The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has updated the procedure for crossing the state border: men aged 18 to 22 will be able to cross the border without hindrance during martial law, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
“This applies to all citizens of the relevant age,” she wrote on Telegram.
According to the head of government, this decision also applies to citizens who, for various reasons, find themselves abroad. We want Ukrainians to maintain their ties with Ukraine as much as possible. The changes will take effect the day after the resolution is officially published.
Uzbekistan has abolished excise duties on imports of polyethylene granules and customs duties on primary forms of ethylene and propylene polymers. This is provided for by a decree of the President of Uzbekistan dated August 18 this year to support domestic manufacturers of high value-added ethylene and propylene polymer products.
According to the document, from September 1, 2025, to January 1, 2028, there will be a zero excise tax rate on polyethylene granules (currently 10%) that are not produced in the country and are imported according to an approved list.
Until 2028, import duties on certain primary forms of ethylene and propylene polymers (HS codes 3901 10 900 0, 3901 30, 3901 40, 3902 10 000 0), which currently stand at 5%.
At the same time, the Customs Committee and the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation, based on the ex officio principle, must take measures against the import of low-quality and counterfeit flexible packaging — polyethylene and polypropylene films, non-woven materials, bags, big bags, and other products.
customs duty, EXCISE DUTY, IMPORT, polymer raw materials, UZBEKISTAN
In the first half of August 2025, Ukraine increased its imports of dairy products to $14.7 million, the highest figure since the beginning of the year for similar periods. The previous record was set in the first half of March, six months ago, at $13.2 million, according to the Ukrainian Dairy Industry Association (UDIA).
The industry association noted that in monetary terms, imports increased by 30% compared to the first half of July and almost one and a half times compared to the first half of June.
In addition, in real terms, growth was recorded for almost all commodity items, except for whey, imports of which fell by a third. The largest increase, 25%, was observed in the cheese group: more than 1.8 thousand tons of this product were imported into the country. This commodity item accounts for the lion’s share of the value structure of imports (almost 85%).
As a result, the balance of exports and imports of dairy products became negative for the first time since March, at $(-4.3) million.
Analysts believe that such a significant increase in imports was largely due to the rise in domestic prices for raw milk in Ukraine, which occurred in the second half of July (+5%) and continued in August. This partially reduced the competitiveness of domestic products, making imports more attractive.
“Such dynamics affect the country’s balance of payments and require a balanced approach to pricing in the domestic dairy products market,” the SMPU concluded.
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has begun developing an oil field in Uzbekistan. This was announced by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on August 22 at a trilateral meeting with the President of Uzbekistan and the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan in Turkmenbashi.
“We have traditional energy cooperation with Turkmenistan. We have already entered this field with Uzbekistan. Our state oil company SOCAR has already begun developing an oil field in Uzbekistan, and the contract has already been signed,“ Aliyev said.
According to him, Azerbaijan expects to receive ”good news” about the results of the work within the next year or two. “We are all eagerly awaiting news about the discovery of a large oil field in Uzbekistan,” he said.
On July 24, Uzbekistan and the Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR signed a production sharing agreement (PSA) for the Ustyurt Plateau.
Investments in the project are estimated at $2 billion. Over the next five years, SOCAR, which is the project operator, will conduct 3D seismic surveys covering an area of at least 1,000 square kilometers and drill at least one exploration well. If a commercial field is discovered, the parties will proceed with its development. Reserves are estimated at up to 100 million tons of oil and 35 billion cubic meters of gas.
A.V. Export Import LLC (Chortkiv, Ternopil region), whose main specialization is currently the production of oil and animal fats, has begun construction of a vegetable oil refinery in the Chortkiv-West industrial park, according to Chortkiv Mayor Volodymyr Shmatko.
“Finally, construction has begun on the first industrial enterprise in our Chortkiv-West industrial park. Six years of work by the team, COVID, a major war, but investors chose Chortkiv! Thank you to the team for such a wonderful result,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
According to the materials attached to the post, A.V. Export Import plans to build a sunflower oil refining and deodorization plant with a capacity of 50 tons per day in the first stage in 2025, employing 39 people.
The second stage in 2026 involves the construction of an oil bottling plant with a capacity of 54,000 bottles per day and the employment of 38 workers, and the third stage in 2028 involves the construction of a sunflower seed reception and processing plant with a capacity of 150 tons of seeds per day, employing 56 workers.
IP “Chortkiv-West,” registered in October 2019, was established on a land plot of 87.7 hectares, with a declared term of operation of 30 years.
In the summer of the same year, Shmatko presented the concept of the park and announced the readiness of an investor (whom he did not name) to create an agricultural processing enterprise there, investing about $700 million.
According to the Chortkiv City Council, in November 2024, a memorandum was signed between the city council, the managing company IP “Chortkiv West” – KP “Local Economic Development Agency” and “A.V. Export Import,” which was the first step towards the construction of the enterprise.
A.V. Export Import LLC was established in 2017, and according to opendatabot, in October 2024, it changed its main activity from wholesale trade in food products to the production of oil and animal fats. The authorized capital is UAH 20,000.
Currently, the company is owned by Bulgarian citizen Daria Lupashko-Gurevich (50%), residents Andriy Snizhko (25%), and company director Valery Yureskul (25%).
In 2024, the company increased its net income by 4.7 times compared to 2023, to UAH 256.5 million, with a net profit of UAH 4.55 million (UAH 0.58 million), and in the first half of this year, income exceeded UAH 204 million, with a net profit of UAH 5 million.
A.V. Export Import, Chortkiv-West, CONSTRUCTION, FACTORY, oil refining
The first half of 2025 was a period of dynamic growth and new records for Arsenal Insurance. The company maintains high financial stability, confidently increases its performance in key types of insurance, and continues to actively develop digital services.
“In the first six months of 2025, we collected more than UAH 2 billion in insurance premiums, which is 62% more than in the first half of 2024. Payouts increased by 32% and reached UAH 783.7 million. This demonstrates that customers trust us and that we fulfill our obligations quickly and in full,” said Serhiy Avdeev, CEO of the company.
Arsenal Insurance continues to strengthen its position in the CASCO segment. In the first half of 2025, the company collected UAH 1.17 billion in premiums (+35% compared to the same period in 2024). In June, the company overtook its closest competitor for the first time and took the #1 spot in the CASCO market.
Motor third-party liability insurance developed at a particularly high rate. Premiums for MTPL policies increased by 187% and reached UAH 454.4 million. This result was due to the entry into force of the new MTPL law, which updated the insurance conditions: liability limits were increased and tariffs were revised.
The company is actively working to improve the quality of customer service. In the first half of 2025 alone, Arsenal Insurance settled 8,000 insurance claims under CASCO contracts and another 3,000 claims under other types of insurance.
Medical insurance is also showing rapid growth. At the end of the first half of the year, premiums amounted to UAH 165.1 million, which is 53% more than in the first six months of 2024. This allowed the company to rise in the Insurance TOP rating and enter the TOP 7 for this type of insurance.
In six months, medical assistance processed 80,000 customer requests (compared to 46,000 in the same period of 2024) and provided assistance to 18,000 insured persons, which is almost one and a half times more than in the first half of 2024.
“We have significantly modernized our assistance service: we have switched to a new IP telephony platform, optimized the work processes of coordinating doctors, and integrated with one of the largest platforms for ordering medicines, which has significantly accelerated the delivery of medicines. This has increased service availability to 87.5% and sped up the organization of assistance by 25%,” said Medical Director Galina Balabanovich.
An important indicator of customer loyalty is the NPS (Net Promoter Score). At the end of the first half of 2025, it was 91. This means that 9 out of 10 customers recommend Arsenal Insurance to their friends and family. For comparison, the average score in the insurance industry in Ukraine is 53.9, which is 37.1 points lower than Arsenal Insurance.
“We are proud of this result. For us, NPS is not just a number, but a real indicator that our customers trust us and appreciate the quality of our service,” comments Marina Avdeeva, co-owner of the company.
The financial results confirm the effectiveness of the company’s business model. Arsenal Insurance’s net profit for the first half of 2025 amounted to UAH 190 million. For comparison, for the whole of 2024, this figure was UAH 119.6 million.
At the end of the first half of the year, the company ranked sixth in terms of gross premiums (according to Insurance TOP), while growing significantly faster than its closest competitors.
Regionally, Arsenal Insurance retains its #1 position in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. In Kharkiv, the company is more than 1.5 times ahead of its closest competitor, and in Zaporizhzhia — more than 2 times.
In the first half of 2025, modern offices were opened in Rivne, Vinnytsia, Lutsk, and Kharkiv. All new premises meet the requirements of inclusiveness and are focused on customer comfort.
Insurance against military risks remains a separate area of activity. One of the landmark cases of the half-year was the insurance of a large business center in the capital using the PVI model with the involvement of the leading reinsurance market Lloyd’s.
After launching an innovative AI-based team health care service in 2024, the company focused on improving it and expanding its functionality. The company’s digital office is preparing a major update to the mobile app, which will be presented by the end of the year and will make using insurance services even easier and faster.
For the convenience of customers, a personal account has been created on the company’s website where you can view all your insurance policies, history, and payment status, and soon you will be able to make payments, renew insurance policies, upload documents, and purchase new policies.
“Our focus remains unchanged — to combine reliable insurance protection with innovative digital solutions so that customers get maximum comfort and value from their interaction with the company,” summarizes Sergey Avdeev.
