Business news, entrepreneurship and startups in Kyiv region
Following a series of strikes on ports and facilities in Odesa and Dnipro regions, Ukraine is approaching a halt in sunflower oil exports. This is not collateral damage — it is a systematic attack on the second-largest item of agricultural foreign currency earnings.
Goldman Sachs raised its Brent crude forecast to $90 per barrel for the fourth quarter — $10 higher than expected a month ago. Behind these figures lies simple arithmetic: the more expensive oil is, the less pressure the Kremlin faces to finance the war.
The former tobacco distribution monopolist evaded AMKУ fines for years, and now that its accounts have been seized, the owner has reportedly moved the business under a new brand — debt-free.
# When prices in Lviv and Uzhhorod became unaffordable, housing demand naturally shifted eastward — to Ternopil. What this means for the local market and whether it can withstand the new wave.
The building of the Ukrainian government, which was hit by a 9M727 cruise missile on September 7, is being proposed for restoration using the Japanese kintsugi principle — not concealing traces of destruction, but transforming them into a visible symbol of military history.
Tallinn is allocating at least 0.25% of GDP to drones and digital systems for the Armed Forces—while simultaneously freezing a €500 million purchase of its own combat vehicles. A meeting between Fedorov and Pevkur documented not only the amount, but also a shared vision of which equipment determines the outcome of the war.
While the U.S. Treasury Department extended the "window" for purchasing sanctioned Russian oil until May 16, India consumed almost twice as much Russian barrels in a month — and these volumes will continue as long as floating storage facilities remain full.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary has again stated that the waiver allowing purchases of Russian oil at sea will not be extended. However, he said the same thing before the previous extension — and signed it anyway.
The government has simplified some permit procedures in construction and introduced a mechanism for appealing refusals. The key legislative changes are so far only instructions from the Ministry of Development.
Meta and Microsoft are cutting over 20,000 positions simultaneously—not due to losses, but to fund AI spending in the hundreds of billions. This is the first public precedent where Big Tech directly traded specific jobs for GPUs.
While the first WES group of OKKO has yet to be launched, the company is already structuring financing for the third — 189 MW with the participation of EBRD, IFC and DBFR. This is not business diversification, but a bet that Western capital is flowing to areas where missiles have already struck.
A fire in Tuapse lasted 120 hours — and this is no coincidence. The plant that burned is a key fuel hub for Russia's military infrastructure in the south.
# Senior US Energy Department Advisor Andy Repp Calls Ukrainian Underground Storage a "Swing Bridge" for Central and Western Europe's Gas Supply Senior advisor to the US Department of Energy Andy Repp has described Ukrainian underground storage facilities as a "swing bridge" — a connecting link in gas supply to Central and Western Europe. Behind this term lies a specific architecture: American LNG through Polish terminals and into Ukrainian underground storage.
Tokyo District Court ruled that the logo of the American video service Zoom infringes on a trademark of Japanese audio company Zoom Corp., which was registered back in 2006. However, the court refused to ban Americans from using the logo.
Starting in August 2025, over 30 new active pharmaceutical ingredients will be added to the reimbursement program, including cardiovascular medications. In parallel, all pharmacies in the country will be required to join the program for the first time.
Moldova's Parliament voted to cancel the 30-day energy emergency after Ukraine restored the 400 kV Isaccea-Vulcanesti power line damaged in a March attack. The heightened readiness regime remains in effect.
Ship tracking data shows: 13 of 22 sanctioned tankers are already bypassing Swedish waters via Bornholm. But the new Swedish procedure has not yet even become fully operational.
After a Russian Shahed-2 strike on the New Safe Confinement at Chornobyl in February 2025, the world received the bill: half a billion euros and a window until 2030, after which corrosion can no longer be stopped.
Starting April 27, parking in the center will cost 40 UAH per hour. Meanwhile, a monthly permit for Kyiv residents who officially pay taxes will cost 1,499 UAH for the entire city. The math favors the subscription, but the verification mechanism is not yet ready.
Against losses of €3.9 billion and a 98% collapse in profits, Porsche exits Bugatti Rimac. Mate Rimac gains full control of the brand, while new money comes from New York and the Persian Gulf.
Six stores of a Spanish retail group have resumed operations in a shopping mall after six months of closure due to a corporate dispute between state banks and former owners. But behind the return of these brands lies something more significant than shopping.
From April 24, the only branch in the frontline town of Komyshuvaкha in Zaporizhzhia Region has not been operating. The company acknowledged that intensive shelling and FPV drones have made it impossible for staff to work.
ACER forecasts that the EU will enter the next winter with gas at only 80% of storage capacity — and even this is possible only if the LNG market does not bring new surprises.
The EBRD provided $45 million not for abstract "green generation," but for a specific station with an industrial energy storage system. This is Kernel's second major solar project running parallel to the one in Chernivtsi.
The Commercial Court of Kyiv has ordered the demolition of an illegal structure on Yefremova Street and invalidated the registration of a land plot valued at over 20 million hryvnias — another episode in a system that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating as organized crime.
A plant in Texas started operations after the main contractor Zachry went bankrupt with a $2.4 billion cost overrun — and this is just the first of three technology modules.
Mining giant divests assets and considers share dilution amid liquidity crisis caused by sanctions against its majority shareholder Konstantin Zhevago.
The European Commission is preparing a package of measures to combat aviation fuel shortages — for now without a mandatory enforcement mechanism. If the Strait of Hormuz does not open in the coming weeks, flight cancellations during the height of the summer season will become a reality.
Germany's longest stagnation since World War II is forcing Berlin to bet on the defense sector. This creates jobs — but economists warn of a structural trap.
The Ivano-Frankivsk Prosecutor's Office is demanding compensation from a state enterprise for illegal logging in Hutsulshchyna National Park — the investigation found that the scheme operated under the cover of fake permits for "forest health improvement."