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Leading defense companies such as RTX in the US, MBDA in the EU, and QinetiQ in the UK have begun to invest heavily in developing low-cost, high-energy laser weapons to combat UAVs. During the war in Ukraine, the widespread use of UAVs revealed a significant asymmetry of costs in which it is cheaper to attack than to defend. Western countries faced a similar problem when their ships needed to launch missiles costing several million dollars to shoot down Yemeni Houthi

Russia has caused ₴1.26T in damage to Ukraine’s ecosystems. Among them are losses to land resources amounting to ₴400B, of which more than ₴2B are the consequences of soil pollution. It will take almost 30 years to restore the fertile soil layer completely. The Institute of Nanotechnologies and Organic Products said that in Ukraine nearly 150,000 square kilometers of land are polluted by military operations. Soil rehabilitation at shelling sites requires demining and cleaning of other chemical residues. Soil restoration

Ukraine’s population has decreased by more than 10 million since the beginning of the full-scale war, said the head of the Eastern European branch of the UN Population Fund, Florence Bauer. She emphasized that the population decline has been observed since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, owing to a combination of factors. “The fertility rate has fallen dramatically and is now about one child per woman, one of the lowest rates in the world,” Bauer said. To maintain a

In January, EU countries plan to resume discussions about new restrictions designed to damage the Russian economy. That is when Hungary, Moscow’s closest ally in the EU, will complete its six-month presidency of the EU Council, and the European Parliament will approve the EC’s new composition. The Hungarian prime minister has used his country’s presidency to effectively shut down talk of sanctions. “We hope that all issues that have become hostages of the non-constructive blockade will be resolved urgently,” said

According to Benjamin Haddad, the Minister Delegate for European Affairs of France, “The invitation is the first step, an important political signal we could give Ukraine right now. We are mobilizing efforts to convince our partners,” he said. Haddad emphasizes that the process of Ukraine’s accession could be long and complicated, but this does not prevent sending an invitation immediately. Receiving an invitation to NATO is a crucial point of Ukraine’s Victory Plan. At the same time, as highlighted by

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said that in the West fatigue from the Russian war against Ukraine has reached unprecedented heights, and the “Victory Plan” proposed by President Zelenskyy is an attempt to regenerate momentum. “This fatigue forces us to look for solutions, which is why we increasingly hear talk of ‘peace,’ which, in my estimation – would be more of a proposal for capitulation.” According to the minister, the most important item is security guarantees

The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that currently about 11,000 North Korean soldiers are training in the east of Russia to begin actively participating in the war on November 1. The first detachment of 2,600 people will go to Kursk, where Ukraine has created a bridgehead for conducting intensive combat operations. This information was also confirmed by South Korean intelligence. According to their estimates, North Korea sent 12,000 of its soldiers, including a

According to President Zelenskyy, the Russian Federation’s economy will not survive if influential countries stop supporting its energy sector, in particular, by ceasing to buy Russian energy resources or significantly reducing their prices. “After that, within a year, Russia will be unable to fight at the current level,” Zelenskyy states. He added that China, India, the US, and Saudi Arabia can achive this quickly – completely stopping Russia’s energy exports and utterly destroying its economy. According to the president, Russia

Ukrainian Constanta Airline has added a Boeing 737-300 Cargo model to its fleet of cargo planes. The new aircraft’s purpose is medium-haul cargo transportation for Constanta’s traditional customers, particularly the UN and the World Food Program (WFP), as well as charter cargo transportation for new customers. In this way, Constanta Airline seeks to establish a presence in the international transit of standard cargo on medium-haul cargo planes of Western production. Constanta is the permanent official carrier for international humanitarian missions

31% of the member companies of the EBA believe that they are fully ready to operate in the EU currently, 38% are primarily ready, 26% are partially prepared, and only 5% are not ready. 71% of companies positively assess the impact of Ukraine’s European integration movement on their business, while 21% do not feel any effect. As well, 52% believe that Ukraine’s progress in fulfilling its European integration obligations is satisfactory, and 5% – significant. However, 42% assess Ukraine’s European

The Ukrainian government has approved a procedure for selecting projects enabling energy efficiency, energy saving, and alternative fuels, which will be financed within the Danida Business Finance program through the framework agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Denmark. The program aims to solve infrastructural problems and provides municipalities with interest-free loans for up to 10 years. The minimum project cost is €13.5M, and the maximum is €100M. The program’s main feature is that the funds will be directed exclusively

The American International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) believes that Ukraine needs to attract $250B in investment to maximize its subsoil use. Attracting investment is necessary to diversify profits and reduce risk. The DFC is working to find investors for Ukraine and to make it easier for them to enter the market. 20-22 out of 30 types of critical natural resources can be mined in Ukraine. At the same time, according to EBA data, despite the war 71% of players in

Polish metallurgical plants fear competition with Ukraine and demand that the domestic market be protected from Ukrainian steel. Polish steel manufacturers hope that Ukraine’s output will mainly be used in the domestic market for reconstruction for many years to come. Otherwise, Poland fears that more and more Ukrainian steel will enter its market, and it will be difficult for their metallurgists to compete against lower prices. In the first seven months of 2024, the import of finished metal products from

At the end of last week, the state conducted seven auctions to sublease state agricultural land in the Volyn, Lviv, and Cherkasy regions, with a total area of ​​670.6 hectares. The Land Bank reports that, following the auctions, the starting prices increased more than six times, reaching ₴21.3M. An average of 13 participants, both large agricultural enterprises and small farmers, competed for each lot, contributing to an average cost per hectare of ₴31,700. The largest land plot was offered with

During his visit to Germany on October 18, US President Joe Biden discussed Ukraine’s current problems with the leaders of Germany, France, and Britain. Ukraine’s invitation to NATO tops the list of sensitive topics. Ukraine’s president believes the invitation could come before December and the end of Biden’s term of office. So far, the US and Germany have blocked any prospect of NATO expansion involving Ukraine, while France and the UK are more open to the idea. However, there are

According to FT, Western officials want to deliver funding to Kyiv by the end of the year, realizing that if Donald Trump wins the US elections in November, Washington’s aid to Ukraine is at risk. Recently the US’ contribution had been expected to be less than initially planned because the EU’s failure to guarantee that Russian assets would remain frozen for at least three years. However, on October 18 US officials told their G7 counterparts that Washington will provide nearly

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Ukraine must implement the necessary reforms and fulfill certain security conditions in order to obtain NATO membership. “So, the question is, how do we build a bridge from where we are now to possible membership of Ukraine in NATO? And the answer to that question was the results of the summit in Washington,” Sullivan said, adding that President Biden is trying to establish Ukraine’s long-term support. In his turn, NATO Secretary General

On October 18, US President Joe Biden met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Berlin. The leaders promised to “continue to support Ukraine in its efforts to ensure a just and lasting peace based on international law.” They discussed Ukraine’s five-point victory plan and plans to provide additional military and humanitarian aid. However, as Joe Biden clarified, there is no “consensus on long-range weapons” for Ukraine. Instead, Biden and Scholz

an IMF statement says. Experts note that the Ukraine’s economy remains stable, and the implementation of the EFF program is high, despite difficult conditions. Ukrainian authorities met all quantitative performance benchmarks by the end of June and have completed four structural benchmarks. In total, within the EFF framework, Ukraine has already implemented 28 structural beacons. In particular, it has developed a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of tax benefits, adopted a new law on the Bureau of Economic Security, identified

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau audit was postponed from the end of September to the end of January 2025, and changes to the Criminal Procedure Code were delayed from the end of October 2024 to the end of December 2024. These are among the new beacons that have been added to the memorandum: The newly added beacons with a deadline by the end of 2024: reform of the Accounting Chamber to form Ukrenergo’s supervisory board with mostly independent members amend law-making