Partners news

Friday, March 12

Motor Sich is a flashpoint for the United States and China Motor Sich is a flashpoint for the United States and China, presenting a dilemma for Ukraine which relies on Washington for military aid but is dependent on Beijing for future economic growth.

The National Bank’s independence is vital, The National Bank’s independence is vital, IMF press officer Jerry Rice said in a briefing in Washington. Rice noted “preserving the integrity, independence and effectiveness of Ukrainian anti-c...

Thursday, March 11

Ukrzaliznytsia passenger service – which has been hemorrhaging money loser – lost 26% more of its income in the last year, a total of $314 million Ukrzaliznytsia passenger service – which has been hemorrhaging money loser – lost 26% more of its income in the last year, a total of $314 million, said Volodomyr Zhmak, the state railroad’s CEO, yest...

The share of UZ cars in freight trains has dropped in half – from 47% in 2018 to 21% in 2021 The share of UZ cars in freight trains has dropped in half – from 47% in 2018 to 21% in 2021, Zhmak said. This year, Zhmak wants to increase the UZ portion to 40%. Private cars are more popular becaus...

Former Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Wojciech Balczun is co-owner of Aurum Polonez, an amber mining company in Klesiv, northern Rivne oblast Former Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Wojciech Balczun is co-owner of Aurum Polonez, an amber mining company in Klesiv, northern Rivne oblast, according to Nadra.info. A Polish rock musician, Balczun ran UZ in 20...

Egis Ukraina, a French-financed engineering company working in Ukraine for the last three decades, Egis Ukraina, a French-financed engineering company working in Ukraine for the last three decades, has entered into a joint venture with Ertle, Ltd, an international engineering and construction holdi...

Half of Ukrainians seeking work abroad want to go to Poland, with two thirds looking for seasonal work, Half of Ukrainians seeking work abroad want to go to Poland, with two thirds looking for seasonal work, according to an OLX Work survey last month of 7,700 Ukrainian job seekers. The other top two des...

Resistance to vaccinations against the coronavirus is high and growing in Ukraine, Resistance to vaccinations against the coronavirus is high and growing in Ukraine, the AP reports in an article headlined: “Wide resistance to vaccines plagues Ukraine’s COVID-19 fight.” The portion o...

The Health Ministry reported that 40% of medical workers say they do not want to be vaccinated. The Health Ministry reported that 40% of medical workers say they do not want to be vaccinated. In the Donetsk village of Selydove, a visiting AP reporter found that only 5% of medical workers agreed ...

Ukraine and Israel are negotiating mutual recognition of “vaccination passports” for tourist travel Ukraine and Israel are negotiating mutual recognition of “vaccination passports” for tourist travel, Yevhen Korniychuk, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel, told Ukraine 24 TV. In September, mo...

UIA said that it has refunded $2.5 million to travelers last month for flights cancelled due to COVID-19. UIA said that it has refunded $2.5 million to travelers last month for flights cancelled due to COVID-19. These refunds, up to 15,000 passengers, brings to $29 million the airline has refunded to cust...

Passenger traffic at Kyiv Boryspil was down by two thirds during the first two months of this year Passenger traffic at Kyiv Boryspil was down by two thirds during the first two months of this year, compared to January-February 2020, reported the Center for Transportation Studies. With UIA’s suspen...

A total of 1,000 people a day crossed the two checkpoints with Russia-controlled Crimea last month A total of 1,000 people a day crossed the two checkpoints with Russia-controlled Crimea last month, reported Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service. This volume – 27,300 people – was down 88% compared t...

In the last six months, Ukraine’s Central Bank has moved from collegiality to Soviet-style centralism In the last six months, Ukraine’s Central Bank has moved from collegiality to Soviet-style centralism, Kateryna Rozhkova, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, said in a lengthy inter...

Hours after the interview with NV was posted Hours after the interview with NV was posted on Facebook yesterday, the bank’s communications department tried — unsuccessfully — to censor the interview. Rozhkova also complained that she...

Independence of the Central Bank became the critical issue with the IMF last summer Independence of the Central Bank became the critical issue with the IMF last summer after President Zelenskiy pushed out the internationally known and respected governor, Yakiv Smoliy. In the ensuing ...

With the $5 billion IMF lending program to Ukraine suspended, Bloomberg and Reuters moved stories yesterday on the spat With the $5 billion IMF lending program to Ukraine suspended, Bloomberg and Reuters moved stories yesterday on the spat. Bloomberg headlined: “Another Ukrainian Central Banker Speaks Out on Governance...

Wednesday, March 10

The Health Ministry yesterday approved the use in Ukraine, Sinovac, the Chinese manufactured COVID-19 vaccine. The Health Ministry yesterday approved the use in Ukraine, Sinovac, the Chinese manufactured COVID-19 vaccine. Next week, 1.9 million doses are due to arrive in Ukraine.

Inflation spiked up to 7.5% yoy in February, a jump from the 6.1% yoy increase in January Inflation spiked up to 7.5% yoy in February, a jump from the 6.1% yoy increase in January, reported the State Statistics Service. Last month, the biggest factor was a 45% yoy increase in price of natu...

Adamant Capital last night wrote of the inflation spike: “One of the reasons for this may be the sharp YoY increase in the money supply. Despite the fact that the NBU has already increased the key rate by 50bps to 6.5%, we expect the CPI to accelerate furth...

The Finance Ministry managed to keep lowering rates for short term government bonds at yesterday’s weekly auction The Finance Ministry managed to keep lowering rates for short term government bonds at yesterday’s weekly auction, the Ministry reported on Facebook. The all-hryvnia auction yielded the equivalent of ...

The Rada will soon vote on the final passage of the “Google” tax – a tax that would impose a 20% VAT tax on provision of Internet services by foreign companies to residents of Ukraine The Rada will soon vote on the final passage of the “Google” tax – a tax that would impose a 20% VAT tax on provision of Internet services by foreign companies to residents of Ukraine. The law, which ...

Services that would be taxed include: Services that would be taxed include: sale of images or texts, e-books; sale of audio, video, games, gambling; providing paid access to electronic resources; provision of cloud technologies for data p...

Last week’s US entry ban on Ihor Kolomoisky and his immediate family “is the beginning,” Last week’s US entry ban on Ihor Kolomoisky and his immediate family “is the beginning,” Iuliia Mendel, spokeswoman for President Zelenskiy, said in an interview posted yesterday on the YouTube channe...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the fourth Ukrainian-German Economic Forum German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the fourth Ukrainian-German Economic Forum, an investment and trade conference that will take place on line on Friday, March 19. According to Ukraine’s Emb...

Kyiv plans to receive 5 to 7 container trains a month from China this year, which is double last year’s rate, reported Ukrzaliznytsia. Kyiv plans to receive 5 to 7 container trains a month from China this year, which is double last year’s rate, reported Ukrzaliznytsia. The trains take about 15 days to travel from China and are unload...

Poland’s PCC Intermodal S.A. plans to triple container trains between Poland and Ukraine, to three per week this year Poland’s PCC Intermodal S.A. plans to triple container trains between Poland and Ukraine, to three per week this year, according to the company’s website. Starting last year, the company picks up and ...

Ukraine should invest in achieving universal fluency in English among young people, Ukraine should invest in achieving universal fluency in English among young people, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said yesterday at a “Ukraine 30” forum on c...

The sale of Ukrposhta’s iconic postwar headquarters at 22 Kreschatyk Street, Kyiv will take two years The sale of Ukrposhta’s iconic postwar headquarters at 22 Kreschatyk Street, Kyiv will take two years, Ihor Smilyanskyi, director of the state postal system, said in a video. With Kyiv’s commercial re...

The Cabinet of Ministers last night banned travel on buses and trains to and from four regions listed as ‘red zones’ for coronavirus infections: Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Zhytomyr. The Cabinet of Ministers last night banned travel on buses and trains to and from four regions listed as ‘red zones’ for coronavirus infections: Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Zhytomyr. ...

Stepanov yesterday berated the vaccination program he leads. Stepanov yesterday berated the vaccination program he leads. In the two weeks since 500,000 vaccines arrived from India, 20,000 people have been vaccinated and 190,000 are on waiting lists. “I’m not s...

Tuesday, March 9

Bucking the world recession, Ukraine’s IT exports increased by 20% yoy, to $5 billion Bucking the world recession, Ukraine’s IT exports increased by 20% yoy, to $5 billion, according to new figures from the National Bank of Ukraine. IT now accounts for 8.3% of total exports, putting it...

Of the 100 best IT outsourcing firms in the world, 11 are based in Ukraine Of the 100 best IT outsourcing firms in the world, 11 are based in Ukraine, according to the 2021 Global Outsourcing 100 list, a ranking compiled annually by the International Association of Outsourci...

The share of women in Ukraine’s IT workforce has tripled over the last decade, hitting 22% today The share of women in Ukraine’s IT workforce has tripled over the last decade, hitting 22% today, according to a study by GlobalLogic. Women now account for one third of all testers in Ukraine and 8% ...

Almost 40 Belarusian IT companies with a total of 2,000 employees have moved to Ukraine in the last six months Almost 40 Belarusian IT companies with a total of 2,000 employees have moved to Ukraine in the last six months, Mykhailo Fedorov, minister for Digital Transformation, tells Interfax-Ukraine. The emigr...

Ukraine is following the example of Dubai, Silicon Valley and Belarus of a decade ago by creating a low tax, low bureaucracy regime for IT companies Ukraine is following the example of Dubai, Silicon Valley and Belarus of a decade ago by creating a low tax, low bureaucracy regime for IT companies, Fedorov told Interfax last week. In coming days, t...

About 10% of Ukraine’s population are now using ‘Diya 2.0,’ the updated version of the mobile digitized documents app that was launched only one year ago About 10% of Ukraine’s population are now using ‘Diya 2.0,’ the updated version of the mobile digitized documents app that was launched only one year ago, Fedorov reports on his Telegram channel. With...

For the first time, Internet tops TV as the primary news sources for Ukrainians For the first time, Internet tops TV as the primary news sources for Ukrainians, according to a new survey by Research & Branding Group. For news, the preferences are: Internet – 51%; TV – 44%; ra...

Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, reports the most popular messenger services for its 25.9 million users are: Viber– 12 million; Facebook messenger – 11 million; Telegram – 6 mi...

Kyivstar reports Kyivstar reports a 30% yoy increase in subscribers using 4G Internet last year. At the end of the year, average consumption of data traffic per subscriber was 6.1 GB in the fourth quarter — 43% ...

Online advertising grew by 7% last year, countering the overall stagnation of Ukraine’s advertising market Online advertising grew by 7% last year, countering the overall stagnation of Ukraine’s advertising market, reports the Ukrainian Internet Association. With millions of Ukrainians housebound and turni...

Declaring war on paper documents, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved Declaring war on paper documents, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved 94 digital transformation projects to be added to the Diya app over the next three years. A sampling are: E-notary, E-property, ...

“Our goal is for Ukraine to enter the top 20 digital countries of the world,” President Zelenskiy said “Our goal is for Ukraine to enter the top 20 digital countries of the world,” President Zelenskiy said on presentation of the program. “To do this, we must provide every Ukrainian with high-speed Inte...

The EU is providing Ukraine with €20 million to help digital development The EU is providing Ukraine with €20 million to help digital development, Minister Fedorov writes on Telegram. To be implemented with the help of Estonia’s e-Governance Academy and FIIAPP, Spain’s pub...

Monday, March 8

Ukraine will allow dual citizenship with EU and “friendly countries,” Ukraine will allow dual citizenship with EU and “friendly countries,” Foreign Minister Kuleba said on Friday when he announced plans to allow dual citizenship in Ukraine with the EU countries. One goa...

Ukraine’s grain harvest is expected to rise by 15% to 75 million tons this year, returning to the bumper crop levels of 2019, Ukraine’s grain harvest is expected to rise by 15% to 75 million tons this year, returning to the bumper crop levels of 2019, Deputy Economy Minister Taras Vysotskyi wrote on Facebook. While the amoun...

Oil crops are increase by 3.2% to 19 million tons. Oil crops are increase by 3.2% to 19 million tons. The harvest forecasts are: sunflower seeds +3% to 13.5 million tons; soy +11% to 3 million tons; and canola unchanged, at 2.6 million tons.

The State Department has barred Ihor Kolomoiskiy and his immediate family from entering the US. The State Department has barred Ihor Kolomoiskiy and his immediate family from entering the US. The bans come as the US Justice Department pursues a civil case alleging Kolomoiskiy and his business pa...

After Ukraine’s government nationalized PrivatBank in 2016 After Ukraine’s government nationalized PrivatBank in 2016, Kolomoiskiy left Ukraine for Switzerland and then for Israel, where he also holds citizenship. In 2019, Kolomoiskiy backed Zelenskiy in the ...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken couched the Kolomoiskiy bans in the framework of getting Ukraine back on a Western-style free market, low corruption track. Secretary of State Antony Blinken couched the Kolomoiskiy bans in the framework of getting Ukraine back on a Western-style free market, low corruption track. “The United States continues to stand with...