Page 61 - UKRRptNov23

partners sectors for demining. In particular, Switzerland will allocate more than €100M over the next four years, the Ministry of Economy reported. In addition, the Government of Switzerland plans to hold the Second International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining of Ukraine next year. As Minister of Economy Yuliya Svyridenko said, Ukraine strives to clear its territory of mines as soon as possible and return these lands to economic productivity. Currently, more than 170,000 hectares are potentially contaminated. Also, Ukraine wants to offer partners the ability to take under their patronage specific directions or areas in which to concentrate their work. “We will form and offer partners ‘package’ directions, for example, demining of critical infrastructure, electrical networks, forests, underwater demining, etc.,” clarified Svyridenko. It should be noted that 34 partner states confirmed a total amount of €500M for Ukraine’s demining at the dedicated conference in Zagreb.
Estonian government approves transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. The Estonian government has approved a draft law that, if passed by parliament, will allow frozen Russian assets to be.
Hungary aims to conclude financing talks with the European Union by the end of November to unlock billions of euros worth of funding suspended due to concerns over democratic standards, the country's top negotiator said on October 17. Senior European Union officials said this month that the EU was considering unlocking billions of euros for Hungary that were frozen over rule-of-law concerns as it seeks to win Budapest's approval for aid to Ukraine including a start to membership talks for Kyiv.
Germany pledges further $210 million for Ukraine reconstruction. These funds will be used for the restoration of Ukraine's healthcare, education, drinking water supply, and for urban reconstruction, Germany's State Secretary for Development Jochen Flasbarth said.
Hungary again blocks Ukraine aid over OTP Bank. Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention provisionally removed OTP and five Greek shipping companies from the list in the hope that this would "lead to Hungary's unblocking of 500 million euros of vital EU military aid for the Ukrainian people, and will also eliminate the possibility of Greece blocking the future EU sanctions package" against Russia.
Germany's budget lacks vital aid for Ukraine. As Bild writes, in the draft budget for 2024 German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner has set aside only a small amount to help Ukraine. In this regard, the Federal Ministry of defence has called for a review of the draft budget. It is noted that only €120M is provided for Ukraine, although the Ministry of defence expects that Kyiv will need €5.22B in 2024. The Bundeswehr should allocate €880M for air defence, €675M for armored combat vehicles, €390M for training, €935M for protective equipment, €2.34B for repairs, spare parts, and logistics. The budget also does not include €525M to replace equipment that has already been transferred. The budget should be finally approved in mid-November while negotiations will continue. "We must keep our word. It should not be the case that we run out of funds when it comes to helping Ukraine," said a member of the defence budget committee, Andreas Schwartz.
61 UKRAINE Country Report November 2023 www.intellinews.com