Defense chief: 1 million people defending Ukraine

A cleanup crew prepares to work at the site of an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 29. (EMILIO MORENATTI / AP)

KYIV – Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Friday that about 1 million people are participating in defending Ukraine, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported.

Some 700,000 soldiers of Ukraine's Armed Forces, 100,000 officers of the National Police, 90,000 members of the National Guard and 60,000 border guards are involved in the activities of the security and defense sector in Ukraine, Reznikov said.

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Ukraine is interested in attracting more investment in its military-industrial complex and creating joint ventures with partners to meet the needs of the defense forces, the minister said.

Due to the conflict with Russia, Ukraine has become a kind of "huge training facility" where new types of weapons and innovative solutions are used, Reznikov noted.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict started on Feb 24.  

The Ukrainian flag flutters between buildings in the Ukrainian town of Borodianka in the Kyiv region on April 17, 2022. (SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP)

Ensuing financial stability

The new aid of 1 billion euros that was approved by the European Parliament for Kyiv on Thursday will be used to ensure Ukraine's financial stability, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said.

The European Union Macro-Financial Assistance will be directed to the financing of priority budgetary needs and, in general, to ensuring financial stability in Ukraine.

Ukraine's Finance Ministry

"The European Union Macro-Financial Assistance will be directed to the financing of priority budgetary needs and, in general, to ensuring financial stability in Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament voted to support the European Commission's proposal to provide Ukraine with 1 billion euros in fresh aid to cover the country's urgent budgetary needs.

The decision to allocate new aid for Ukraine was announced by the European Commission on July 1. It must also be supported by the Council of the EU to come into force.

In April, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine needs 5 billion dollars a month to fulfill all social and humanitarian obligations amid the conflict with Russia.

Ukraine has received 1.2 billion euros in two tranches from the EU since March. 

An aerial picture taken on July 8, 2022 in the countryside of Siversk, in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, shows wheat plantations burnt following air strike attacks of the Russian army in the region.
(MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP)

Licensing of wheat exports canceled

The Ukrainian government has canceled the licensing of the exports of wheat and meslin — a mixture of wheat and rye, the country's Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

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In March, Ukraine imposed a ban on oats exports and added wheat to the list of goods requiring export licenses.

In April, Ukraine's union of producers, processors and exporters of grain "Ukraine Grain Association" asked the government to cancel wheat exports licensing to simplify the sales and free storage capacity for the new crop.

In the 2021-2022 marketing year, between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, Ukraine exported 61.52 million tons of cereals and oilseeds, including 18.7 million tons of wheat and 12,600 tons of oats.