Business news, entrepreneurship and startups in Kyiv region at Razom UA
# Translation A two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran marks the first time in modern history that it includes a toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway previously considered international. UNCLOS prohibits this, but neither Iran nor the US has ratified the convention.
After a drone strike on April 5, an oil refinery that produces 11% of all Russian gasoline shut down. But the biggest problem is not the fire, but the fact that Russia has been unable to repair the installation since 2022.
IKEE Group launches pilot program for recycling concrete, brick and asphalt from ruins into secondary raw materials for roads. The scale of the problem makes the technology not an exotic solution, but a logistical necessity.
State Enterprise "Vorzel Sanatorium" announced a tender for 15.3 million hryvnias for the reconstruction of the main medical building. For the village, this is already the second attempt to rebuild after devastating occupation—the first was after 1943.
From June 1st, an electronic ticket in Lviv costs 17 hryvnias instead of 15. However, transport operators calculated the cost of a trip at 32-42 hryvnias — and discussion about the next fare is already underway.
The Ministry of Energy is considering two scenarios for completing Units No. 3 and No. 4 at Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant — but each comes with its own unresolved issue: Bulgarian reactors that were never purchased, and a 2017 technical and economic justification that was never updated.
A strike on the Sheskharis terminal has halted Novorossiysk for the second time since autumn — while the Baltic Sea is also paralyzed, Russia has faced a simultaneous blockade of all three western ports for the first time.
Ukraine's Parliament passed Law No. 14005 on digitalization of enforcement proceedings: debtors will no longer be able to sell or pledge property without repaying debts, and removal of arrests will become automatic. This is the same indicator 3.8 of the Ukraine Facility, the failure to meet which has already cost Ukraine €700 million in the second quarter of 2025.
Americans are massively buying used electric vehicles not out of environmental convictions, but due to simple arithmetic: gasoline prices have exceeded $4 per gallon, while a used EV now costs only $1,300 more than a conventional used car.
On the territory of a legendary film studio, there are attempts to allocate a plot of land for office construction. The Prosecutor's Office qualifies this as an attempt to embezzle state property.
Beauty and household goods retail network increases investments by 20% — a signal that major retailers are betting on domestic market resilience.
The Cabinet of Ministers transferred authority to the State Special Transport Service as the sole customer for works and procurement related to frontline roads — routes used for military equipment movement, evacuation of the wounded, and supply delivery. The decision eliminates parallel subordination that previously slowed down the start of operations.
Irpin Water Supply and Sewage Company has launched legal proceedings against non-payers — 10% of subscribers have failed to make any payments. However, the company itself has outstanding debts to Kyiv Water Supply and Sewage Company.
Since August 2025, Ukrainian drones have struck 16 of 38 Russian oil refineries, limiting processing by more than one million barrels per day and reducing diesel exports to 2020 levels — below pre-war figures.
A strike on April 3rd destroyed nearly an entire street in a city that is one of the key railway hubs on the route from Kyiv to the West. One person killed, seven wounded — among them three children.
Norwegian analysts calculated that to redirect Yamal LNG supplies to Asia following the EU ban, Russia lacks between 25 and 35 tankers. They cannot be obtained anywhere — neither built nor chartered under sanctions pressure.
# Investigation Reveals Entrepreneur Forged Power Distribution Contract An investigation has established that an entrepreneur forged a power distribution agreement and listed a residential building as the consumer facility, when in fact the electricity was being supplied to a shopping center. The difference between residential and commercial electricity rates became a systematic financial gain that continued for nearly five years.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau has completed its investigation and submitted an indictment to the High Anti-Corruption Court. Two suspects are accused of causing damages to a state-owned company amounting to nearly 12 million hryvnias.
UKAB has recorded a 12.2% year-over-year increase in the cost of homemade Easter bread. However, the real record holder for price increases is not eggs, but milk, which has surged by almost 50%.
March 2026 set a record for diesel imports since 2021: fuel supplies will be sufficient, but traders are still uncertain about prices in April.
Dmytro Natalukha conducted the first audit after 18 months of leaderless management at the Fund — and received a bleak picture: most of the objects in the privatization queue are not worth the paper spent on them. But the real problem lies not in the waste, but in what remains.
During April 4-5, more vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz than at any time since the onset of regional tensions. The figure is straightforward — the conclusions are more complex.
Bout arrived at the company when it had ten employees, and is leaving behind 90+ billion hryvnias in sold public assets. Who will manage the system going forward remains an open question.
# Saudi Aramco Raises Arab Light Price Amid Strait of Hormuz Tensions Against the backdrop of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Aramco has raised the price of Arab Light crude for Asia to $19.50 per barrel. The market had anticipated $40 — and this gap is more significant than the record itself.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), and the Office of the Prosecutor General have announced suspicions against the head of a private company and an official of a state-owned enterprise. A forensic economic examination assessed the damages at 295 million hryvnias.
The Persian Gulf is closed, gas prices have soared 70%, oil prices up 50%. The European Commission is already urging countries not to do what they did three years ago — and what caused inflation to spiral out of control.
After five strikes in ten days, the Baltic port resumed operations. The restoration of logistics does not mean the restoration of infrastructure — eight of eighteen Novatek storage tanks remain damaged.
In March 2026 the price per square meter in Zakarpattia’s new developments fell by 7.5% — the largest drop among all regions. The paradox: the very market that had been heated for three consecutive years by wartime migration was the first to start cooling.
Solid rocket propellant is one of the key shortages in Europe's rearmament. Ukrainian Fire Point is building a plant specifically for this—next to an F-35 base and with the ambition to meet the needs of the entire continent.
Trump promised to open the Strait of Hormuz and "take the oil." U.S. intelligence disagrees: control of the strait is arguably the only thing that makes Iran a serious player in negotiations with Washington.