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Monday, December 21

Elena Bilan, Dragon Capital’s Chief Economist noted that the export price for Ukrainian steel has risen by 150% this year Elena Bilan, Dragon Capital’s Chief Economist noted that the export price for Ukrainian steel has risen by 150% this year, to almost $700/ton. She wrote: “Favorable prices for export goods and foreign...

Ukraine is selling less food, but making more money, calculates Alfa-Bank Ukraine. Ukraine is selling less food, but making more money, calculates Alfa-Bank Ukraine. “Decreased crops have been more than compensated by elevated prices for key commodities,” Oleskiy Blinov, Alfa’s head...

President Zelenskiy President Zelenskiy promises The New York Times to “reformat” the Constitutional Court as part of “global judicial reform in Ukraine, which we will start implementing next year.” In a video link inter...

Sales of electronics and home appliances during last month’s ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ were up 28% yoy to $235 million Sales of electronics and home appliances during last month’s ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ were up 28% yoy to $235 million, reports the Ukraine unit of GfK, Germany largest market research institu...

Ending a 9-month suspension, Qatar Airways resumed flights Friday between Doha and Kyiv Boryspil Ending a 9-month suspension, Qatar Airways resumed flights Friday between Doha and Kyiv Boryspil. Flights will be four times a week on Airbus A320 jets. From Doha, Qatar flies to 100 destinations, sai...

European development banks are providing €900 million to rebuild the southern half of the Kyiv-Odesa highway and a 24 km northern bypass around Lviv, European development banks are providing €900 million to rebuild the southern half of the Kyiv-Odesa highway and a 24 km northern bypass around Lviv, reported the Infrastructure Ministry. “This projec...

Friday, December 18

Ukraine’s version of Mary Poppins – the ‘investment nannies’ – were voted into existence by the Rada yesterday Ukraine’s version of Mary Poppins – the ‘investment nannies’ – were voted into existence by the Rada yesterday as part of a wider package of incentives for foreign and domestic investors. The investme...

Signaling that Ukraine is open for business, the new law covers a wide range of sectors, Signaling that Ukraine is open for business, the new law covers a wide range of sectors, including: processing of food and minerals; waste management, transport, logistics, warehouses, package deliver...

With the government planning to recreate an agriculture ministry next month, With the government planning to recreate an agriculture ministry next month, the Rada approved yesterday Roman Leshchenko as the new minister of Agrarian Policy and Food. Most recently head of the Sta...

Leshchenko, aged 32, pledged to make the national farm land registry more transparent Leshchenko, aged 32, pledged to make the national farm land registry more transparent, brining millions of hectares ‘out of the shadows’ into the taxable economy. “Everyone knows that in the Chornobyl...

The Rada also appointed Serhiy Shkarlet as Minister of Education and Science The Rada also appointed Serhiy Shkarlet as Minister of Education and Science. The ruling party failed to muster enough votes appoint Yuriy Vitrenko, former executive director of Naftogaz, as Energy Mi...

Six months ago, it was called the Ministry of Energy and Coal Mining. Six months ago, it was called the Ministry of Energy and Coal Mining. But yesterday, Olha Buslavets, first deputy Ministry of Energy, briefed British officials that Ukraine “soon will join the Coalles...

DTEK rejects as “a politically motivated provocation” DTEK rejects as “a politically motivated provocation” a report by the National Anticorruption Bureau (NABU) that the power company sought have Buslavets installed last spring as Minister to derail an ...

Concorde Capital’s Concorde Capital’s Alexander Paraschiy writes: “It will be extremely hard to prove wrongdoing in the Rotterdam Plus approach implementation, and even harder to claim repayment for any damages from it&...

Today, the foreign ministers and defense ministers of Turkey and Ukraine meet in Kyiv for the first of what are to be regular ‘2+2’ meetings. Today, the foreign ministers and defense ministers of Turkey and Ukraine meet in Kyiv for the first of what are to be regular ‘2+2’ meetings. Today’s meeting comes as both Black Sea nations step a mil...

“Ukraine’s Leader Is Being Broken by the System He Vowed to Crush,” “Ukraine’s Leader Is Being Broken by the System He Vowed to Crush,” headlines a Bloomberg report from Kyiv. “Volodymyr Zelenskiy is flailing as hard-won reforms since the 2014 ouster of the country’s ...

Bloomberg offered hope that President-elect Biden will work to restore the free market reform momentum in Ukraine Bloomberg offered hope that President-elect Biden will work to restore the free market reform momentum in Ukraine. The article cites a recent Razumkov Center survey where 42% of respondents ranked Zel...

Today an agreement is to be signed allowing construction of Lviv’s Northern Bypass Today an agreement is to be signed allowing construction of Lviv’s Northern Bypass, says Oleksandr Kubrakov, head of Ukravtodor. Completing the missing link on Lviv’s ring road, the new highway will c...

Ukraine’s air passenger traffic should return next year to 50% the level of 2019, Ukraine’s air passenger traffic should return next year to 50% the level of 2019, Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krikliy predicted yesterday at a press conference in Kyiv. This year, he said, air p...

Following a strategy of modernizing five regional airports a year, the government has budgeted $85 million to renovate in 2021 the airports of Dnipro, Kherson, Rivne, Vinnytsia and Odesa Following a strategy of modernizing five regional airports a year, the government has budgeted $85 million to renovate in 2021 the airports of Dnipro, Kherson, Rivne, Vinnytsia and Odesa. Almost 60% o...

Thursday, December 17

A dysfunctional judicial system and government corruption were cited as the top two investor turnoffs. A dysfunctional judicial system and government corruption were cited as the top two investor turnoffs. “94% of respondents believe that a weak judicial system is one of the reasons for Ukraine′s low i...

Investment company Quarter Partners has launched an IT venture fund, promising to invest $100 million in Ukrainian startups Investment company Quarter Partners has launched an IT venture fund, promising to invest $100 million in Ukrainian startups or international ones with Ukrainian ties. Acting as an ‘angel investor,’ th...

Kyiv deepfake startup RefaceAI has raised $5.5 million from Silicon Valley investors, Kyiv deepfake startup RefaceAI has raised $5.5 million from Silicon Valley investors, Roman Mogylnyi, a co-founder, wrote on Facebook. Since launch last January, the face-swapping app has been downloa...

NASA has signed a $9.8 million contract with a Ukrainian-American aerospace company to launch small satellites for space research NASA has signed a $9.8 million contract with a Ukrainian-American aerospace company to launch small satellites for space research, reports the U.S. space agency. Firefly Black, a unit of Max Polyakov’...

Antonov Airlines has carried its largest satellite to date Antonov Airlines has carried its largest satellite to date – a 55-ton Space X communications satellite — from Toulouse, France to Titusville, Florida, home of the commercial airport serving the ...

Forty Belarusian tech companies and 2,000 IT workers have moved to Ukraine Forty Belarusian tech companies and 2,000 IT workers have moved to Ukraine in the four months since protests erupted after Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have won the Presidential Election. The Belar...

Turkey’s top military procurement official Ismail Demir has signed agreements in Kyiv for the technology transfer and joint production of attack drones and corvette warships Turkey’s top military procurement official Ismail Demir has signed agreements in Kyiv for the technology transfer and joint production of attack drones and corvette warships, Ukraine’s Defense Ministr...

Separately, Separately, Al-Monitor, another US-based new site, reported that in the second half of November Ukrainian forces tested Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drones over the Sea of Azov and around Kramato...

The new UK-Ukraine trade agreement has been ratified by both countries’ parliaments and will take effect on January 1, 2021 The new UK-Ukraine trade agreement has been ratified by both countries’ parliaments and will take effect on January 1, 2021 Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s Trade Representative, wrote on Facebook. The new pac...

Former US Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker is spearheading an ambitious project to open next September at the American University in Kyiv Former US Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker is spearheading an ambitious project to open next September at the American University in Kyiv. Announced this week, the new University aims to enroll 3,900 stud...

Betting on the revival of river cargo, the KPS Group is drawing up plans for a 5-year, $75 million project to build a multimodal port capable of doubling Kyiv’s river cargo volumes by 2027 Betting on the revival of river cargo, the KPS Group is drawing up plans for a 5-year, $75 million project to build a multimodal port capable of doubling Kyiv’s river cargo volumes by 2027. With rail ...

“Only 1 in 10 CEOs expect the investment climate to improve in 2021,” “Only 1 in 10 CEOs expect the investment climate to improve in 2021,” is the bleak headline on a survey of 101 managers in Ukraine conducted for European Business Association by Vasil Kisil & Part...

Wednesday, December 16

Despite the drops, Minister Petrashko said the 2020 harvest is “three times more than the needs of the domestic market Despite the drops, Minister Petrashko said the 2020 harvest is “three times more than the needs of the domestic market, and also allows us to maintain a leading position in the export of agricultural ...

Thousands of small business owners and workers yesterday protested the impending coronavirus lockdown and end of tax privileges Thousands of small business owners and workers yesterday protested the impending coronavirus lockdown and end of tax privileges, blocking central Kyiv’s Maidan Square and Kreschatyk Street into the ni...

One quarter of Kyiv restaurants have closed permanently due to coronavirus restrictions this year One quarter of Kyiv restaurants have closed permanently due to coronavirus restrictions this year, estimates a new study, “Consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic and quarantine measures for the leading...

Kyiv City has the highest coronavirus infection rate of Ukraine Kyiv City has the highest coronavirus infection rate of Ukraine, reports the Health Ministry. In the first half of December, Kyiv’s infection rate was 746 per 100,000 people. Close behind were: Cherka...

Almost one third of the Rada’s 424 members have had coronavirus since August Almost one third of the Rada’s 424 members have had coronavirus since August, reports Dmytro Razumkov, chairman of Ukraine’s one chamber parliament. Currently, 21 MPs and 55 Rada employees are undergo...

Fueled by foreign investors looking for high yields, the Finance Ministry sold a record $1.85 billion worth of government bonds at auction yesterday Fueled by foreign investors looking for high yields, the Finance Ministry sold a record $1.85 billion worth of government bonds at auction yesterday. Yields on hryvnia bonds ranged from 10% for 3-mont...

The total amount raised was more than three times the amount raised at last week’s auction. The total amount raised was more than three times the amount raised at last week’s auction. With two more weekly auctions scheduled this month, the Ministry is expected to cover the budget shortfall b...

The Rada passed Ukraine’s 2021 budget yesterday. A fiscally conservative document with a deficit of 5.5% of gross domestic product The Rada passed Ukraine’s 2021 budget yesterday. A fiscally conservative document with a deficit of 5.5% of gross domestic product, slightly less than this year. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said...

The budget numbers The budget numbers:

In another move to get back on track with the IMF, the Rada overwhelmingly approved yesterday two bills to restore powers to a key agency of Ukraine’s new Western-designed anti-corruption machinery. In another move to get back on track with the IMF, the Rada overwhelmingly approved yesterday two bills to restore powers to a key agency of Ukraine’s new Western-designed anti-corruption machinery. T...

In Washington, Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, warned that the incoming Biden administration will not give a free pass to the Zelenskiy administration In Washington, Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, warned that the incoming Biden administration will not give a free pass to the Zelenskiy administration due to Ukraine’s strategic value in...

Drought pushed down this year’s national grain harvest by 13% yoy, to 65.4 million tons Drought pushed down this year’s national grain harvest by 13% yoy, to 65.4 million tons, Igor Petrashko, minister of Economic Development and Trade, announced yesterday. The fall ended two years of re...

Tuesday, December 15

Ukraine’s power plants reduced their coal consumption by 32% through October and increased their gas use by 31% Ukraine’s power plants reduced their coal consumption by 32% through October and increased their gas use by 31%, reports Expro.com, citing Energy Ministry numbers. Coal consumption fell to 14.1 millio...

Ukraine is gradually phasing out the use of coal Ukraine is gradually phasing out the use of coal, President Zelenskiy told a UN-sponsored gathering on Saturday, the International Climate Ambition Summit. Promising a “fair transformation of the coal...

With demand dropping for coal, Ukraine’s coal mining industry is a shadow of its With demand dropping for coal, Ukraine’s coal mining industry is a shadow of its peak when it employed 500,000 miners, making Ukraine Europe’s third largest coal producer, after Germany and Poland. La...

All unprofitable mines will be closed in this decade All unprofitable mines will be closed in this decade, Olha Buslavets, first deputy Energy Minister said last week at the First German-Ukrainian Energy Day. “Unprofitable mines will be closed within te...

The EU is ready to help Ukrainian miners move out of coal The EU is ready to help Ukrainian miners move out of coal, Torsten Wöllert, a European Commission energy official from Brussels, said at the Germany-Ukraine Day. “We are ready from the EU to help in t...

At the German-sponsored Energy Day, Prime Minister Shmygal thanked Germany for its aid, At the German-sponsored Energy Day, Prime Minister Shmygal thanked Germany for its aid, saying “the project for a fair transformation of coal regions under the new energy partnership will begin this m...