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According to the Ukrainian Parliament’s Finance Committee, in April 2025 public and state-guaranteed debt increased by 5%, reaching $180B; from January to April, public debt grew by 8.4%. Almost all of this debt growth is attributed to an increase in money owed to the EU, amounting to $13.1B. The reasons for the rise in debt include: The euro has strengthened against the dollar by over 10% since the beginning of the year, leading to a revaluation of the dollar equivalent

According to industry experts, the UK, in light of an unsuccessful season in Spain, a key supplier of blueberries, is shifting its supply structure for this berry towards Eastern European countries, including Ukraine and Poland. “The situation is interesting: before the season, no one wanted to fix the volumes, and now we are actively selling and reorienting ourselves to Eastern Europe,” said one of the traders. Active sales are expected to continue from the end of June to mid-August. Notably,

The country is reforming its mineral sector, which has endured three years of war, with the hope of unlocking its vast potential and attracting billions of dollars in investment through its partnership with the US on minerals, Ecology Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said. Ukraine possesses deposits of 22 out of the 34 minerals that the EU considers critical for industries such as defense, high-tech equipment, and green energy. The mining industry currently contributes about 4% to the country’s GDP, although its

The Ukrainian economy urgently requires an additional 4.5 million workers. Currently, out of 31 million Ukrainians living in the country, 13.3 million are employed, and around one million are unemployed. However, there are another 12.5 million individuals categorized as being outside the labor market. This group includes 7.5 million pensioners, two million students, one million women on maternity leave, and 400,000 people with disabilities, as well as 0.5 million engaged in maintaining their households. There are also a number of

“All previously imposed restrictions – whether they have already been removed or not – are currently being reviewed because President Trump believes that the current status quo is not in our shared interest in forcing Russia to negotiate,” said one senior Western official. The US president’s final decision on whether to punish Russia, as well as the next phase of support for Ukraine, will be discussed this week during meetings with German officials in Washington. Washington military analyst Jorge Rivero

US President Donald Trump is considering these sanctions due to his frustration with Putin’s continued aggressive actions toward Ukraine and the slow progress in peace talks. The restrictions are likely not to include new banking sanctions. Other options for pressuring the Russian leader to make concessions at the negotiating table, particularly a 30-day ceasefire, are also being discussed. However, Trump may refuse to impose new sanctions because he is “tired” of peace talks and may abandon them altogether if the

While the German government no longer plans to publicly announce specifics of defense assistance, relevant decisions are already being prepared behind the scenes. In particular, discussions are ongoing regarding how Berlin can assist Ukrainian enterprises in producing modern long-range weapons. This involves strategic support for Ukraine’s defense sector, aimed at enhancing its ability to independently manufacture weapons. This topic is expected to be a key focus during the in-person meeting of Chancellor Friedrich Merz with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy,

Ukraine is facing challenges with sourcing air defense missiles; in particular, it has exhausted its supply of charges for SAMP/T systems. Additionally, it has not received a single missile for the Crotale short-range anti-aircraft system in 1.5 years. Currently several Patriot air defense units are positioned around Kyiv, but they cannot ensure 100% protection against ballistic attacks. Le Monde notes that the rise in the number of air targets, their diversity, and the complexity of flight paths is straining the

The US has already received a list of conditions for achieving an end to the war from Ukraine and now expects a corresponding memorandum from Russia to compare them, said the US President’s special envoy in Ukraine, Keith Kellogg. He emphasized that it is necessary to continue applying pressure on the Russians to force them to engage in negotiations with Ukraine. If they submit the memorandum, another round of peace talks will take place, possibly in Geneva, Switzerland. “We wanted

On May 26, natural gas prices in the Ukrainian market reached ₴23,000 per 1,000 cubic meters (including VAT). The cost of gas has climbed to the highest level in over two years and exceeded European market prices, equating to $458-466 per 1,000 cubic meters or €38.15-38.83 per MWh. The difference compared to European indicators is €2 per MWh, the highest value since February 2024. Analysts attribute the price surge in the domestic market to a significant excess of demand over

The Ministry of Economy and the World Bank discussed the implementation of the RISE program. Under this initiative, Ukraine signed agreements with the World Bank last year totaling $593M and has already received $236M. If the program’s key indicators are successfully implemented, Ukraine expects to receive another $300M this year. “We are close to launching the grant component of the RISE program – $10M from the World Bank’s Ukraine Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform Trust Fund (URTF). This will allow us

The European Commission and leading EU countries support lowering the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel as part of a new sanctions package against Russia. Sources familiar with the discussions of the 18th EU sanctions package said that the proposal is backed by France, Germany, Italy, and Britain, which is not part of the EU. However, not all EU countries and G7 partners are prepared to support such a measure. At a meeting of G7

Despite the current 17 EU sanctions packages, in 2025 Russia is projected to receive about $233B from the export of raw materials and energy resources and more than $20B from EU countries alone. “This is, for example, many times more than what Europe spends on military aid to Ukraine,” Bild says. The Kremlin generates income from the supply of coal, oil, LNG, and uranium. China, Turkey, and India are the main buyers, but the EU also plays a significant role.

Sweden has announced the allocation of SEK 4.8B (€417M) to assist the Ukrainian military and defense industry. These funds are part of the country’s 19th aid package and include financial contributions to the following funds and initiatives: SEK100M(€9.1M) to the demining coalition SEK300M (€27.5M) to the drone coalition SEK 50M (€4.5M) to the maritime coalition, including the training of military personnel SEK 30M (€2.7M) to the IT coalition SEK 1 billion (€91.7M) to the Danish model of arms procurement from

Ukraine and the United Kingdom have signed a project agreement regarding the use of excess profits from frozen Russian assets as part of the ERA initiative for the armament and repair of military equipment. Consequently, during 2025-2026 Ukraine will receive $3B. The funds will be directed to: The procurement of foreign-made defense products The repair and maintenance of military equipment The implementation of joint projects with the participation of Ukrainian and international defense companies The procurement of other critically important

The Ministry of Economy has outlined the key components of this new employment strategy. Many citizens are struggling to find employment, particularly veterans, individuals with disabilities, women, older adults, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and Ukrainians living abroad. Currently, around 4.65 million IDPs are registered in Ukraine, nearly two million of whom are of working age. Additionally, over 6.9 million citizens reside outside of Ukraine. The Ministry of Economy is developing a new strategy in which inclusion is essential for sustainable

US President Donald Trump has finally criticized the Russian president, labeling him as “absolutely crazy” and cautioning that an attempt to take all of Ukraine would result in the “fall” of Russia. Previously, Trump also expressed outrage at Putin’s actions and mentioned that he was considering introducing new sanctions. “I don’t know what happened to Putin. I’ve known him for a very long time. But he’s sending missiles into cities, killing people, and I don’t like it,” Trump remarked. US

The Russian military has not depleted its missile stocks even in the fourth year of the war with Ukraine. The Kremlin currently possesses about 500 missiles and has no plans to halt production. Meanwhile, manufacturers of Patriot air defense missiles are still falling behind the Russians in munitions production, wrote The Economist. For instance, Lockheed Martin, which builds Patriot systems and their accompanying missiles (PAC-3), is increasing its capacity to 650 missiles per year. However, this is approximately 100 fewer

During the WDR Europaforum, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated: “There are no longer any restrictions on the use of long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine – neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by our side, nor by the Americans. This means that Ukraine can defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions on the territory of the Russian Federation. Before that, it could not do this.” He noted that Ukraine, in contrast to the Russian Federation, exclusively uses

Analysts report that in the first quarter, Ukraine failed to meet four indicators required under the Ukraine Facility program on time. This situation may not only postpone the disbursement of the program’s next loan to Ukraine but could also cause a significant reduction in available funding. Following the European Commission’s implementation of a new system for distributing partial tranches, each of these indicators now has a monetary equivalent. Consequently, not meeting specific conditions leads to an automatic decrease in funds