Business news, entrepreneurship and startups in Kyiv region
Gyula Balashi transformed zero state contracts into 150 per year over 13 years and earned nearly a billion dollars. After Orban's electoral defeat, he was the first to offer to surrender his business — but police are already taking action.
# The Founder of CNN Launched the First 24-Hour Television News Network in 1980 Without Any Market Research — and Changed How Humanity Gets Information. He Was 87.
# US Trade Representative Calls Iranian Oil Buyers Terrorism Sponsors, Names China as Primary Purchaser The US trade representative has labeled buyers of Iranian oil as sponsors of terrorism, with China identified as the leading purchaser. Trump's negotiations with Xi are becoming a test of whether Washington is willing to pressure its trade deal partner simultaneously with discussions on tariffs.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih has halted a blast furnace, two sinter machines, and iron ore mining due to the absence of trains from Ukrainian Railways. CEO Mauro Longobardo had warned of this risk back in 2024 — and it has come to pass.
# Translation Nissan is cutting approximately 900 office workers in Europe and consolidating production lines at Sunderland — while Honda has indefinitely halted construction of an EV factory in Ontario. Two decisions made almost simultaneously demonstrate that Japan's model of "catching up with China through electric vehicles" has failed.
The State Property Fund is launching public-private partnerships for assets that cannot be sold. An investor puts in money, carries out restoration, manages the property — but does not become the owner.
Investment company Dragon Capital has launched an updated business center based on the former Piramida shopping mall. Six years of construction during a full-scale war — what does this say about the state of commercial real estate in Ukraine?
# Translation "The trading house 'Donetsk Coal' received mines with a promise to invest 40 billion rubles, but instead left miners without money and initiated its own bankruptcy. This is not an isolated failure — this is a model.
Developer "Superposition" announced a large-scale resort on the Dniester Reservoir — but behind the impressive half-billion-dollar figure, so far there is only land, ambitions, and experience from one unfinished Carpathian project.
Hungarian billionaire and Orbán ally Lőrinc Mészáros appealed to the future prime minister following statements about oligarchs fleeing the country. Behind the letter stand 60,000 employees and a conglomerate that has lost more than half its value in six months.
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.