Business news, entrepreneurship and startups in Kyiv region
# China's Ministry of Commerce Confirms Trump-Xi Trade Deal on Mutual Tariff Cuts China's Ministry of Commerce has officially confirmed an agreement between Trump and Xi Jinping on mutual tariff reductions. The package includes purchases of American aircraft by the Chinese side. Here's what stands behind this deal and why the details remain undisclosed.
# Economy Ministry Expands Industrial Equipment Subsidy Program for 2026 The Ministry of Economy has expanded the list of industrial machinery eligible for 15% state compensation for the first time in 2026 — now covering 1,354 items from 50 manufacturers. These figures represent a real mechanism to reduce equipment costs for businesses and communal enterprises, with 475 million hryvnia allocated for the program.
# Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office Files Lawsuit Against Shopping Center Developer Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office in Kharkiv has filed a lawsuit against the developer of the Nikolsky shopping center over unpaid infrastructure development contributions. The developer has failed to pay its share toward municipal infrastructure development for four years following the mall's opening. The amount owed exceeds 180 million hryvnias, representing approximately 7.7% of the construction budget.
The government approved the procedure for forming and using a decentralized reserve of power plants, boiler houses and transformers — to be financed from the state budget, local budgets and international aid, but the mechanism for controlling the distribution is not publicly described.
# Ankara Seeks to Connect Fuel Infrastructure with Romania via Bulgaria Ahead of NATO Summit Turkey aims to link its fuel infrastructure with Romania through Bulgaria before the July NATO summit. The main argument is price: the Turkish route costs one-fifth of routes through Greece or Romania's western neighbors.
Since the beginning of the American-Iranian conflict, forecasts for increased oil demand have fallen sixfold — from 1.2 million to 200,000 barrels per day. The IEA is already discussing a possible reduction in consumption for the first time since 2020.
Japanese NAND memory manufacturer forecasts 48-fold increase in net profit for the quarter. Behind the figures lies a race for technology in which Kioxia has only just caught up with competitors.
There are no independent members left on the supervisory board of Ukrposhta. For a company that conducts financial operations for millions of Ukrainians, this is not a formality — it is a hole in the control system.
# DOT-Chain Defence Delivers 500,000 Items Worth 23.3 Billion Hryvnias to Defense Forces in Seven Months DOT-Chain Defence has supplied half a million items valued at 23.3 billion hryvnias to the Defense Forces during seven months of operation. The Cabinet of Ministers has extended the experiment until 2027 and opened the platform for the Interior Ministry—but the real question is not about the number of clicks, but whether weapons will arrive on time.
A former deputy of Ivaniv village council in Vinnytsia region, owner of "Podillia-myaso" company, purchased assets worth 42 million hryvnias despite officially declaring income of only 5.3 million — and attempted to flee to Poland while the National Agency on Corruption Prevention had already submitted materials to police.
# Azerbaijan's State Company Closes €3 Billion Deal, Acquires Two Oil Refineries and Over 4,500 Gas Stations Azerbaijan's state-owned company has closed a deal worth approximately €3 billion, acquiring two oil refineries and more than 4,500 gas stations. The appointment of Levan Davitashvili as CEO signals the first indication of how SOCAR plans to build its presence in the European Union.
Energoatom explains Patrick Fragman's departure with a new full-time job. People's Deputy Zelenskyy adds a detail the company didn't mention: board members haven't been paid for three months.
A Gazprom plant in Astrakhan has halted fuel and sulfur production for the second time in a year. The chronology of attacks indicates a systemic objective — not a one-time strike, but exhaustion through repeated shutdowns.
Washington eased restrictions on Belarusian potash in exchange for the release of political prisoners — and almost immediately began demanding that Vilnius restore transit through Klaipeda. Lithuania refuses, citing EU sanctions that no one intends to lift.
# New "Bila Tserkva – Sighetu Marmației" Border Checkpoint to Become Largest Crossing with Romania: 400 Trucks Daily. But It Cannot Open Yet—Ukrainian Side Still Under Construction
Washington has issued licenses for ten Chinese companies to purchase Nvidia H200 chips, but no deliveries have taken place yet — Beijing is advising its companies to steer clear of American semiconductors.
# Kyiv City Council formally submitted a request to the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament for equal funding of energy resilience: the city and the state to each cover half of the approximately 30 billion hryvnias in total costs. However, the "agreement" currently lacks an implementation mechanism.
Kyivpastrans announced a tender for the same two cabins it planned to purchase back in 2021 for €6.5 million — now for €13 million. The difference amounts to over €6 million in European Investment Bank and city budget funds.
Ukraine's AMCU Fined "Optima-Pharm" 7.09 Million Hryvnia for Failing to Provide Information — But This Is Just the Finale of a Longer Story About Price Collusion and Frozen Accounts of a Company That Controls 85% of Pharmacy Supplies Together With a Competitor.
The supervisory board of Ukrhydroenergo has completed the competition for the position of general director. The acting head of the company won the contest — a person who has already led the company during one of the most difficult periods for Ukrainian energy sector.
Patrick Fragman and Brice Buyuon, two of four foreign independent members of the new supervisory board, have resigned. The international experts appointed by the Cabinet after the "Midasgate" corruption scandal were simply not paid by the state.
On the night of May 14, Russia launched one of its most powerful attacks on Kyiv: 670+ drones and 56 missiles, damaging 20 locations. Targets included the office of intelligence drone manufacturer Skyeton, two business centers, and Kharkov shopping center. Three killed, 40 wounded.
An international criminal network was transferring ships to Russia through neutral waters — without documents, without beacons. The detained individual is one link in a chain that was supplying the fleet financing the war.
Capital police shut down an underground workshop producing counterfeit alcohol. The seized alcohol is valued at 4.7 million hryvnias. Behind these figures lies a systemic problem that no single operation can solve.
On December 27, an attack on Kyiv damaged the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Station, thermal power plants TEC-5, TEC-6, Darnytskyy TEC, and Trypilska TEC simultaneously. Approximately 500,000 families in the capital and 320,000 consumers in the Kyiv region were left without electricity.
# Japanese Automaker Cancels Three EV Models Months Before Production Launch A Japanese automaker has cancelled three electric vehicle models just months before planned production was set to begin. Despite the Ohio plant being completed and battery manufacturing facilities fully operational, the vehicles will not be produced. This is not a strategic revision, but rather an acknowledgment that losses from launching production would exceed losses from shutting down operations.
Ukraine's only uranium concentrate producer has been staving off bankruptcy through a series of moratoriums for years. Corporatization is an attempt to restart the enterprise through integration with Energoatom, but the mechanism for attracting investments has not yet been defined.
Volkswagen's plant in Osnabrück may stop assembling convertibles and begin producing chassis for Israel's air defense system. The key obstacle is not morality or Berlin, but the works council.
The "Eurotech" group is ceasing operations of all its retail networks. Arsen, which survived two crises and a pandemic, could not withstand the third blow.
On May 13, depots, bridges, and rolling stock were damaged in seven regions. Two railway workers were killed in Zdolbuniv — not at their workplaces, but simply in the city.