Excerpts from the most important news on Ukraine
russian special services planned to kill ex-commander of Ukrainian army battalion
10.01.2020
Counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has prevented in Kharkiv an attempt to kill a former combat commander of an intelligence unit of a Ukrainian Armed Forces battalion, which was organized by russian special services, SBU reports.“SBU operatives established that russian special services involved a Kharkiv resident, who had previously served in the National Guard of Ukraine but had been dismissed due to compromising circumstances, to commit the crime. The Kharkiv resident received the task during his short ...Snapchat acquires Ukrainian startup for $166M
08.01.2020
Snapchat has acquired Ukrainian startup AI Factory for $166 million, reports AIN.UA.AI Factory startup was founded in 2018 and operated in stealth mode by entrepreneur Viktor Shaburov, whose previous startup – Looksery was also acquired by Snap Inc. for $150 million in 2015. With three offices in San Francisco, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia, the company employs 70 people.The company was developing a feature that was integrated into the Snapchat application as a result of the deal. The feature is called Cameos ...Ukraine to supply Turkish armed forces with 500 engines for military drones
08.01.2020
Zaporizhia’s Ivchenko-Progress design bureau has won a $600 million contract to supply the Turkish armed forces with 500 engines through the 2020s, reports Defense Express.The Ukrainian state company will supply AI-450 turboprop engines to Turkey’s new Akinci military drone, and AI-25 turbojet engines to a yet unmanned fighter.As was earlier reported, in 2019 Ukraine signed an agreement to purchase Turkish combat UAVsEssilorLuxottica gets green light to acquire Ukraine’s largest eyewear network
08.01.2020
Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee has given the green light to the acquisition of Ukraine’s largest eyewear network Luxoptica by EU spectacles industry giant EssilorLuxottica, UkraineInvest reports.French-Italian EssilorLuxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of lenses, frames and sunglasses, and is best known for brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley.The company was created in 2017 when French Essilor acquired Italy’s Luxottica Group in a deal worth a reported EUR 22.8 billion that created the largest lenses manufacturer in the ...Ukraine increased its grain exports 34% y-o-y
06.01.2020
During the first half of the grain marketing year, Ukraine increased its grain exports 34% y-o-y, to 31.1 million tons, reports the Economy, Trade, and Agriculture Ministry.Export leaders for the July-December period were: wheat: 15 million tons, corn 12 million tons, rye 5 million tons, and barley 3.7 million tons.Ukraine harvested a record 75.2 million tons of grain this year, up 7% over last year.Deutsche Bank’s loans to Trump were underwritten by russian state-owned bank
04.01.2020
Deutsche Bank’s loans to Donald Trump were underwritten by russian state-owned VTB Bank, according to the whistleblower whose collection of thousands of bank documents and internal communications have captured the recent attention of federal investigators, forensicnews.net reports.Val Broeksmit acquired the emails and files of his late father, Deutsche Bank executive William S. Broeksmit, after Broeksmit tragically took his own life in 2014.Val informed the FBI in late 2019 about his knowledge of VTB’s underwriting of Trump’s loans,information he attributed to a network of sources connected ...Ukraine will provide a monetary reward to corruption whistleblowers
03.01.2020
Ukraine’s new law amending anti-graft legislation and introducing “corruption whistleblowers” has entered into force. The law is set to protect and provide financial incentives to whistleblowers who report corruption-related offenses.The Ukrainian government will provide a monetary reward to whistleblowers for important tips that will help investigate high-profile corruption-related crimes where damage incurred to the state budget exceeds UAH 10 million.The whistleblower’s remuneration amounts to 10% of the monetary amount of a subject of corruption offense or the amount ...Ukrainian, Crimean-Tatar Language Learning Being Squeezed Out of Crimea
03.01.2020
The last remaining Ukrainian-language school in russian-occupied Crimea doesn’t provide instruction in the eastern Slavic language, Eskender Bariyev, head of the Crimean-Tatar Resource Center, told RFE/RL in a radio interview on January 1. The school is registered in the southeastern coastal town of Feodosiya and, according to Bariyev, local residents say the Ukrainian language isn’t taught there.About 3 percent of 200,700 schoolchildren there were taught in the Crimean-Tatar language in 2018-2019, the peninsula’s education authority reports. Bariyev noted that the status of ...Naftogaz, Gazprom sign five-year gas transit contract
02.01.2020
Following Ukraine-russia-European Union talks, the parties signed a new contract for gas transit to Europe, Ukrinform reports.“Our team has defended Ukraine’s national interests. This will have a positive impact on energy markets and will be a significant factor in reducing gas prices in the market. Ukraine has once again proven to its European partners that it is a reliable partner that fulfills its obligations and guarantees energy security in the region,” Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk posted on Facebook.The ...Only 45% of working-age population in Ukraine officially employed
30.12.2019
Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Tymofiy Mylovanov has stated that only 12.8 million of working-age people in Ukraine are officially employed.“Only 12.8 million of 28.5 million of working-age people work officially, they have protection guarantees of their labor rights,” said Mylovanov at a briefing on December 27, Ukrinform reports.He added that 15.7 million people are currently unprotected in Ukraine, namely illegal workers that work without employment contracts, migrant workers that left Ukraine, able-bodied retired persons, unemployed people, people ...Gazprom pays Ukraine $2.9 bln under Stockholm arbitration court ruling
30.12.2019
Ukraine has received $2.918 billion from Gazprom under a ruling of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.“Yes, Ukraine has received $2.918 billion from Gazprom in accordance with a ruling of the Stockholm arbitration court! Details will be disclosed later,” wrote , Executive Director of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko on Facebook.“We confirm the receipt of $2.918 billion from Gazprom as compensation for the implementation of a Stockholm arbitration award of 2018. Today’s payment from Gazprom includes ...Post-Brexit agreement with UK is 75% ready
30.12.2019
“With regard to our priorities for the next year, we want to finish the negotiations on the agreement. This is a matter of several months,” Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Natalia Halibarenko said in an interview with Ukrinform.According to her, the parties seek to prepare a document that will regulate relations between the two countries for the next 10-20 years and form a free trade area.The ambassador informed that ...
