5 posts
23 mins ago
Ukraine bans exports of key agricultural products
By Hannah Richie
The Ukrainian government will ban exports of key agricultural products including wheat, corn, cereals, salt and meat, according to a cabinet resolution approved on Tuesday.
According to the resolution, it is now "prohibited" to export from Ukraine oats, millet, buckwheat, sugar, salt, wheat, livestock, meat and livestock by-products.
"This means a de facto ban on exports," the cabinet statement said.
Ukrainian Food and Agrarian Policy Minister Roman Leshchenko said the measures had been taken "to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine" and "to meet the needs of the population for critical food products."
Wheat prices soar and other foods could be next to rise
Ukraine is one of the largest suppliers of agricultural products in Europe, according to data from the European Commission.
Combined, Russia and Ukraine are responsible for nearly 30% of global wheat exports, according to Gro Intelligence, an agricultural data analytics company.
27 mins ago
The "Big Four" consultancies withdraw from Russia
By Michelle Toh
The Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower, left, and St. Basil's Cathedral, center, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. (Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
International companies continue to disassociate themselves from Russia after its current invasion of Ukraine.
This includes several global consultancies, including the four largest in the world, which are Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Deloitte announced on March 7 that it would cease operations in Russia and Belarus.
The company said:
"While we know this is the right decision, it will impact the [approximately] 3,000 Deloitte professionals located in Russia and Belarus. Like others, we know that our colleagues in Russia and Belarus have no say in the actions of their government." ".
"We will support all affected colleagues during this transition and do everything we can to help them through this extremely difficult time," the company added.
EY, also known as Ernst & Young, also said it would remove its Russian practice from its official global network, but would allow it to "continue to work with clients as an independent group of audit and consulting firms."
"EY in Russia is a team of 4,700 professionals working in 9 cities in the country. The company has been operating in the Russian market for more than 30 years," the statement said.
Consulting and accounting firm KPMG International said its "Russian and Belarusian firms will leave the KPMG network."
"KPMG has more than 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus, and ending our employment relationship with them, many of whom have been with KPMG for many decades, is incredibly difficult," the company said.
"This decision has nothing to do with them: it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian government. We are a purpose and values-oriented organization that believes in doing the right thing."
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is also planning to divest its business in Russia.
"As a result of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian government, we have decided that under the circumstances, PwC should not have a member firm in Russia and accordingly PwC Russia will leave the network," said the "Four Large" in a statement.
"Our main goal at PwC remains to do everything we can to help our Ukrainian colleagues and support humanitarian efforts," he added.
"We are also committed to working with our colleagues at PwC Russia to deliver an orderly transition for the business, and with a focus on the well-being of our 3,700 colleagues at PwC Russia."
Another of the big firms, Accenture, is also going to stop its activity in Russia, since "it is with the people of Ukraine," he said.
The firm announced the move last week in a statement, thanking its "nearly 2,300 colleagues in Russia for their dedication and service to Accenture over the years."
"We will support our Russian colleagues," the company added.
30 mins ago
Evacuations of the city that houses the largest nuclear power plant in Europe begin
By Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych
Surveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during a shelling in Enerhodar, Ukraine, on March 4.
(Photo: Zaporizhzhya NPP/YouTube/Reuters)
The mayor of Enerhodar, recently attacked by Russian forces, has welcomed the announcement of a humanitarian corridor to and from the city.
Enerhodar is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which has been in the hands of Russian troops since they captured the facility late last week.
The heavy fighting that ensued during that attack drew international condemnation and raised fears of a possible nuclear incident.
"Insulin, some medicines and food will be delivered to Enerhodar," Mayor Dmytro Orlov said on Wednesday.
Orlov urged the women and children to join the convoy and leave.
The pace of evacuation from the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia has intensified since the plant's seizure, but millions of civilians remain trapped in grim conditions across Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military has agreed a 12-hour ceasefire with Russia on Wednesday to allow civilians to escape through humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said earlier.
33 mins ago
Ukraine accepts proposed humanitarian evacuation routes
By Tim Lister, Olga Voitovych
PRZEMYSL, POLAND - MARCH 08: People fleeing the war in Ukraine choose clothes from a donation point outside a temporary shelter that was a TESCO supermarket abandoned after being transported from the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 08, 2022 in Przemysl, Poland.
(Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)
The Ukrainian military agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire with Russia on Wednesday to allow civilians to escape through humanitarian corridors, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
Vereshchuk added that Prime Minister Denys Shmygal would talk to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday about the proposed routes for the ceasefire, which runs from 9 am to 9 pm local time.
"I appeal to the Russian Federation: it has made a formal public commitment," he said.
Vereshchuk said the ceasefire would allow civilians to escape through "green corridors" in the following areas:
Energodar-Zaporizhia
Sumy-Poltava
Mariupol-Zaporizhia
Volnovakha-Pokrovsk
Izium-Lozova
Vorzel, Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Gostomel-Kyiv
Vereshchuk highlighted two routes in particular: the evacuation of civilians from the port city of Mariupol and the eastern city of Volnovakha, both of which were surrounded by Russian forces for several days.
One of the worst faces of war: stories of children who became refugees
"Residents of Volnovakha turn to me and ask me to enforce the promise of the Russian Federation today, people must be able to leave the places where they are now hiding from the GRAD [rocket] rain and the devastating fire that is killing them. ", said.
Vereshchuk said there would also be a special operation to evacuate an orphanage near Kyiv, in the Vorzel suburb.
He said there were 55 children and 26 workers at the site.
34 mins ago
More than 1.3 million people have fled to Poland from Ukraine
By Hannah Richie
People who fled the war in Ukraine rest inside a temporary shelter after being transported from the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 8 in Przemysl, Poland.
(Omar Marques/Getty Images)
At least 1.33 million people have arrived in Poland from Ukraine since Russia launched its military invasion, Poland's embassy to the European Union tweeted on Wednesday, citing figures from the country's border guard agency.
“Among them, 93% are Ukrainians, 1% are Poles, and 6% are from 100 other different countries,” the post said.
On Tuesday alone, some 125,800 people crossed into Poland according to the agency.
This luxury restaurant in Poland is now serving thousands of meals to refugees from Ukraine
war in ukraine