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EU defense and space commissioner Andrius Kubilius wants the next seven-year EU budget to include around €100B for defense needs. The current seven-year EU budget, which exceeds €1T, only includes €10B for defense. Kubilius said rebuilding the EU defense industry after decades of decline following the Cold War will require a lot of money. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously spoken of the need to increase European defense spending by another €500B over the next decade. Kubilius

According to a report by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), from January to August 2024 the EU bought almost 20% more fuel from three major Indian refineries that use Russian oil than last year. This is despite the EU’s attempts to impose a price cap of $60 per barrel and ban direct imports of Russian crude into the bloc. The loopholes in the oil ban were deliberately left open, as the G7 feared a sharp rise in

In 2020, supplies of Ukrainian cement to Poland amounted to 32,000 tons, in 2021 – 52,600 tons, in 2022 – 101,700 tons, in 2023 – up to 340,000 tons. This year, imports from Ukraine are expected to reach over 500,000 tons, and next year – 1.5 million tons. Before the war, Ukraine used 12 million tons of cement each year, but now usage has fallen to four million tons. The surplus is exported mainly to Poland. The leading supplier is

According to the State Customs Service, Ukraine’s trade turnover in January-November amounted to $101.9B: imports – $63.6B, exports – $38.3B. Ukraine imported the most goods from China – $13B, Poland – $6.3B and Germany – $4.8B. Ukraine exported the most to Poland – $4.4B, Spain – $2.7B and Germany – $2.7B. Of the total volume of imported goods, 65% were from the following categories: machinery, equipment, and transport – $22.2B chemical industry products – $10.7B fuel and energy – $8.2B

As of October 31, 2024, more than 4.198 million Ukrainians who left Ukraine after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion had temporary protection status in EU countries. Compared to the end of September, the increase is 1,100 people. Germany remains the EU country with the largest number of Ukrainian refugees  – 1.14 million, or 27.2% of the total. Poland is the second largest, with 983,880 refugees (23.4%), and the Czech Republic – 379,370 (9%). Ukrainian citizens make up more

French President Emmanuel Macron persuaded US President-Elect Donald Trump to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart in Paris, where world leaders have gathered to reopen Notre Dame Cathedral. After the meeting on December 7, Trump said that Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to conclude a deal with Russia to “stop this madness” and called for immediate negotiations. Commenting on the meeting with the US and French leaders, Zelenskyy called it productive and stressed that Trump is “determined.” At the same time,

The US will provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of additional artillery shells, thousands of missiles, and hundreds of armored vehicles by mid-January, stated the US President’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, at a meeting with the Head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. The US has also promised to support Ukraine by training military personnel, which will be carried out abroad. All this is happening in parallel with the finalization of an agreement to provide Ukraine with a $20B

An EU summit, the first under Antonio Costa’s European Council presidency, will be held on December 19. “The situation in Ukraine will be at the center of our discussions. We must stay with Ukraine for as long as necessary and do everything possible to ensure that the Russian invasion is defeated and international law prevails,” Costa said. According to him, this meeting is a significant opportunity to send a single, unambiguous signal of support for Ukraine and a comprehensive, just,

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ukraine’s long-term foreign currency rating at restricted default (RD) as Ukraine continues to restructure its external debt. “Ukraine’s foreign currency issuer default rating will remain at RD until Fitch assesses the completion of swaps and normalization of relations with a significant majority of external commercial creditors,” Fitch noted. Ukraine’s national currency ratings are maintained at CCC+. A significant portion of the national debt belongs to the NBU and Ukrainian banks. “Such an ownership structure would limit

Fitch Ratings predicts a slowdown in Ukraine’s economic growth. In 2024, GDP growth is predicted to reach 4%, facilitated by the normalization of Black Sea trade activity, high government spending, and household income. In 2025 economic growth is forecast to slow to 2.9% due to labor and electricity shortages. However, “a long-term and reliable ceasefire could significantly improve the country’s growth prospects in 2025-2026.” As for inflation, Fitch’s estimate is 9.3% in 2025 versus 6.2% in 2024. The ratings agency

Representatives of EU countries were not able to approve the 15th package of sanctions against Russia, aimed at its elusive shadow fleet. According to EU diplomats, Lithuania and Latvia blocked the adoption of the package due to disagreements over an extension of the deadline given to European companies to withdraw their investments from Russia, which has allowed them to operate in Russia despite the sanctions. Some companies are abusing this loophole, enabling them to remain in Russia.The European Commission promised

Denmark and Sweden have jointly ordered and paid for 40 CV 90 infantry fighting vehicles from the manufacturer, Hägglunds, for a total of SEK 25B (€2.1B). The Estonian defense company Frankenburg Technologies will start testing of its innovative anti-aircraft missile with an AI-powered guidance system in Ukraine next year. An agreement between Ukraine and Estonia to conduct the tests has already been concluded. Also, President Zelenskyy announced that the second batch of F-16 fighters transferred to Ukraine by Denmark had

The Russian military has lost almost its entire advantage in the number of artillery shells it is able to fire over Ukraine in recent months due to production restrictions and Ukrainian strikes on ammunition warehouses. As an example, earlier in the war the Russian army was able to fire at least 400% more shells than the Ukrainian military, but now there are only 1.5 Russian shells for every Ukrainian shell. As well, 3,000 Ukrainian Starlink terminals used by the military

Although European allies are concerned that the US will cease providing aid to Kyiv after Donald Trump enters office, the EU is confident that Ukraine will soon receive a $50B loan to be repaid with proceeds from frozen Russian assets. The US plans to provide $20B of the loan. The Biden administration is also allocating new aid packages to Ukraine. Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said that, thanks to the support already announced by the US, Kyiv will be able

Ukraine and the World Bank plan to continue their cooperation in 2025 and to further fund the RISE entrepreneurship support program, housing sector instruments, and mortgage programs, support Ukraine in long-term economic modeling, and launch the I_Can regional development program. Under the RISE program, $250M will be paid by the end of this year. “Next year, we expect to attract additional funds. The RISE program will support up to 20,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and will contribute to the creation

The State Property Fund (SPFU) has determined the starting price for the sale of the state-owned stake in the Construction Company Ukrbud – ₴262.6M. The privatization terms and starting price have yet to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. Ukrbud, established by the government in 2004, is engaged in the design of industrial and civil facilities, construction and installation works, and worker training. As of September 2024, Ukrbud comprised 10 separate structural divisions and 11 subsidiaries, with a book

The Eastern Committee of the German Economy reported that the volume of Ukrainian-German trade in 2024 could reach €11-12B. Currently, both exports and imports are growing. For comparison, in pre-war 2021 Germany’s exports to Ukraine amounted to about €5.4B, imports – €3.1B (a total of €8.5B); in the first year of the full-scale invasion, the figures fell to €4.8B and €3.2B, respectively, and in 2023, there was a rapid growth in German exports to €6.9B, while imports from Ukraine decreased

US President-Elect Donald Trump has three main proposals for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, none of which involve Ukraine joining NATO: a plan by Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia General Keith Kellogg, a plan by US Vice President-elect JD Vance and a plan by former acting Trump intelligence chief Richard Grenell. Kellogg’s plan involves freezing current battle lines and increasing US military aid in exchange for Kyiv’s agreement to peace talks. Moscow would be warned that aid to Ukraine

Technically, the accession of part of Ukraine to NATO is possible and would have precedent, following the examples of Germany before its unification and certain islands co-owned by France and the UK that are not Alliance territories by treaty. Therefore, the question is whether NATO members have the political will for this, especially the US, writes DW. Germany is afraid that the risk of being drawn into a military conflict in response to another Russian attack on Ukraine would be

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak met in Washington with Donald Trump’s special representative for the Russian-Ukrainian war, Keith Kellogg, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Vice President-elect JD Vance. According to the WSJ, Kellogg supports the Biden administration’s efforts to provide as much weapons as possible to Ukraine before the inauguration. He said this would give Trump leverage over Moscow in settlement negotiations. At the same time, the Trump team “did not show much