TasteAtlas’s list of the 100 Best Rated Pastries in the World mentions the traditional Ukrainian pastry verhuny (verguny).
According to TasteAtlas, the top ten include:
1. Trigona panoramatos (Greece)
2. Pastel de Belém (Portugal)
3. Pastel de nata (Portugal)
4. Antakya künefesi (Turkey)
5. Empanadas Tucumanas (Argentina)
6. Fıstıklı sarma (Turkey)
7. Gaziantep baklavası (Turkey)
8. Pazarske mantije (Serbia)
9. Bougatsa (Greece)
10. Sirnica (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
TasteAtlas emphasizes that the rating is based on user reviews and applies filtering for “real” votes (the rating page also provides summary statistics on the number of reviews and “legitimate ratings”).
In France, new requirements for a number of procedures related to multi-year residence permits, 10-year resident cards, and citizenship have come into force on January 1, 2026: language thresholds have been raised and a mandatory citizenship exam has been introduced.
According to explanations from French government resources, the first multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle) now requires proof of French language proficiency at a level of at least A2, and for the first 10-year residence card – no lower than B1 (in particular, for applicants under 65 years of age in categories covered by the rule).
For procedures for accessing French citizenship, from January 1, 2026, language requirements will be raised to level B2, according to information from the French Ministry of the Interior.
In addition, from January 1, 2026, passing the citizenship exam will become mandatory for naturalization, as well as for the first application for a long-term residence permit or resident card for citizens of non-EU countries. The exam lasts up to 45 minutes, includes 40 multiple-choice questions, and is considered passed with a score of at least 80% (at least 32 correct answers).
Service-Public specifies that the exam is not required when renewing a long-term card or residence card, and does not apply, in particular, to beneficiaries of international protection.
On January 9, the joint-stock company Kyivgas announced its intention to conclude a contract with IC Gardian for the services of compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of land vehicles (MTPL).
As reported in the system of electronic public procurement ProZorro, the company’s price offer amounted to UAH 1.041 million against the expected cost of purchasing services – UAH 1.088 million.
The company was the only participant of the tender.
The average premium under contracts of compulsory motor third party liability insurance (CMTPL) in January-December 2025 (cumulative total) amounted to UAH 3.163 thousand, which is 2.32 times more than for the same period a year ago (UAH 1.362 thousand), reported the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTSBU).
It is also noted that the average damage for 12 months of this year increased by 33%, to UAH 45,050 thousand against UAH 33,849 thousand for 12 months. 2024.
The average payment for damage caused to property as a result of road accidents amounted to UAH 58,048 thousand (+35,9%), according to “europrotocol” – UAH 29,478 thousand (+56,9%), and for damage to health – UAH 60,977 thousand (+11%).
The MTSBU reports that insurance companies in January-December 2025 increased the collection of insurance payments under CMTPL insurance policies 2.14 times – up to UAH 23.642 billion, and paid out UAH 6.802 billion (+41.4%).
The MTSBU is the only association of insurers in Ukraine that provides compulsory insurance of civil liability of owners of motor vehicles for damage caused to third parties. 26 insurance companies are members of the Bureau.
Given the energy situation in Ukraine, the warehouses of the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ have accumulated over 220,000 cubic metres of firewood, which is enough to provide for the social sector, the population and the military, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported on Telegram.
‘The situation in the energy sector is extremely difficult. We have high hopes that Ukrainian cities will withstand it. But we are preparing for any scenario. (…) Procurement continues uninterrupted, and despite the extremely complicated logistics, the warehouses are constantly being replenished,’ the state-owned enterprise emphasised.
According to information from ‘Forests of Ukraine,’ despite prolonged power outages, there has been no significant increase in demand for firewood. Since the beginning of 2026, forestry enterprises across the country have sold only 15,000 cubic metres.
The state-owned enterprise emphasised that it considers fuel supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be no less of a priority, which are also being fulfilled in full in accordance with the terms of the contracts. If necessary, foresters are ready to increase supplies.
‘Forests of Ukraine’ assured that it would leave prices for social firewood unchanged until the end of the heating season and advised households to start thinking about the next season and replenish their stocks in advance.
Imports of goods to Ukraine in January-December 2025 amounted to $84.8 billion in monetary terms, while in the previous year this figure was 20% lower at $70.7 billion, according to data from the press service of the State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCS).
According to the publication, exports of goods, on the contrary, decreased from $41.6 billion in 2024 to $40.3 billion in 2025.
“Taxable imports amounted to $64.3 billion, which is 76% of the total volume of imported goods. The tax burden per 1 kg of taxed imports in January-December 2025 amounted to $0.52/kg,” the SCS noted in its report on trade turnover in 2025.
During 2025, the top three countries from which Ukraine imported the most goods remained almost unchanged: China – $19.2 billion, Poland – $7.9 billion, and Germany – $6.6 billion.
During the year, Ukraine exported the most to Poland – $5 billion, Turkey – $2.7 billion, and Germany – $2.4 billion.
In terms of the total volume of goods imported in 2025, the largest share was accounted for by machinery, equipment and transport – $34.1 billion (with customs clearance, UAH 207.8 billion was paid to the budget, or 29% of customs revenue), chemical industry products – $12.5 billion (97.8 billion hryvnia paid to the budget, accounting for 14% of customs revenue), fuel and energy – $10.5 billion (214.8 billion hryvnia paid, or 30% of customs revenue).
As in the previous year, the top three most exported goods from Ukraine were food products – $22.5 billion, metals and metal products – $4.7 billion, and machinery, equipment and transport – $3.6 billion.
The State Customs Service added that in January-December 2025, during customs clearance of exports of goods subject to export duties, UAH 1.53 billion was paid to the budget, which is significantly more than in 2024, when UAH 311.3 million was received by the budget.
