Diia.Business in Warsaw, lending to farmers, and resumption of Škoda production: Highlights on war in Ukraine as of May 12

Author

Yulia Ustymovych

The 78th day of the war against Russian invaders continues in Ukraine. On May 12, negotiations continue on the evacuation of the seriously wounded soldiers from Azovstal, the Ministry of Digital Transformation will open a support center for Ukrainian entrepreneurs in Warsaw, and the EU has adopted the provision of the second tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 600 million euros. has compiled business, political and economic news that will help you learn more about the situation in the country that has been fighting for its right to exist for more than two months.

Top news on war as of May 12:

Tetiana Lomakina, coordinator of actions on humanitarian corridors of the Office of the President, says that negotiations on evacuating medical personnel and the wounded from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant continue. In turn, Iryna Vereshchuk, the Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, specifies that negotiations are currently ongoing on the evacuation of only 38 seriously wounded servicemen from the territory of the plant.
On May 17, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, and MasterCard will open a center in Warsaw, temporarily, until the war is over, to support the Diia.Business entrepreneurs. As the Ministry of Digital Transformation reports on its Telegram channel, this decision was made due to numerous requests. In this center, Ukrainians will be able to: consult on obtaining refugee status or other legal grounds for staying on the territory of Poland; receive information about living and employment in Poland; find out how to open a business in Poland.
The European Union has taken the decision necessary to provide Ukraine with the second tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of 600 million euros, which Kyiv will receive on May 20. Dana Spinant, representative of the European Commission, announced this in Brussels. "Yesterday, a decision was taken necessary to allocate the second part of the urgent macro-financial assistance program for Ukraine and borrow funds from the capital market. This is the second part in the amount of 600 million euros and the allocation of this amount is expected before May 20," she said.

Top news on politics as of May 12

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services passed a bill on assistance to Ukraine in servicing the debt, reducing it and raising financing on concessional terms. The legislative initiative was supported by 362 Congressmen, 56 opposed. It was passed along with a package of anti-Russian bills providing for the imposition of various sanctions against Moscow.
The Verkhovna Rada on Thursday approved with 334 votes the Decree of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dated May 11 on the forced seizure of assets of Sberbank of Russia and VEB.RF in Ukraine. As MP Oleksiy Honcharenko clarified, this refers to the financial assets of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank — the International Reserve Bank in the amount of 5.8 billion UAH and the subsidiary of VEB.RF Prominvestbank — 4.5 billion UAH.

Top news on economy as of May 12

At the annual meeting and business forum in Marrakesh, Morocco, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has received commitments heading towards €1 billion in donor funds to support its response to the war on Ukraine, the bank’s report reads.
On May 9, the state-owned PrivatBank began accepting requests for financing the purchase of fixed assets for a total amount of 500 million UAH, which include agricultural machinery, commercial vehicles, and special equipment. The launch of the corresponding program is reported in a press release from financial institutions.

Top news on business on May 12

Startup Reface establishes Reface Fund to raise funds to meet the humanitarian needs of Ukrainians. The fund will focus on supporting small volunteer units. This was announced by the Reface co-founder and CEO Dmytro Shvets. Unofficially, the startup has been collecting donations from the team, investors, and partners for some time now. According to Shvets, the amount of funds raised reached $180,000.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has closed transfers and withdrawals of money to foreign banks for Russians, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said.
From June 2022, the factory Eurocar will resume the production of ŠKODA cars that was suspended with the outbreak of Russia's military aggression in Ukraine, the company's press service reports.

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