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According to Deputy Energy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk, the completion of Russian gas transit through Ukraine will begin competition for new routes and resources, including LNG, which is becoming an increasingly large percentage of the EU’s overall consumption. Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities and Polish LNG gas terminals can create a new business model that will replace gas transit from Russia. “Integration of gas markets based on existing infrastructure and increasing available interstate capacity give impetus to the development of trade

The EU is gradually increasing the share of Russian gas in total gas imports. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, this share collapsed, but over the past year, it has grown again, according to Bloomberg. In the first quarter of 2022, the share of Russian supplies was 34% and was the largest among all suppliers (Norway was in second place with 25%), and in the second quarter of 2023, Russian gas accounted for only 14% of

The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament has finally approved the Lex Ukrajina VII law that will extend temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees. The current protection expires on March 31. With the law’s passage, it will be extended for another year. Also, refugees who have stable jobs and do not receive state assistance can apply for a special long-term residence permit. The law will come into force in early February. In Lithuania, due to registrations by persons with inactive

The total area of ​​residential buildings for which construction permits were issued (new construction) decreased by 6.6% in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period in 2023, to 2.962 million square meters. The total area of ​​new construction of apartment buildings decreased by 8.3% to 2.8 million square meters. The number of apartments declared at the start of construction decreased by 12.2% and amounted to 30,900. The largest number of new housing units was declared

On December 13, the UBN Network hosted an event titled “WAR & POLITICS: POST US ELECTIONS – WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR UKRAINE.” As the general sponsor of UBN’s series of events, Piraeus Bank supported this critical discussion about Ukraine’s future in the context of rising global political changes. The event brought together diplomats, business leaders, government officials, and geopolitical experts to discuss the impact of the recent U.S. elections on Ukraine and what Ukraine should expect from President-elect Donald

According to Reuters, President-Elect Donald Trump’s envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, will travel to Kyiv in early January 2025. Kellogg plans to meet with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv, and his team is also working to arrange meetings with leaders in other European capitals, including Rome, Paris, and London. The trip is still being planned, and the itinerary could change. The visits are aimed at helping to bring the war to a swift end. The meetings are expected to be focused

Newly elected US President Donald Trump knows that Ukraine does not want to surrender and freeze the war, President Zelenskyy said, commenting on the negotiations with Trump in Paris. “We are not going to give up our independence. The danger would be to say: We will freeze the war and come to an agreement with the Russians,” the president noted. The Ukrainian president added that Trump wants to move quickly to resolve the war, but he does not yet have

From now on, NATO will play a direct role in Ukraine’s war against Russia, although the involvement of Alliance troops is not envisaged. At the same time, the transfer of control to NATO coordination may have a limited effect, as Trump may significantly limit its assistance to Ukraine since the US is the leading force in the Alliance and the main supplier of weapons to Ukraine. The headquarters of the new NATO mission in Ukraine, NATO Security Assistance and Training

President Zelenskyy stated during a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities that the US has allocated $177B to support Ukraine, but not all the money and aid deliveries have arrived. Half of these funds came in the form of weapons produced at American factories. However, Ukraine still needs an additional 12-15 Patriot air defense systems and other weapon systems to close the Ukrainian sky to Russian attack. Zelenskyy noted that the US is Ukraine’s main donor and

European countries could form a deterrent force that would be deployed in Ukraine, with about 40,000 European peacekeepers likely to participate in the mission, but the number could increase to 100,000 under a rotation scheme. Talks on deploying a peacekeeping force to Ukraine under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron are in their early stages, but there have already been disagreements over the mission’s goals and mandate. European leaders are currently focused on increasing military and economic aid to

Rajan Menon, a scholar at the Saltzman Institute for the Study of War and Peace at Columbia University, believes that the prospects for a peace agreement are now becoming more realistic and that the return of Donald Trump to the post of US president could significantly affect the course of the war. The analyst listed at least four realistic scenarios for the war’s end and Ukraine’s post-war security: Ukraine’s membership in NATO. This remains Kyiv’s primary goal, but reaching a

The growth rate of Ukraine’s economy in 2025 will decrease to 3.4% compared to the expected result of 4% in 2024. At the same time, inflation will slow from 11.5% to 7%. ICU predicts that Ukraine’s nominal GDP in 2025 will amount to $203B, compared to the $191B currently forecasted for 2024. Experts believe that the growth rate of private household consumption will decrease slightly due to slower income growth. Analysts also do not expect significant changes in exports and

The Polish government plans to transfer a new aid package to Ukraine in January, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in Lviv. He said the 46th support package will include weapons and equipment worth €100M. Tusk added that Warsaw is preparing to implement a project that will equip Ukrainian brigades, and that he will discuss this with other European partners, particularly the Baltic and Scandinavian countries. In addition, the Polish Prime Minister said: “Poland will hold the EU presidency from

According to the IEA, in 2024 the world’s coal use will reach a new high of 8.7 billion tons and remain at a high level for several years. The cause is the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has led to a global gas crisis. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, global gas prices have increased, coal production and trade have increased, and coal-fired electricity generation has reached record levels. Also contributing to the trend is that China uses 30% more coal

The Verkhovna Rada has made amendments to the national program for the development of Ukraine’s mineral and raw material base until 2030, which takes into account the low funding level and Ukraine’s partial occupation. The legislation provides that state funding be reorientated to exploration in order to identify investment-attractive deposits. Further exploration will not be carried out at the state’s expense and should be financed by subsoil users who assume the investment risk. The state undertakes to create the necessary

According to analysts, in 2019 Ukraine exported 42,180 tons of scrap for $11.8M. In 2020, exports decreased by 15.1%, in monetary terms, to $9.5M. But in pre-war 2021, ferrous scrap exports increased by 1,600% to 615,690 tons (+1,618.8%), in monetary terms by 2,400% to $238.9M. In response, the parliament raised the export duty from €58 to €180 per ton. Following that change, in the first year of the full-scale war, scrap exports fell by 91.3% to 53,560 tons ($19.3M). As

In Rivne, the Pokrovsky shopping center has been put into operation after closing for renovation in 2022. Among the anchors, a Thrash! supermarket, with an area of ​​about 420 square meters, and an E-ZOO pet store have already opened their doors for business. On December 21, the Polish fashion brand Sinsay will open its doors, and in January 2025, Equadorcoffee and Pharmacy 9·1·1 will begin operating. Also, a leading Ukrainian developer, Budhouse Group, has announced significant changes in the tenant

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that Moscow intends to fully seize the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine in 2025. At a Defense Ministry meeting, he confirmed that Russia will achieve “the goals announced by President Putin in June.” Belousov added, “In 2025, Moscow plans to win the war.” Moscow’s intention to continue the war was also stated by Russia’s UN representative, Vasily Nebenzia, at a Security Council meeting. According to him, Moscow is not satisfied with

On December 16, Russian assault units carried out a series of attacks on Ukrainian positions in the eastern direction. In the resulting combat, some Ukrainian fortifications suffered significant damage, which made it impossible to hold them any longer, the Khortytsya Military District said. According to The Economist, about 50% of the territory in the Kursk region that Ukrainian troops captured at the beginning of the operation has already returned to Russian control. Russian troops had intensified their offensive in the

US President-Elect Donald Trump noted that his team is currently working to end the Russian war against Ukraine, and there is already “some progress.” Trump stressed that “We have made some progress. The situation is complex and difficult.” He added that the number of military casualties on both sides is “astronomical,” and the real situation is much worse than reported. The president-elect plans to talk with Zelenskyy and Putin to end the war. Trump also said that he may reconsider