Pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was detained on Wednesday.
“Călin Georgescu was going to submit his new candidacy for the presidency. About 30 minutes ago, the system stopped him on the road and took him to a hearing at the prosecutor’s office! Where is democracy, where are the partners who are supposed to defend democracy?” – reads a message from his communications team posted on Georgescu’s personal Facebook page on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, he reported massive searches of his supporters, calling the current government a “communist-bolshevik system,” and called on everyone to gather for a protest on Victory Square in Bucharest on Saturday, March 1.
As reported, Georgescu became the leader of the first round of elections held in the country on November 24, with 22.94% of voters supporting him. The second place with 19.18% of the vote went to the leader of the liberal progressive party “Union for the Salvation of Romania” Elena Lasconi. However, one of the presidential candidates, Cristian Terges, who is supported by the Romanian National Conservative Party, claimed election fraud. The Romanian Constitutional Court unanimously decided to recount all valid and invalid ballots, and on December 6, unanimously decided to cancel the results of the first round of the presidential election two days before the second round. The election was canceled against the backdrop of declassified information from the intelligence services indicating Russian interference in the election.
Later, the ruling coalition in Romania decided on the date of the new presidential elections, which will be held on May 4 and May 18.
Georgescu called Ukraine a “fictitious state” and said that its territories would be divided by neighboring countries. According to him, if elected, he will not allow the continuation of Ukrainian grain exports through Romania and further military aid to Kyiv. He also claimed that Bucharest is not obliged to comply with NATO’s defense spending commitments and questioned the effectiveness of the use of EU funds that have contributed to economic growth and infrastructure development in Romania. Earlier, the Experts Club and Active Group released a video analysis of the most important elections in the world in 2025, for more details, see the video review – https://youtu.be/u1NMbFCCRx0?si=-rc6YHH7EA1pnr7w
Representatives of VEON, the parent company of Kyivstar, the largest Ukrainian mobile operator, who visited Ukraine, confirmed their intention to invest $1 billion in the country in 2023-2027 and to indirectly list Kyivstar on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (USA).
“Ogi Fabela, Chairman of the Board and Founder of VEON, and Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON, met with the Kyivstar team to commemorate the third anniversary of the war and reaffirm the company’s commitment to invest in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine… The delegation emphasized the importance of immediate investment in the country’s recovery and stressed the plans to invest $1 billion in Ukraine over 2023-2027,” the press service of Kyivstar reported. “We are very pleased to announce that the government of Ukraine has decided to invest $1 billion in Ukraine.
According to the press service, representatives of VEON’s top management, together with Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov, took part in a special meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) held in Kyiv on February 24. During the meetings with government representatives, including Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation, and Oleksiy Chernyshov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of National Unity, the participants were informed about the work to support the country’s critical communications and digital services sector. The parties discussed the progress of Kyivstar’s indirect listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
Fedorov said after the meeting that he discussed possible joint AI projects and the implementation of innovative solutions in the mobile communications sector with Fabela, Terzioglu, and Komarov.
“I met with VEON top management and Kyivstar CEO… In the midst of the war, the company takes a proactive stance and does everything possible to keep Ukrainians connected. Our team is now actively working on the development of artificial intelligence in Ukraine. At a meeting with Auggie Fabella, co-founder and chairman of VEON, VEON CEO Kaan Terzioglu and Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov focused on possible joint projects with artificial intelligence and the introduction of innovative solutions in the field of mobile communications,” he wrote on Facebook.
In addition, the minister announced the launch of new major projects by Kyivstar, in particular, to provide connectivity to the country’s main highways.
“VEON is deeply committed to Ukraine’s future and the important role that the private sector and international investment must play in rebuilding the country. We are honored to be in Ukraine at this historically important time and to discuss our investment plans that will contribute to the development of Ukraine’s future,” the VEON press service quoted Fabela as saying following his visit to Ukraine.
He emphasized that VEON, together with Kyivstar, will continue to support Ukraine by investing in its digital infrastructure, expanding investment opportunities for the Ukrainian economy and introducing game-changing technologies. In particular, it will continue to develop Starlink’s Direct to Cell satellite communications service.
VEON, headquartered in Dubai, provides digital services to nearly 160 million customers, operating in six countries with more than 7% of the world’s population. VEON’s shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The total exports of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine in July-January of 2024/25 marketing year (MY) (July 2024-June 2025) are estimated at $11 billion, up 13.4% compared to $9.7 billion in the same period last year, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) reported on Facebook.
According to the report, corn exports are leading in the group of grains, which in July-January of 2024/25 MY is estimated at $2.412 bln against $2.098 bln in the same period of the previous MY, wheat – $2.084 bln ($1.488 bln), barley – $350 mln ($212 mln).
At the same time, in the oilseeds segment, the shipments of soybeans and rapeseed increased to $909 mln ($718 mln) and $1.452 bln ($1.145 bln), respectively, while the exports of sunflower seeds decreased to $22 mln ($57 mln).
In the current season, Ukraine reduced exports of sunflower oil to $2.701 billion ($2.777 billion) and sunflower meal to $682 million ($774 million). Shipments of other vegetable oils decreased to $393 million ($438 million).
DIM Group and Maxim Krippa, owner of the Parus business center and Ukraina Hotel, have finalized a partnership and cooperation agreement, the developer’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is noted that Ukrainian businessman Krippa continues to expand his real estate investment portfolio, which this time will be replenished with residential properties. Following the acquisition of Kyiv’s largest business center Parus in 2023 and the privatization of the historic Ukraina Hotel in 2024, Crippa announced an investment in the DIM Group, a leader in residential development in the capital region.
“I decided to invest in DIM’s projects not only because of their significant investment potential, but also because of our common attitude to doing business during the war: they are not afraid to build, I am not afraid to invest,” said Crippa.
Krippa’s participation will ensure the completion of the construction of the developer’s current facilities and the start of work on new large-scale projects.
“The participation of Maxim Krippa’s development group of companies will allow us to be independent of sales volumes, keep the pace of construction and ensure our investors that the construction of the facilities is completed on time. In addition, we will be able to start working on new projects with confidence,” said Oleksandr Nasikovsky, founder and managing partner of DIM Group, as quoted in the press release.
The portfolio of the DIM development company consists of real estate in Kyiv and the region with a total area of more than 900 thousand square meters. The company has commissioned 3,670 apartments and built more than 356 thousand square meters of residential and commercial space. There are 6 projects under construction with a total area of over 346 thousand square meters.
“Kovlar Group” together with the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine have developed innovative products for defense purposes, said the head of ‘Kovlar Group’ Konstantin Kalafat in an interview with the agency ‘Interfax-Ukraine’.
“Together with leading institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, we have developed and put into production a universal means for urgent individual decontamination of chemical weapons components and a multilayer anti-radar paint coating.
Now we are developing a fireproof roll material for organization of fast mobile fire protection at defense facilities and during restoration of energy complex structures,” he said.
He emphasized that the production of fireproofing materials is an activity with a high share of intellectual and scientific component.
“Paint, plaster or board intended for fire protection is not an ordinary construction material, which is evaluated by the parameters of aesthetics, durability, resistance to external influences and the like. First of all, fireproofing material is a kind of chemical reactor, the components of which in fire conditions must react with each other, providing standardized indicators of stability of the building structure. Secondly, the fire protection industry is a very dynamic system that constantly requires materials and solutions with high fire protection and performance characteristics. In the last 10 years alone, the requirements for thin coat fire retardant paints have increased from a maximum fire resistance limit of 90 minutes to 180 minutes,” said Kalafat.
The means, which is to enter the fire protection market, is subject to mandatory specialized tests and certification, which determine its fire protection efficiency, which is the result of scientific research to create an effective formulation and verdict, so developed material is promising.
“The main prerequisite for the organization of an enterprise for the production of passive fire protection means is the availability of scientific potential, experience and knowledge that would allow to create a new quality product, competitive in the world market of similar materials,” summarized Kalafat.
Kovlar Group LLC was founded in 2015, authorized capital UAH 1.2 million, ultimate beneficiaries Konstantin Kalafat (40%), Andrey Ozeychuk (35%) and Lyubov Vakhitova (25%). According to the data of opendatabot, according to the results of three quarters of 2024, the company received 73 million 726.4 thousand UAH of income; net profit of 10 million 228.6 thousand UAH.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1050819.html
Businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky’s bank Credit Dnipro managed to double its loan portfolio last year, with 80% of the growth coming from an increase in corporate loans.
“In 2024, the bank’s loan portfolio doubled, and 80% of the growth was in corporate financing, while the growth of our agricultural portfolio was 65%,” said Serhiy Panov, Chairman of the Board of the financial institution, in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the bank’s loan portfolio amounted to UAH 7.83 billion as of January 1, 2025, of which UAH 6.88 billion was to businesses.
The Chairman of the Board said that in 2024, the bank’s retail business “opened a second wind”: customers were offered a new mobile application, the development of the regional network continued, and the financial institution entered the top 5 banks in terms of lending under the eHouse state program.
“This year, we aim to increase our momentum and increase our presence in the retail sector,” Panov said.
As of January 1, 2025, according to the National Bank’s statistics, the financial institution ranked 20th in terms of total assets (UAH 24.34 billion) among 61 banks in the country. The bank’s net profit last year amounted to UAH 175 million.
