We are pleased to inform that despite the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine, our SCN member in the country remains resilient and operative, although of course with some severe adaptations of their operations
“Some of the employees are now in Europe and western Ukraine. My deputy and I remain in Kyiv, employees in Odessa and Dnipro continue to work remotely” informs Konstantin Grynko of Kiy Avia from Kyiv. He adds “Poland plays a significant role for Ukraine, because it is a country that borders on us. They accepted many Ukrainian refugees. In addition, part of the important cargo comes through Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. As a rule, all these cargoes are for military purposes or humanitarian aid, if we are talking about imports.”
With regards to the movement of goods, Konstantin adds there are of course difficulties as all men of under 60 years cannot leave the territory of Ukraine due to military conscription. Bank operations are also affected with a changeable list of “critical imports” established by the state, leaving other payments with understandable delays or completely banned. The National Bank of Ukraine banned commercial companies from making foreign exchange transfers abroad that are not critical imports (food, humanitarian aid, weapons, and everything that is necessary for waging war).
“At the moment, I cannot officially transfer money from Ukraine, say to a partner in Warsaw, Prague or Hamburg, if I want to organize export from Ukraine through them, if we deliver the goods to the airport or seaport for further processing of transit and shipment to America or South – East Asia. When importing, the National Bank skips payments for goods and services that are not related to the “critical imports” established by the state, which are extremely necessary for Ukraine. The list is changing. These rules too. 
Although Konstantin requests for possible longer payment terms due to bank delays, SCN recommends that we are informed of any transaction so that we can look for appropriate assistance to allow transport to proceed. SCN will look to assist where and when possible. Movements appear to be currently nil or in the planning stage, which is the case of some goods coming through Poland.
On a wider scale, transit of commercial cargo remains difficult for imports and exports in Ukraine. Very few cargos are eligible as special cargos with customs exemption which will hopefully happen shortly between Poland and some other border countries.
With a brighter tone, Konstantin adds “We hope that during this period the war will end. Our company remains reliable and solvent. We still support our employees financially. Everyone has already settled down and some are returning to Kyiv. We hope the war ends soon“
That wish is echoed by everyone in the SCN community and beyond.
SCN network continues to look at ways in which we can assist the people of Ukraine in these dark times for them. We are very pleased to hear that Kiy Avia remains operative and looking for possible ways to operate. If you have any queries for cargo movements, or even words of support for the Kiy Avia team, please contact:
