Business news, entrepreneurship and startups in Kyiv region
Lviv Road Authority announced a tender through the TED e-procurement platform for repair of 6.3 km of trolleybus lines and reconstruction of contact networks. No company broke Onur's monopoly — the Turkish contractor won all four lots.
# War between the USA and Israel against Iran has turned the oil sector into a profit machine — and placed Europe facing a dilemma it already experienced in 2022 after Russia's invasion.
# International Energy Agency Director Warns of Flight Cancellations if Strait Remains Closed The Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has warned that if the strait remains closed, the first flight cancellations could occur before the start of the summer tourist season. Economists say a "systemic deficit" could emerge as early as May.
DTEK Naftohaz is negotiating with the American-Ukrainian fund URIF regarding financing for deep wells. So far, the fund has approved only one of three planned investments for 2026 — and that went not into energy resources, but into defense technologies.
Blanar Set a Condition: Sanctions Only After Restoring "Druzhba". But the actual reason for the pipeline shutdown remains a point of contention between Bratislava and Kyiv.
The European Commission has proposed a complete ban on maritime services for Russian oil and extended sanctions to include the shadow fleet, regional banks, and cryptocurrency. Adoption is expected by February 24, 2026 — the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion — however, consensus has not yet been reached within the EU Council.
# PAT "Dnipro Mineral Fertilizer Plant" — an enterprise that managed to pay off part of its debts during rehabilitation — has ceased operations due to loss of sea supply routes for raw materials and is now being sold as a single property complex. For a starting price of 305 million hryvnias, the buyer will acquire a legacy of Soviet-era chemistry production and a host of current liabilities.
The government approved 26 special projects in 10 communities worth 12.7 billion hryvnias — including network ring systems, backup power sources, and mobile water intake complexes. Funding for the first package has already been allocated, with the deadline set for the beginning of the 2026-2027 heating season.
# Kunpeng loaded at "Portova" and heading to Daheji: if cargo is accepted, India will officially violate commitments that Trump announced to the world — and Delhi has not publicly confirmed.
# Oschadbank and Ukrainian Railways Launch Model Where Employers Top Up First Payment by 20% and Cover Part of Loan for Three Years. The Problem Is That in Kyiv, Apartments Under 2 Million Hryvnias—the Only Limit for IDPs—Are Effectively Disappearing From the Market.
An investigation by "Schemes" reveals not just business ties with occupied territories — it documents a systemic picture: a deputy's family was re-registered under Russian law, pays taxes to the Russian Federation budget and builds roads to Simferopol airport, while Bort himself vacations in Florida.
Closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US and Israeli war with Iran has driven Norwegian oil prices to $107 per barrel. Oslo has received the largest oil revenue in its history—and has publicly expressed no moral discomfort whatsoever.
The company has launched a rating system for electric scooter users. A poor rating may restrict access to the service.
Orest Mandziy came to the State Customs Service from NABU — with experience in investigations, but without the leverage that actually determines who pays what at the border.
Gazprom has delivered a second shipment of LNG from Portuarny to the Beihai terminal on a vessel under US sanctions. China is now being recorded in public vessel tracking data and no longer masks the route.
# Uzhhorod: Middle-Income Resident Spends 92% of Earnings on One-Bedroom Apartment In Uzhhorod, a middle-income resident spends 92% of their earnings solely on a one-bedroom apartment. This is not just a record — it is a systemic trap.
Maine became the first state in the US where lawmakers voted for a complete moratorium on large data centers. However, Governor Janet Mills has not yet signed the bill — and her hesitation reveals a real rift in debates over AI infrastructure.
The United States has completely blocked Iranian ports following the collapse of negotiations in Pakistan. The economy, which relies on oil exports, has now been deprived of its main source of hard currency — and this, rather than bombing, could prove to be the real pressure on Tehran.
Washington has abandoned a practice that allowed "hostile" oil to reach the market. Prices, allies, and geopolitics are directly dependent on one decision.
# Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar Promises to Halt State Media Broadcasts, but Media Landscape Remains Dominated by Orbán Allies Newly elected Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has pledged to suspend news broadcasting on state media immediately after government formation. However, the problem remains that 80% of Hungarian media is controlled by Orbán supporters — a situation no single law can change overnight.
# Translation: A few days before the official termination, an independent arbiter of the international FIDIC federation ruled that the actions of "Zelenе Misto" housing and communal enterprise contradicted the contract terms. The Polish diplomat leveraged this as a means of pressure — but the problem runs deeper than a diplomatic scandal.
Sales of designer matches at Selfridges have surged 121% — and this is not a whim of the wealthy, but a symptom of an economy in which people seek affordable luxury as a permitted minimum.
The Cabinet of Ministers allowed Ukrsoibbank to use the state mine clearance compensation program. For the state land lessor, this means savings of hundreds of millions — for farmers, potential access to new plots in front-line regions.
On April 15, a cinema in the Magellan shopping center closes, which opened as one of the first in the Kyiv network. The closure is not a network collapse, but rather appears to be a regrouping: while one theater goes dark, another one in Vyshneve is already operating with laser projection.
Rich Starry, a Chinese tanker under US sanctions, crossed the strait unobstructed on the second day after Trump imposed the blockade. This is the first practical test of the new maritime operation — and it has revealed its limitations.
# Translation The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a doubling of gas prices did not change Rome's position: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called economic pressure on Russia "the strongest weapon" for achieving peace — and gave Moscow time until January 2027.
Naftogaz has appointed five members of the supervisory board of "Gas Distribution Networks of Ukraine": three independent directors and two representatives from the shareholder. This is part of a systemic response to Mindigcheygate — a corruption scandal that revealed that the lack of independent oversight in state-owned companies costs more than implementing it.
# Russia's Oil Revenues Surge to $19 Billion in March 2025 Russia's oil revenues reached $19 billion in March 2025—double the figure from February, which had been the worst month since the full-scale invasion began. The resilience of the shadow fleet and the redirection of maritime routes have again proven stronger than attacks on these systems.
# NABU Achieves Extradition from Germany of Igor Trushenko The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) has secured the extradition from Germany of Igor Trushenko, a businessman whom the Specialized Anti-Corruption Court (SACC) sentenced in absentia to 3 years and 10 months for complicity in a state grain scheme involving 13.4 million hryvnias. The verdict, issued in December 2025, has not yet come into force as the appeal process is ongoing.
Tehran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz under ceasefire conditions, but is physically unable to do so — naval mines were laid haphazardly, some are drifting, and neither Iran nor the United States has minesweepers available near the strait.