Business in Ukraine

Ukraine has a reputation of providing one of the most difficult legal and economic environments for FDI currently to be found. The currently changing legal and regulatory environment; the omnipresent state bureaucracy; the weak enforcement mechanism; the intransparency of the privatisation mechanisms; they all provide constant and serious challenges to foreign investors wishing to enter Ukraine, or already operating in Ukraine.

At the same time, Ukraine provides enormous opportunities to any investor – whether institutional, private, or corporate – who brings with him a long-term view, patience, and flexibility. More than any other country in central and eastern Europe, including Russia, Ukraine still provides substantial “first-mover advantages” in practically all sector of the economy. Ukraine is a compact country with a population of 46 million potential consumers. It benefits from its proximity to the EU. It has huge restructuring and investment needs. It has significant material and human resources. It has, to date, enjoyed only minimal foreign investment, and the various market sectors are still wide open to newcomers. If a more benign investment environment could be installed, Ukraine could potentially enjoy above average growth rates for many years to come.

Until the FDI environment in Ukraine has matured, investors will have to rely on their wits in coping with the current state of affairs and make the best of it. We have therefore attempted to give some practical recommendations to investors considering an investment in Ukraine:

1.Involve All Decision-Making Levels

The difficulties in closing on investment transaction in Ukraine may be attributed partly to fragmented decision-making mechanism at the various levels of the Ukrainian Government. This starts from the top level where the executive branch (divided into the Cabinet of Ministers and the President along with his Administration) is frequently at odds with the Parliament, and where Presidential Decrees often contradict existing laws and regulations. There are also additional splits in the decision-making authority between the central level of Government and the various local/regional administrations. Moreover, the numerous governmental agencies are often vested with overlapping authorities and responsibilities. And finally, those agencies are frequently reshuffled leaving little certainty that the adopted decisions are final. In order to steer the typically fragmented decision-making process in the right direction, it is therefore essential to establish good relationships with all the various decision-making levels involved in a transaction and keep in contact with all of them throughout the process. Investors often make the mistake of relying on one level only, in the hope that it will resolve any issues arising at other levels. This is rarely the case.

2.Involve Company Management in Privatisation Tenders

Besides involving the various Government levels, potential investors are also advised to come to an understanding with existing management of a Ukrainian target company in advance of any privatisation tender in which the investor may want to participate. Management typically is still in a very strong position in Ukrainian companies. And the better the company’s performance is, the stronger the management feels. The investor will have to invest some time to establish a relationship of trust and he will have to explain what he can do – and equally what he cannot do - for the company in which he wants to invest.

3.Always Perform Professional Due Diligence

Like many other emerging markets, Ukraine suffers from the absence of disclosure rules, inadequacy of the local accounting standards, and prevailing shadow practices. Therefore, due diligence involving reliable legal and audit firms, is a necessary requirement. Due diligence can be a difficult process given that management of the target company (or other stakeholders in a potential deal) can be reluctant to open their real books, which are kept secret from local tax authorities. If an investor wants to invest in a company through an investment tender, he has to get to know the company as soon as possible. Investors should not wait for a tender to be announced in the hope that they will be given enough time to perform due diligence.

4.Consider Choosing a Local Partner

It is often wise to enter into a consortium with a local partner – for example, a local investment or trading group. These obviously need to be screened carefully. However, in an environment where the legal environment is still under development, long–established relationships between individual entrepreneurs, companies, and regional administrations mean so much more. Investors should use established relationships of this kind. Especially “big-name” investors should not assume that they can simply establish operations in Ukraine on the back of their reputation and that all doors will open to them. This would be naпve. Even the biggest names in international business are often not well known outside the main urban centers.

Source: Flemings/SARS Consortium, Report “The Legal and Economic Environment for Foreign Direct Investments in Ukraine”

Tags: For Foreiners // Add Comment »

TMM (full name: Firma “T.M.M.”-LLC) is a vertically integrated real estate developer and construction company of the full scope. TMM has been operating on the Ukrainian market of real estate construction since 1994 and is one of the leading real estate developer and construction companies in Ukraine.

Development and construction of residential complexes on a turnkey basis is the main activity of the Company, which covers all complex of construction and fine finishing works as well as post-construction utility services provision for the completed projects.

Today the company’s projects are located in Kyiv and Kyiv region, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Crimea and Kherson region. In future TMM is intended to expand its activity to other regions of Ukraine such as Donetsk, Zaporizhya, Chernyhyv, Lviv, Feodosia, Alupka and the Carpathians with further plans to be presented in every regional center.

The company was one of the first to implement modern technologies in development and construction of real estate as well as in optimization of business processes at all stages of property development.

In Kyiv TMM Company was among pioneers to construct business-class residential complexes with large social infrastructure - supermarkets, pharmacies, kindergartens, cafes, restaurants, beauty saloons, fitness centres and commercial premises. In Kharkiv the company was the first to start construction of deluxe class real estate property.

At present the total area of 23 projects completed by TMM during 1994-2008 is 450 thousand sq. m. About 3 million sq. m. are in the process of construction and development.

Mission

Constant leadership in the realization of unique projects, foreseeing future needs of the real estate market, providing the best price/quality ratio and satisfying the requirements of clients.

Vision

TMM is an active and dynamic company - it develops steeply and contribute largely to development of the real estate market of Ukraine.

TMM aims at the highest standards of construction, implementing modern technologies and experience.

TMM preaches the new for Ukrainian construction market approach, fully ensuring the production chain on projects construction and its further post-construction utility service: TMM does not only purchase land plots and constructs the buildings - the company conducts the full-scope cycle of construction works, including fine finishing works; and after putting the object into operation the company continues to maintain them, providing post-construction utility services and maintaining outdoors territory.

TMM provides Ukrainians with the modern qualitative dwelling that meets all international norms of construction and provides its clients with the new quality of life.

Strategy:

* Expansion at the high-end residential property market;
* Diversification of the project-portfolio;
* Entering new segments of the real estate market;
* Deepening of vertical integration;
* Implementation of modern construction technology.

Principles

Professionalism - profound knowledge and teamwork, development of the company and every employee in particular;

Decency - self-respect and respect to partners and clients; work according to world standards of business, responsible and accurate performance of duties;

Quality - sticking to the highest standards of construction;

Clarity - professional planning and timely conduction of the tasks posed;

Integrity - achieving the integrity of time and quality;

Efficiency - successful implementation of the whole construction works complex and optimal usage of resources.

Tags: Building Industry // Add Comment »

By David L. Nordstrom

When I learned that the second largest nation of Europe had graduated the first class from its only school of public health, I wanted to see this school myself. Trained and experienced in medicine and public health, I wanted to observe the development of this new actor first-hand. Coincidentally the school had an opening for a visiting Fulbright Scholar from August through December 2006.In a bold new step, the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy School of Public Health enrolled its first students in 2004. The two-year master degree program is a “work in progress” that prepares students for professional positions in teaching, research, and consulting. The program is an official partner of the School of Public Health at University of Maastricht, Netherlands.

It is significant that this new school is located at a general university rather than at one of Ukraine’s 15 medical universities. This decision has certain advantages. The course content is not focused on disease diagnosis and treatment but also emphasizes the study of disease causation and prevention. Both health professionals and others are included in the student body.

This new graduate study program functions despite uncertainty regarding the career prospects for graduates. Master degrees in general are new in the country. As a “post-communist” or “transition” nation, Ukraine has few positions for citizens with such training. Neither the current Ministry of Public Health staff nor Sanitary and Epidemiologic Service staff has such education. The managers of hospitals, clinics, and research institutes in Ukraine are usually physicians without training in either public health or management.

The new school’s location is important for another reason. As noted at the recent annual conference of Ukrainian Association of Fulbright Alumni, Kyiv Mohyla Academy is one of the very few institutions in Ukraine where student admission and promotion decisions are based on the applicant’s ability rather than on bribery, plagiarism, or cheating.

What is Public Health?

“Public health” has different meanings in Ukraine and in the United States. In Ukraine, the phrase seems to mean the government hospitals and clinics where doctors diagnose and treat illnesses in individual patients. In the U.S., public health means collective action to abate hazards and prevent disease in whole groups of people. Indeed, Soviet era health spending favored hospital and clinic construction, operation, and services. The budget for surveillance and control of disease and hazards to health was limited.

The newly selected head of the WHO Country Office in Ukraine recently told an audience at Kyiv Mohyla that the Ministry of Public Health priorities for its current work with WHO are HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Mental Health. These choices were apparently based on the size and severity of the burden in Ukraine, the risk of diseases spreading to more people, and the availability of international assistance.

In western countries, much of the improvement in life expectancy occurred in the 19th century as a result of rising standards of living, including better housing and sanitation, etc. For many people in Ukraine, this increase in living standards has not yet arrived. According to a 2000 nationwide survey by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, only 8 percent of rural dwellings had central heating, 10 percent had an indoor toilet, and 30 percent had a bath or shower. One-quarter of the total population of this country lives below the official poverty line.

What are some examples of public health achievements in contemporary Ukraine? Distribution of free clean needles to drug users to limit spread of HIV infection, ban on alcohol in workplaces, ban on alcohol in blood of motor vehicle drivers, minimum age of 18 to buy cigarettes, underground walkways for pedestrians, ratification of the international treaty for tobacco control, and mass transit.

Is the Soviet legacy relevant?

“Whereof what’s past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge.”

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE,
The Tempest, act II, scene i

Public health work is to some degree culture-bound in all societies. Kyiv Mohyla faculty held a panel discussion on the USSR legacy and how it may still influence medicine and public health in this old-new country. When a student asked what to read to prepare for this panel discussion, she was told to talk with her parents about the past. Her response was that the past was too painful to discuss.

A young nation-state, Ukraine still shows signs of its Soviet legacy. Marxist-Leninists viewed many health threats as transient in the transition to communism and as problems that would be resolved spontaneously without public health action. The government that came to power in the October 1917 revolution was wary of the professional autonomy of physicians. It disbanded private medical associations and kept the salaries and status of most doctors low.

Fifteen years after attaining statehood, Ukraine still lacks a national, professional organization of physicians. Perhaps as important to the advancement of medicine and public health, Ukraine lacks trusted journals, such as The Lancet in England or JAMA in the United States, which can serve as channels of communication among physicians, scientists, public health specialists, policymakers, and patients.

In the Soviet era, epidemiology was concerned almost exclusively with detection and control of infectious diseases - even after noninfectious diseases such as heart disease became the leading causes of death. Medical universities lacked full-fledged departments of epidemiology or biostatistics. Government outlawed the teaching or research of genetics, a decision with bad consequences for both science and health.

Another legacy of the Soviet period is a tendency for individuals to rely on the state to care for them rather than to take responsibility for their own health. Deeply embedded cultural practices from the Russian Empire such as drinking, smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity worsened under communism. Among the first 14 countries from four continents to complete a World Health Organization (WHO)-coordinated national mental health survey, Ukraine has the highest rates of alcohol abuse (20 percent) among men and of major depression (20 percent) among women. Rates of alcohol and drug disorders are six times higher in Ukraine than in Germany, and rates of mood disorders are two and one-half times higher.

While statistical and epidemiologic data were state secrets in the USSR, a series of health interview and examination surveys in Ukraine have provided important information on people’s health status and their health knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Students and faculty of Kyiv Mohyla Academy have compiled an inventory and collection of 20 such surveys conducted during the past decade.

What can Kyiv Mohyla students do in public health?

Public health students also must choose their priorities for study and work. A thesis is required for the master degree, and students are exploring a wide variety of subjects in medicine and public health. Examples are the reasons for the declining rate of breastfeeding; quality of nutrition in meals in kindergarten; smoking cessation by pregnant women; risky behaviors among university students; quality of screening, diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis in prisons; the supply and efficiency of blood transfusion services; and the effectiveness of continuing education for hospital and clinic administrators.

Kyiv Mohyla students are learning to perform two essential tasks of public health specialists: to estimate risk and to communicate risk. Risk estimation is taught in epidemiology, which is the scientific study of the frequency and determinants of disease in human populations.

To illustrate risk estimation, the example of suicide can be used. Suicide is the most frequent type of injury death in Ukraine, and the nation’s suicide rate is one of the world’s highest. The Ukrainian risk of suicide is six times higher in men than women. In men, the annual risk of suicide is 45 per 100,000 population, while the annual risk of motor vehicle injury death is 25 per 100,000. For comparison, the annual risk for Ukrainian men of HIV/AIDS death is 5 per 100,000.

Many of the students at Kyiv Mohyla hope to become managers in health care facilities or in government planning or administrative agencies. In this role, they will need to communicate risk to their superiors, staff, and patients.
For example, how will they communicate the risk of hospital-acquired infections? They also will function in a complicated environment of finance and services during periods of changing roles of national, regional, and local levels.

At the school of public health, students are learning modern principles and practices of health promotion from dedicated and experienced instructors. Posting messages on clinic walls is no longer regarded as an effective method of changing patient behaviors. This approach does not even work with highly educated and motivated western doctors. Observers at a major American hospital recently reported that doctors there rarely wash their hands even though soap and water are readily available.

Kyiv Mohlya students learn that medical care, which can be useful after illness appears, is no guarantee of population health. Although individuals choose their behaviors - both safe and risky - they choose them within a specific social and environmental context. The two in five Ukrainian adults who smoke do so in a country whose tax and other policies allow the widespread availability of cheap cigarettes but do not cover drug treatment for smoking cessation.

Opinions differ about the appropriate role of the state in influencing health behavior and status. Ukrainian history is filled with examples of malign behavior by state actors: World Wars I and II, mass famine and starvation, the Nazi occupation, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. Consequently the level of trust between citizen and state is highly strained. Given this background, it is not surprising that Kyiv Mohyla students express doubt the prospects for passage of effective public health legislation and implementation of existing laws.

Looking forward

Countries with the best health indicators are the ones that modify the conditions that lead to health hazards and resources in their populations. After seeing the faculty, staff, and students of Ukraine’s school of public health in action, I believe that this proud and independent nation is poised to make substantial progress in the years ahead.

David L. Nordstrom, PhD, MPH, was a Fulbright Scholar at Kyiv Mohyla Academy School of Public Health from August through December 2006. The views and opinions expressed above are exclusively his own and are do not necessarily reflect those of the Fulbright Scholar Program, the U.S. Department of State, or the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.

Tags: Medicine in Ukraine // Add Comment »

By Glen Willard
Many people still think of Ukraine as the breadbasket of Europe or of the former USSR. And indeed, with a third of the world’s richest black soil (locally called chernozem), Ukraine was at the turn of the 20th century a world leader in agricultural production.

True chernozem, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia, is black, but there are various gradations into gray and chestnut-brown soils. It forms in areas that have cold winters, hot summers and rapid evaporation of precipitation. Generally only tall grass is found native on chernozem. It has large quantities of nutrients, excellent structure, and good water-holding capacity, making it very suitable for agriculture. It is most widely distributed in Ukraine, where it forms a large part of the good agricultural soil.

In the late 1920s, Stalin and the collectivization of Soviet agriculture eliminated many of the peasant agrarian reforms that the Czarist government had begun as early as 1906 under P.A. Stolypin, who served as Interior minister and prime minister between 1906 and his death in 1911. Even after Stolypin’s assassination in Kyiv, reforms during his tenure produced great agricultural harvests and the country was a world leader in grain production into the early 1920s.

While Ukraine contributed greatly to agricultural production to the whole of the USSR, its production potential was severely limited by Soviet agricultural methods and practices. Further, Ukraine’s agricultural production, like that of all other production, particularly industrial, fell precipitously in the years following the breakup of the Soviet empire in 1989. It was only at the beginning of the late 1990s that Ukrainian agriculture began to recover and make progress.

Background and purpose

For the past several months, and of late on a somewhat ad hoc basis, I’ve been attempting to acquire some knowledge and understanding of the present status of the agricultural industry in Ukraine. That knowledge, I believed, would then allow me to form some opinions as to the future potential and importance of the industry to the overall economy of Ukraine. Admittedly, in advance, I was hoping to come to a conclusion that, at least at some point in the future, Ukraine would again be the “breadbasket of Europe” (or of the FSU, Asia, Eurasia, or wherever). In short, I began predisposed to look for and find a happy ending to a story or stories on agriculture in Ukraine. My research continues. I plan more articles on the subject as I discover more.

I am presently in the middle of my studies. Beginning with little knowledge or background in farming in Ukraine or of the agricultural industry in general, I have not yet reached the point where I can draw conclusions. While I’ve interviewed many in the industry, including professionals, academics and some in government, I must continue my education. As yet, my shortcomings I fear lie in the area of how it all works together. This is partly caused by not having spent enough time analyzing statistical information, laws and regulations, governmental subsidies that may exist and agricultural loan programs.

I have, however, seen some bright spots, and I’ve met a lot of interesting, talented and dedicated people. As I progress, I’ll try to bring some of their stories and experiences together.

No-Till Agriculture Conference

I saw a truly remarkable event occur between November 18 and 23 at the Agro-Soyuz Corporation’s agricultural facility headquarters in Dnipropetrovsk region. A conference, “NT-CA, Sustainable and Effective Agriculture” was held at the site. This was an international conference to educate Ukrainians and others concerning the benefits of a no-till systems approach to profitable and environmentally sound farming.

Before discussing no-till farming, I’ll describe what I felt was most remarkable about the event. First, it was a gathering of approximately 600 participants, each of whom paid $300 to attend, plus the cost of their food and lodging in nearby Dnipropetrovsk. Most of the registrants were from Ukraine and Russia, which had 280 and 200 participants respectively. Kazakhstan was well represented with 70 participants and the others were from a number of other countries including Belarus and Armenia.

The quality of the international experts, with their years of knowledge, expertise and practical experience was also impressive. Speakers came from the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. Some of the experts were academics, some came from government and research institutes, and others were farmers with advanced degrees. All had extensive practical farming experience and most provided lectures on very specialized subjects.

The facilities provided by Agro-Soyuz were superb from any standpoint one could imagine. Located on a farm, the infrastructure was truly impressive. The 9,000-hectare farm had fields dedicated to various crops, a large grain-storage facility, a swine operation, a dairy herd and even an experimental ostrich farm. The campus also boasts a 124-hectare Concept Farm, where a nine-crop rotation system is being studied over a 10-year period. Agro-Soyuz has also operated a Farm Resources Center for several years, where farming applications are both studied and taught. The teaching is mostly through inexpensive or free seminars for Ukrainians as well as for those who come from throughout the world.

For the international conference, a new office building and teaching facility was built. It contains classrooms, an auditorium, telecommunications and Internet connections, and audiovisual systems. In addition, the center has a complete press facility with all that visiting journalists might require.

No-Till Farming

No-till farming has been around for several decades. Its use has rapidly spread for the last decade. No-till brings biological and environmental considerations to the farming process, as it helps prevent soil erosion, helps retain soil fertility and moisture. It also requires fewer and more environmentally safe fertilizers and chemicals, resulting in greater crop yields. It is profitable partly because it saves labor, because there is little need to repeat plowing and furrowing. Other benefits include a “greenhouse effect” benefit, in that less carbon dioxide is released.

Though no-till is used throughout the world, it has not gained much popularity in Europe and Asia. My understanding is that it might wreak havoc with governmental processes in Western Europe, where farming is heavily subsidized and EU-regulated. In many other countries however, no-till has taken root and is expanding. In the United States along, no-till farmining is practiced on 22.4 million hectares, or more than 19 percent of all agricultural land. More than 45 percent of Brazil’s agricultural land uses no-till methods, and in Paraguay, no-till usage has reached 60 percent of that country’s farmland.

In Ukraine, Agro-Soyuz and other companies are the European pioneers in the application of no-till cultivation. The methods may help Ukraine regain its status as a “breadbasket” nation.

Tags: Agrarian Sector // Add Comment »

AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF UKRAINE TO CANADA
MR. IHOR OSTASH

COUNCILOR

MR. VADYM PRYSTAYKO

THE EMBASSY OF UKRAINE IN CANADA

Address: 310 Somerset St., West, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 0J9

Telephone: (1613) 230 24 20, (1613) 230 80 15, (1613) 230 29 61

Fax: (1613) 230 24 00

E-mail: emb_us@mfa.gov.ua, letters@ukremb.com

Web-site: http://www.mfa.gov.ua/canada

Working hours: 09:00 – 17:00

Lunch break: 12:00 - 13:00

Day off: Sat, Sun

Tags: Ukrainian Embassies worldwide // 1 Comment »

AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENIPOTENTIARY OF UKRAINE TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (WITH THE RESIDENCE IN WASHINTON)

MR. OLEG SHAMSHUR

COUNCILOR

MR. SERGIY KORSUNSKIY

CONSUL

MR. YAKIV PYRIH

THE EMBASSY OF UKRAINE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Address: 3350 M Street, NW., Washington D.C. 20007, USA

Telephone: (1202) 349 29 20

Fax: (1202) 333 08 17, (1202) 342 93 21

E-mail: emb_us@mfa.gov.ua, letters@ukremb.com

Web-site: http://www.mfa.gov.ua/usa

Working hours: 09:00 – 18:00

Lunch break: 13:00 - 14:00

Day off: Sat, Sun

Tags: Ukrainian Embassies worldwide // Add Comment »

A

Islamic State of Afghanistan*

Republic of Albania*

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

Republic of Angola

Principality of Andorra*

Antigua and Barbuda*

Argentine Republic

Republic of Armenia

Australia

Republic of Austria

Republic of Azerbaijan

B

Kingdom of Bahrein*

Republic of Belarus

Kingdom of Belgium

Republic of Benin*

Republic of Bolivia*

Bosnia and Herzegovina*

Republic of Botswana*

Federative Repulic of Brazil

Republic of Bulgaria

C

Canada

Republic of Central Africa*

Republic of Chad*

Republic of Chile*

People’s Republic of China

Republic of Costa Rica*

Republic of Croatia

Republic of Cuba

Republic of Cyprus

Czech Republic

D

Kingdom of Denmark

Dominican Republic*

E

Republic of Ecuador*

Arab Republic of Egypt

Republic of Estonia

Federal Republic of Ethiopia

F

Republic of Finland

French Republic

G

Gabon Republic

Co-operative Republic Guyana*

Georgia

Federal Republic of Germany

Republic of Ghana*

United Kingdom of Great Britain and and Northern Ireland

Republic of Guatemela*

Republic of Guinea

H

Hellenic Republic (Greece)

Republic of Hungary

I

Republic of Iceland*

Republic of India

Republic of Indonesia

Islamic Republic of Iran

Republic of Iraq

Ireland

State of Israel

Republic of Italy

J

Japan

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K

Republic of Kazakhstan

Kingdom of Cambodia*

Republic of Kenya

Republic of Korea

State of Kuwait

Kyrgyz Republic

L

Laos*

Republic of Latvia

Lebanon

Great Socialist People`s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Principality of Liechtenstein*

Republic of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg*

M

Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Madagascar*

Malaysia

Republic of Malta*

Republic of Mauritania*

United Mexican States

Republic of Moldova

Mongolia*

Republic of Montenegro*

Kingdom of Morocco

Republic of Mozambique*

Union of Myanmar*

N

Republic of Namibia*

Kingdom of the Netherlands

New Zealand*

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Kingdom of Norway

O

Sultanate of Oman*

P

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Republic of Panama*

Republic of Paraguay*

Republic of Peru

Republic of Poland

Portuguese Republic

Q

The State of Qatar*

R

Romania

Russian Federation

S

Republic of San Marino*

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Republic of Serbia

Republic of Sierra Leone*

Republic Singapore

Slovak Republic

Republic of Slovenia

Republic of South Africa

Kingdom of Spain

Republic of Sudan*

Kingdom of Sweden

Swiss Confederation

Syrian Arab Republic

T

Republic of Tadjikistan*

Timor-Leste*

Kingdom of Thailand

Republic of Tunisia

Republic of Turkey

Turkmenistan

U

Republic of Uganda*

United States of America

United Arab Emirates

Eastern Republic of Uruguay*

Republic of Uzbekistan

V

Vatican (the Holy See)

Republic of Venezuela*

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Y

Republic of Yemen*

Z

Republic of Zambia*

Republic of Zimbabwe*

* - residently

Tags: Ukrainian Embassies worldwide // Add Comment »

Insurance procedure for foreigners, entering the territory of Ukraine

Pursuant to the laws of Ukraine, citizens of Ukraine and foreign citizens (nationals of other states and stateless persons), who reside permanently in the territory of Ukraine, enjoy the right to a free-of-charge medical assistance. For all other foreigners the procedure for rendering medical assistance shall be established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

On 17 September, 1997 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine passed Resolution N1021 (with amendments introduced pursuant to the consecutive resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine N1926 dated 4 December, 1998, N35 dated 13 January, 1999, N555 dated 23 May, 2001 and N673 dated 26 June, 2001), which approved the Procedure for rendering emergency medical aid to the foreigners, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine.

Pursuant to the Procedure for rendering emergency medical aid to foreigners, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine, the obligatory availability of an insurance policy (certificate), that guarantees payment of an emergency medical aid cost, was established for foreigners and stateless persons, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine. The said policy (certificate) should be purchased from the State-owned joint-stock insurance company of Ukraine (DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh”), specializing in payment of the emergency medical aid to foreigners. If there is an agreement between the State-owned joint-stock insurance company of Ukraine and a foreign insurance company, the later shall guarantee the payment of cost of rendering of an emergency medical aid to a foreigner or a stateless person, residing temporarily in the territory of Ukraine, provided the said person is a holder of the foreign insurance company’s insurance policy (certificate).

The said Regulation shall cover no employees of diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states and members of their families in Ukraine, members of official delegations, arriving at the invitation of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, the members of warship and auxiliary warship crews, the persons, who, in accordance with established procedure, have received a refugee status in Ukraine, and persons, who have applied for refugee status in Ukraine.

Should the effective international treaties of Ukraine establish other rules, the provisions contained in the international treaties of Ukraine shall apply.

The nationals of the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Georgia, the Great Britain, Hungary, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and of the Republic of Uzbekistan, international treaties of Ukraine with which envisage free-of-charge rendering of emergency medical aid, may have no insurance policy (certificate) as aforesaid.

No insurance policy (certificate) as aforesaid is required for the experts in the field of public health services of the People’s Republic of China, students, post-graduate students, persons sent for scientific specialization from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Poland, organized tourist groups from Romania.

The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine N 227 dated 20 February, 1999 approved the Rules for execution of the visa documents for entry into Ukraine. The Rules for execution of the visa documents for entry into Ukraine stipulate the grounds for refusal to a foreigner or a stateless person in execution of a visa, which include, among other things, “unavailability of the regulation insurance policy” (of the State-owned joint-stock insurance company (DASK) “Ukrinmedstrakh”).

DASK “UKRINMEDSTRAKH”

Address: 65, Olesia Honchara Str., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine

Telephone: +380 (044) 216-30-21, 216-11-27

Fax: +380 (044) 216-96-92

E-mail: ukrmed@ukrpack.com

Information on the procedure for rendering emergency medical aid to foreigners

The Government of Ukraine has approved the Procedure for rendering emergency medical aid to the foreigners, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine, pursuant to which the obligatory availability of an insurance policy (certificate) purchased from the State-owned joint-stock insurance company of Ukraine (DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh”), specializing in payment of the emergency medical aid to foreigners, was established for foreigners and stateless persons, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine.

The insurance policies (certificates), which guarantee payment of the emergency medical aid to foreigners in the territory of Ukraine, are available at the insurance companies as follows: “AXA Colonia Krankenversicherung AG” (the European Union states); “Mediton Invest Ltd” (Israel, Turkey and China) “Mercur-CB” (Yugoslavia), “Radiant Overseas” (India, Sri-Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh), “White Night International” (Pakistan), “Balva” (Latvia), “Snoro-Garantas” (Lithuania) and “Nordica” (Estonia).

The purchase of the said policy (certificate) shall relieve its owner from payment for emergency medical aid. At the same time a foreigner shall have no limits as to cost or number of visits to doctor during the time of validity of the policy (certificate). The DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” shall pay the cost of the emergency medical aid to a relevant health center.

The DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” was established by a decree of the Government of Ukraine in order to coordinate the rendering of the emergency medical aid to foreigners, who reside temporarily in the territory of Ukraine.

The Company has agreements pertaining to the rendering of emergency medical aid to foreigners with 758 state-owned, public and private medical institutions in all regions (oblasts) of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Foreign citizens may address for medical assistance to leading Ukrainian specialized and multi-field hospitals, health centers, hospitals, medical centers, clinics etc. If necessary, the Company shall provide an ambulance car, airplane or helicopter for transportation to a medical institution.

The DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” has its own Control Center, which operates round the clock and is equipped with telephone and facsimile communications. The qualified doctors on duty with the center will determine the profile of a disease, provide for necessary medical assistance and supervise the rendering thereof.

For medical assistance to foreigners call the Control Center of the DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” at: (+38 044) 216-80-10 or (+38 044) 216-09-97 (round the clock).

When addressing to the Center, a policy (certificate) holder must give its surname and name, type, registration number and the term of validity of the policy (certificate); tell about his/her problem, complaints and health condition, the place, where the policy (certificate) holder actually is, his/her phone number or a phone number of his/her representative through which operator or doctor can reach the policy (certificate) holder.

Depending on health condition, a foreigner can either be rendered an emergency medical aid or advised a certain medical institution, where he/she can undergo treatment. The DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” doctors shall ensure the medical care is qualitative and sufficient, during the entire treatment.

The DASK “Ukrinmedstrakh” is always ready to come to your help.

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In Ukraine, bitter divorces among the country’s influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own

Twice-divorced real-estate tycoon Donald Trump knew how to get out clean.

Along with a hand in marriage, he offered his former partners expensive accessories: pre-nuptial agreements. Ivana Trump and Marla Maples, with $25 million and $1 million in farewell dowries, respectively, even wished him well with his new brides.

The painful divorce cases of the rich and famous, such as Trump, have been splattered all over tabloids in the West for decades. In Ukraine, such bitter splits among the country’s influential and rich elite are just starting to make headlines of their own. Juicy divorce details, assets in contention and even family photographs dominate the pages of such paparazzi publications as www.tabloid.com.ua

Yet the process of divorcing a mogul in Ukraine remains a far cry from tales of glitter, fortune and fame seen in the West. Most Ukrainians see marriage contracts as urban legends from Hollywood films with no relevance to local realities.

“But when you leave home and cannot come back because of guards at the door … then it is serious,” said Marharyta Chervonenko, drawing a line through her 18 years of marriage.

Marharyta Chervonenko, ex-wife of politician and affluent businessman Yevhen Chervonenko, may have ushered in an era of tabloid celebrity divorces with her bitter split after 18 years of marriage (Photo UNIAN)

She married a big shot. Her ex-husband is Yevhen Chervonenko, an affluent businessman and former car racer. He is also a former transportation minister and was governor of Zaporizhya Oblast. Now he supervises preparations for the Euro 2012 soccer championship to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland.

The Chervonenkos got divorced in 2007 without benefit of a prenup that would spell out how to divide the considerable assets. They went along with the “all-is-fair-in-love-and-war” scenario, so the split has become quite nasty.

“Since then, I have been through raider attacks, bankruptcy and threats,” she said. “He once told me that I broke up with the system, not just him.”

Fearing she would be left with nothing after divorce, Marharyta launched a fight over the couple’s assets two years ago along with a public campaign to defend her rights and help others in similar situations.

Under Ukrainian law, divorcing couples must split everything they accumulated in marriage 50-50 – unless there is a contract, of course. The Ukrainian rich, however, rarely list assets in their own name. They declare only small official incomes, a path that leads to a lot of mystery and insinuations in turbulent times.

The Chervonenko case seems to be just like that.

When the former racer landed in politics, he transferred some of his businesses to his wife’s name, she said. Their properties had a different story.

In court, a judge managed to revoke Marharyta’s rights to their house in a prestigious Kyiv suburb and her mother’s flat in Yalta. The ex-husband, however, was not a beneficiary.

A former friend who had officially given these properties as presents to the Chervonenko family suddenly decided to take them back and won the case.

Marharyta did not give up and continues appealing the verdict. Her daughter from a previous marriage also filed a lawsuit against her former stepfather, alleging that he denied her entry to the flat where she is still formally registered.

Yevhen Chervonenko refused to comment on personal matters.

This messy case is likely to drag on.

“These processes take years,” said Zoryslava Romovska, author of Ukraine’s Family Code.

“A defendant pretends he is sick, and then his lawyer is sick. Then, they are both on a holiday and so it goes in circles.”

According to Justice Ministry statistics, every second marriage ends in divorce in Ukraine. But, strangely enough, prenups are still frowned upon.

“A prenup will not guarantee you love, but it will ensure stability,” Romovska said.

For instance, a husband moves in with his wife into her flat. Under civil law, he can live there indefinitely. However, authorities will make him leave in the event of divorce, if there is a contract. Contracts can be beneficial in other ways, too, spelling out responsibilities.

“You cannot contract how many times a week you should kiss each other,” laughed Romovska. “However, no one can stop you from specifying that a woman is responsible for raising children and a man for making money.”

A prenup is free in form, she added, and lawyers usually include whatever the couple thinks is important. Family law does not clarify the division of responsibilities. It says that only material rights can be discussed in a contract. But its author, Romovska, argues that domestic duties have a direct relationship to the joint assets.

An average prenup costs Hr 800. However, even lawyers ignore them.

One lawyer who might have wished he had a prenup is Serhiy Vlasenko, famous for defending Victor Yushchenko’s case in the Supreme Court during the disputed 2004 presidential vote. On the waves of the Orange Revolution, the popular uprising, Vlasenko set the stage for Yushchenko winning the presidency.

Famous after appearing on television during the legendary court case, Vlasenko married a model and socialite, Natalya Okunska.

Although it was not his bride’s first marriage and she had children, the lawyer failed to arrange a prenup. Accusing each other of adultery and assault, they divorced last September. Okunska hooked up again with her previous husband, himself high in political echelons and father of one of her children.

“It’s all over the papers, I have nothing to add,” said Vlasenko, chary on words.

In earlier interviews, he denied beating his wife and specified that he provides for the children in line with a financial agreement they had. Okunska, however, is complaining that she was exploited and then left with nothing.

Romovska said in cases like these, there could be psychological reasons behind the mess.

“Like any other divorcees, the women of oligarchs are left with a scar,” said Romovska. “Despite a car, a house and a dacha left by their husbands, they keep lamenting for their former status and money.”

Not all of them, however. A Ukrainian dancer who married a distant cousin of Sophie Lauren, the famous Italian actress, said she wanted neither.

“We bought a wedding dress and a tuxedo with my own money,” said Olga Kopitsa, now 32, reflecting on her marriage with Roberto Skala, now 35. “I thought the rest would come in its own time.”

At a concert in Pisa, he spotted her on stage and in a few months they got married. When Kopitsa got pregnant, they moved in with his family in Naples. She claims to have felt like a prisoner there.

“He rarely worked and only partied with friends,” she recalled. “His family watched my every step. I was allowed a bath only once a week and could only watch TV until nine in the evening.”

She finally escaped on the pretense of a holiday in Ukraine. Kopitsa said all she wanted was a divorce to start a new life at home. But without a marriage certificate, it seemed impossible. With the help of the Italian Embassy in Kyiv, she located their marriage certificate and then divorced under Ukrainian law. In Italy, however, she may still be considered officially married. “We didn’t have a prenup. We had nothing,” she shrugged.

Skala was not immediately available for comment.

Most lawyers, however, recommend a contract in the event of marriage to foreigners, since divorce laws vary wildly. The Economist magazine even published “A Globetrotters Guide to Divorce” for those born in one country, married in another and working somewhere else.

In Ukraine, a woman was traditionally blamed for divorce. High-profile cases were hushed up. Across the ocean, things were different. Backed by the prenup, Trump wife No. 1 wrote a self-help book for divorcees. Trump wife number No. 2 co-starred in a reality show “Ex-wives Club.”

Marharyta Chervonenko seems to have started a trend by going public with her version of “The War of the Roses,” the 1989 Hollywood hit movie starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. She founded an organization called “I Am Strong” to help abandoned wives. She says in marriage she felt like a horse running in a circus arena. She now claims to be better off helping others get over the same.

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Despite the ongoing political chaos and economic crisis, Ukraine has taken to international airwaves to improve its image and promote itself as a tourist destination

Despite the ongoing political chaos and economic crisis, Ukraine has taken to international airwaves to improve its image and promote itself as a tourist destination.

A 30-second clip showing breathtaking views of the country’s tourist gems will be shown on CNN International 300 times over the next seven weeks, working out to about six showings every day.

It is not the first blitz television promotion of Ukraine, whose rancorous politics continue to sully the nation’s reputation across the world. But communications experts say such positive promotion is a much-needed step towards attracting tourists and improving Ukraine’s image internationally.

Starting Nov. 10, CNN International viewers are seeing a different picture of Ukraine. The ads show aerial and swooping crane shots of the medieval Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv, the Opera Theatre in Odesa, remains of the ancient Chersonesos Greek city, Lviv’s market square, windmills, castles and the picturesque Carpathian Mountains. When the ads conclude, viewers hear a British baritone voice saying “Ukraine, beautifully yours” to end the commercial.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Vasyl Vovkun said he hopes that an “influx of foreign tourists after the successful broadcast of this clip guarantees Ukraine a spot in the world arena.’

Vovkun was the one who provided artistic direction for the clips, according to the Culture Ministry statement. The statement also said a tender was held among “several foreign and wide-reaching television companies like BBC and CNN to find the best deal for broadcasting the ads.”

Kostyantyn Gridin, chief executive officer of Kyiv’s CFC consulting company, the exclusive representative of CNN in Ukraine, said his company received more than Hr 2.5 million ($416,000) to place the commercials. CFC claims to have won a tender that was announced in early autumn.

“We submitted our proposal, but had no great hopes of winning. We were a bit surprised when we won it,” Gridin said.

Gridin’s surprise is understandable, given his company’s past experience with state-solicited bids. In late 2005, CFC was one of five companies who submitted proposals for a government tender to create a positive image of Ukraine abroad. Five bids were tabled for a Hr 13 million ($2.5 million) contract that was awarded to an obscure company from Kharkiv called Konglomerat.

Three months later, the Foreign Ministry terminated the contract with Konglomerat, alleging the company had failed to perform any of the promised works. The ministry sued the company to no avail and the funds were never returned to the state.

This sort of corruption scandal is what contributes to an already bleak image of Ukraine abroad. Swiftly gaining the reputation of a sex-tourism Mecca and still fighting the legacy of the Chornobyl disaster, Ukraine needs help with its perception in the world.

“With the current internal [political] situation in the country, a little external ‘make up’ will not hurt,” Gridin said.

“Bad news hits the headlines and there has been a lot of it: political chaos, economic crisis, etc,” said Jock Mendoza-Wilson, international relations director at System Capital Management, the holding company of Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov. SCM ran a large-scale company image-improving campaign in Western media in 2005.

A British citizen, Mendoza-Wilson said Ukraine needs to show off its positive sides.

“As a non-Ukrainian who lives and works here, I can tell you there is more to the country than that. It’s clearly a good thing that Ukraine is making the effort to look after its image,” Mendoza-Wilson added.

But Gridin said the government-sponsored campaign has a chance to achieve multiple goals.

“With CNN International, we are targeting decision-makers and leaders. If the heads of foreign states see the ad on CNN – and they do watch CNN – one of them might say ‘I liked your commercial’ during a meeting with President [Victor] Yushchenko, for example,” Gridin explained.

He said Ukraine will get better bang for its buck with the new ad than during the first attempt to promote itself in winter last year.

Ukraine advertised itself as a tourist destination in 2007, spending $1.5 million on an integrated multimedia campaign, including “Ukraine: for snow lovers” commercials that were aired 80 times on Euronews and National Geographic television channels.

Ludwig Medyaniy, press secretary for the State Tourism and Resorts Service that had paid for the ad and airtime, said that his agency could not measure the effectiveness of last year’s advertising campaign.

But according to the State Border Service, the number of foreign tourists who visited Ukraine between January and September exceeded 20 million – an increase of 2.3 million people, or 12.5 percent over the same period in 2007.

“The world should know that Ukraine is more than borsch and potato dumplings. We have something to show,” Medyaniy said. “When you go to Egypt, for example, you see the sand and pyramids once and you’ve had enough.But in Ukraine, you can keep going back to Crimea or the Carpathians year after year.”

The three television ads mentioned in this story can be found on youtube.com:.

“Ukraine: Beautifully Yours” on CNN (2008) .

“Ukraine for snowlovers” on Euronews, National Geographic (2007).

System Capital Management on CNN, BBC, Euronews (2005).

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