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Eastern Europe
August 25, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
The net loss of transport SOEs fell to UAH268mn in 2016 from UAH9.1bn in 2015. The main culprit in this sector is the state-owned rail company Ukrzaliznytsia. However, the Polish-born CEO Wojciech Balczun managed to halve the losses, which fell to UAH7.3bn from UAH16.8bn over the period. Despite this sterling record, Balczun was recently been forced out of the company. The one asset in the transport sector that is doing well
is the Boryspil International Airport, which saw profits double to UAH1.4bn over the period.
Other SOEs that did badly was the post office Ukrposhta, which posted losses of UAH161mn.
The coal industry is also struggling, as it has been the most affected by the fighting in the east. Revenues were down by a quarter in the period.
Net revenue of chemical industry enterprises in 2016 decreased by 40% to UAH9.6bn, while net loss amounted to UAH2.3bn compared with profit of UAH432mn in 2015, Interfax reported. The big nut here is the Odessa Port Plant, which was supposed to be sold off in a privatization but has been closed down as no buyer can be found. OPP net financial loss reached UAH3bn compared with profit of UAH211mn in 2015.
Russia condemns US decision to restrict issuing of visas
bne IntelliNews
The US embassy in Russia has retaliated to the cutting of its diplomatic mission by restricting the issuance of visas to Russians, prompting a swift condemnation by the Kremlin.
A US embassy statement said non-immigrant visas would no longer be issued at the three US consulates in Russia, only at the Moscow embassy from September 1.
The move was seen as a response to Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin’s angry reaction to the new round of sanctions pushed through by the US Senate, which was to demand the expulsion of 755 US diplomats.
The US embassy said it would stop issuing tourist, business, student, and other visas in the consulates of St Petersburg, Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok, while the visa screening interview waiting times would be prolonged to over two months. Priority visa screening will be granted to officials heading to UN offices, family emergencies, participation in court proceedings, and current students in the US, it said.
Belarusian citizens will also be affected, as they will be unable to apply for visas in Moscow, and would have to turn to US embassies in Warsaw, Kyiv or Vilnius instead (visas for Ukraine are not required for Belarusian citizens).
The number of Russians that visited the US peaked at 0.343mn people in the pre-crisis 2014, dropping to 0.253mn peopke in 2016.
“Amercian authors of these decisions have once again attempted to provoke discontent among Rus- sian citizens with the actions of Russian authorities,” Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov commented, adding that “this is the logic of those who organise colour revolutions”. Lavrov pledged not to “take it out on the US citizens” in retaliation for the US actions.
Unnamed sources of news agency RBC familiar with the situation in the US embassies claim that Russian employees of the US diplomatic mission will have to quit, fearing pressure and persecution from the security services.