russian intelligence used as a human asset in gathering classified data on Ukrainian modern missile systems. The SBU says its counterintel operatives have thwarted another attempt by russian intelligence agencies to obtain secrets on promising military technology in the missile industry.Acting on the instructions of russia’s Federal Security Service , the perpetrator had established contacts with Ukrainian military servicemen in the Joint Forces Operation zone, who ...
