Business Update: Germany lends Ukraine 150 million euros to fight coronavirus

President Zelensky and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have agreed on a 150 million euro loan from Germany to help Ukraine in its fight against COVID-19. The funds are allocated under a German state loan program, seperate from 40 million euros from the European Investment Bank, and 80 million from the European Commission that have already been agreed. It is understood that the funds will likely be for healthcare and social payments. 

Merkel noted that a new Ukrainian law on an agricultural land market and a new banking law that protects insolvent banks from former owners were important for Germany, as well as Ukraine’s other partners.  Germany, which has so far proven itself to be one of the most successful countries in Europe at battling the coronavirus,  has noted that other countries need to do more. “The parties discussed the situation around the spread of coronavirus in the world, as well as practical measures taken in both countries to counter the pandemic. It was agreed to work out the possibility of establishing information exchange related to the pandemic, in particular regarding medical standards introduced to treat the disease,” the Ukrainian government stated. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine seeks to arrange a $150 million loan with the IBRD to increase social payments to Ukrainians. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft decree for the president to send a delegation of Ukraine to negotiate with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on the provision of a $150 million loan to be used to increase social payments.

The Silpo supermarket chain has allocated UAH 100 million (about $3.6 million) to purchase medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical personnel in Ukraine as part of the fight against coronavirus. It’s one of the largest donations by a private Ukrainian company yet, but Silpo is not alone. Among other donations, Vodafone Ukraine said it donated $1 million and bought 4 lung ventilators, PrivatBank said it has bought 28 ventilators, grain giant Kernel donated about $3 million, while the mining and metals company Ferrexpo donated $2.5 million. But the supermarket chain Epicenter appears to be leading the pack in Ukraine, with donations that total almost $5.4 million so far. 

The Ukrainian government plans to create ‘many jobs’ in the next few weeks, the prime minister has said. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers is developing a program to create jobs for those who have come from abroad or have lost their jobs due to restrictive measures introduced in the country. “We plan to create many jobs in just a few weeks. In particular, we need people to repair roads, pave sidewalks, clean up territories. There are many different jobs,” said Shmygal.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry won’t agree to any more evacuations, minister Avakov has said. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will no longer agree to charter flights for the evacuation of Ukrainians from abroad during quarantine, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said. “The ministry… will not give consent to any aviation charter any more. Passenger air traffic is closed. Exceptions will be rare and only by a separate decision – with 100% observation under the supervision of medical doctors…” he wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday night.

The Ukrzaliznytsia state railway has launched free railway transportation for medical workers, Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Vladyslav Krykliy said on his Telegram channel on Tuesday. “All transportation costs will be on the company. Rides for medical employees will be free of charge. The issue of transportation of medical workers has been approved by the Infrastructure Ministry,” he said.

The authorities have banned the advertisement of non-existent ‘coronavirus cures’ in Ukraine. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has warned pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, advertising agencies, television channels and other media outlets against advertising any medications as treatment for the novel coronavirus. 

A new Poll shows that 60% of Ukrainians are suffering financial losses from economic slowdown. More than half of Ukrainians have been earning less money since Ukraine imposed a nationwide quarantine meant to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country, according to polling company Info Sapiens.

The EU does not recognize a Kremlin decree that bans non-Russian citizens from owning land in Crimea. “The European Union does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, which is a clear violation of international law. Therefore, the European Union does not recognize this decree, which is yet another attempt to forcibly integrate the illegally-annexed peninsula into Russia. Crimea is a part of Ukraine,” reads a statement of the spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy posted on the website of EU External Action Service on Wednesday.