On July 11, 2025, a forum organized by MC-Bauchemie was held in Kyiv.
It brought together experts in the production, design, testing, and certification of concrete and reinforced concrete products, as well as representatives of other interested organizations: large contractors, manufacturers of cement, crushed stone, laboratory equipment; consulting companies, and even the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The program was packed, and the discussions were focused and insightful, revolving around the adaptation of European standards, the durability of structures, and the introduction of the latest technologies in Ukraine. The event was opened by Artem Pryimachenko, Director of the Ukrainian branch of MC-Bauchemie, who emphasized the importance of synchronizing Ukrainian standards with European norms—not only as a step towards harmonization, but also as a tool for improving the quality and durability of infrastructure facilities.
One of the key topics of the forum was the conformity assessment of concrete products in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the Provision of Construction Products on the Market,” which implements the provisions of European Regulation 305 and lays the foundation for the free movement of construction products on the market. Lyudmila Kripka, Executive Director of the Ukrcement Association, spoke on this topic. In her presentation, she shared the cement industry’s experience in implementing EN standards and preparing manufacturer’s declarations. Lyudmila outlined in detail the challenges faced by Ukrainian manufacturers in adapting to the requirements of the Regulation, in particular regarding labeling, conformity assessment, and the implementation of a system for assessing the technical characteristics of products.
Lyudmila Kripka paid special attention to the targeted use of different classes of cement according to EN in road construction, namely the introduction of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) technology in Ukraine.
During the forum, participants had the opportunity to delve into technical aspects:
All these issues are critical in post-war reconstruction, where reliability, durability, and compliance with modern requirements are paramount.
The final chord was a panel discussion that brought together leading industry experts. They discussed pressing issues facing concrete product manufacturers, including:
During the discussion, it was repeatedly stated that the reconstruction of Ukraine is not only a question of materials, but also of a systematic approach to standardization, conformity assessment, and technical support.
The forum clearly demonstrated that the Ukrainian industry is ready for change, but needs support in terms of standardization, training, and systematic interaction with government agencies.
MC-Forum 2025 was yet another confirmation that Ukraine’s cement and concrete industry is not only flexible to innovation but also active in European integration processes. Thanks to players such as the Ukrcement Association, MC-Bauchemie, and specialists with technical backgrounds, the sectoral transition to European standards is taking place systematically, with an understanding of all the technical nuances.
The Verkhovna Rada, at the suggestion of newly appointed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, approved the new lineup of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The appointment of government members was voted on at a plenary session on Thursday, which was held as a package (except for the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose candidates are nominated by the president), with 253 MPs voting in favor.
The online broadcast of the Ukrainian parliament session on YouTube is being conducted by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Voice faction).
In particular, Mykhailo Fedorov was promoted to First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Digital Transformation (previously Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology – Minister of Digital Transformation).
The new Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration is former Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka.
The head of the large combined Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture is now Oleksiy Sobolev, former first deputy minister of economy of Ukraine (previously, the position of minister of economy was held by Svyrydenko, minister of environmental protection by Svitlana Grynychuk, and minister of agrarian policy by Vitaliy Koval). – Vitaliy Koval).
Another new official is former First Deputy Minister of Finance Denys Ulyutin, who heads the merged Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine (previously, the position of Minister of Social Policy was held by Oksana Zholnovich, and Minister of National Unity – Oleksiy Chernyshov).
There are also several officials who remained in the new Cabinet but in new positions, including Herman Galushchenko, who became Minister of Justice (previously Minister of Energy), and Svitlana Grinchuk, who became Minister of Energy (previously Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources).
In addition, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery, Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba, Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bedny, Minister for Veterans Affairs Nataliya Kalmykova, Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, and Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko retained their positions from the previous government.
In addition, on Thursday, Denys Shmyhal is to be appointed Minister of Defense, who will also oversee strategic industries (he previously held the post of Prime Minister), and Andriy Sybiga is to be reappointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.
At the same time, the Rada did not appoint a new Minister of Culture today because, as previously stated by the head of the ruling Servant of the People faction, Davyd Arakhamia, consultations on candidates are still ongoing.
Thus, the following positions in the new government were not filled: former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine – Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna (the president appointed her as the special representative of the president of Ukraine for the development of cooperation with the US, while her candidacy for the post of ambassador to the US is being agreed upon) former Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Unity of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov, former Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Oleg Nemchinov, former Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovich, former Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval (may return to the post of head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine), former Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochitsky (may become Ukraine’s permanent representative to the Council of Europe), former Minister of Strategic Industries German Smetanin (will head Ukroboronprom) and former Minister of Defense of
Ukraine Rustem Umerov (is being considered for appointment as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council).
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has stated that the government under her leadership is setting a course for military, economic, and social self-sufficiency.
“It is a great honor for me to head the Ukrainian government today. Our government is setting a course for self-sufficiency: military, economic, and social. My main goal is real positive results that every Ukrainian will feel in their lives. The war gives us no right to delay. We must act quickly and decisively. Our priority steps in the first six months are to provide the army with high-quality equipment, increase our own weapons production, and improve the technological capabilities of the military,” Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook after her appointment.
She added that the government will make every effort to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs, in particular, comprehensive deregulation, stopping unauthorized pressure on business, accelerating large-scale privatization, and further implementing effective support mechanisms are needed.
“We have already begun work on optimizing the state apparatus and are moving towards a full audit of expenditures with the aim of reducing them. No political loyalty, only figures and results,” she stressed.
The Verkhovna Rada, in its first reading, supported a bill that provides for changes to the 2025 state budget and an increase in funding for centralized procurement of medicines by 3.1 billion hryvnia.
According to the head of the parliamentary committee on health, medical care, and medical insurance, Mykhailo Radutsky, on Telegram, the additional funds are needed to purchase medicines for people with orphan diseases, viral hepatitis, HIV infection, tuberculosis, cancer, and other critical conditions.
Earlier it was reported that on July 1, the government supported a proposal to increase funding for the purchase of medicines from the state budget by UAH 3.1 billion, which is 36% of the additional need, while at the end of May, deputies registered in the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 13308, which provides for the possibility of allocating additional funds for centralized medical purchases in the amount of UAH 8.624 billion from the reserve fund.
In total, the 2025 state budget provides for the allocation of UAH 11.8 billion for the purchase of medicines, while the Ministry of Health estimates that the need is UAH 19.8 billion. Thus, the planned funding covers only 59.4% of the need.
If funding is increased by UAH 3.1 billion, the need will be covered by 75%.
Ukrainian farmers reduced sugar beet acreage in 2025 by 15.4% compared to last year, to 220,000 hectares, according to First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotsky.
“The Ministry of Agrarian Policy’s estimate (of sugar beet acreage – IF-U) stands at 220,000 hectares, compared to 259,000 hectares last year. We have a guaranteed 15% decline,” he said at a meeting of the Trend&Hedge Club.
When asked whether the European Union’s trade policy had influenced this situation, Vysotsky noted that this was definitely the reason for the decline in production of this crop.
He stressed that Ukrainian processors were very disappointed with the sugar supply volumes to the EU announced in spring 2025, which amounted to 67,000 tons for 2025. Currently, this supply threshold has been raised to 107,000 tons. However, at its peak, supplies to the EU reached 473,000 tons, so when comparing the allocated quota with the peak supply volume, the difference is obvious.
“In fact, the renaissance of the sugar industry in Ukraine was due to duty-free trade with the EU. Then, thanks to the scale and turnover, our producers began to enter other export markets, but the starting point was access to the European market, which has the highest margins. There are no alternatives in terms of margins,” the deputy minister said.
Vysotsky did not rule out that the area under sugar beet cultivation would continue to decline in the coming years. At the same time, he noted that all decisions on this matter would be made by producers taking into account export prospects, particularly to the EU.
Agroholding 2012 LLC (Khmelnytskyi region) has increased its stake in Nadina Insurance Company PJSC (Kyiv) from 90.5% to 100%, according to the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine.
It is noted that Natalia Zhurakhivska, who owned 9.5% of the insurer’s shares, reduced her stake to 0%.
As reported, at the end of April 2025, Agroholding 2012 LLC asked the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to give its preliminary opinion on whether it’s necessary to get permission to take control of Insurance Company Nadiina.
In 2024, Nadia Insurance Company collected gross insurance premiums of UAH 61.162 million, which is 52.05% less than a year ago. At the same time, premiums from individuals amounted to UAH 0.525 million, and there were no premiums from reinsurers.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers in 2024 decreased by 83.56% compared to the same period in 2023, to UAH 12.1 million, The reinsurers’ share in insurance premiums decreased by 37.91 percentage points to 19.78%.
The insurer’s net premiums for the reporting period decreased by 9.09% to UAH 49.062 million, and net earned premiums decreased by 12.41% to UAH 46.283 million.
The volume of insurance payments made by IC “Nadiina” increased last year by 22.48% to UAH 13.508 million. Thus, the level of payments increased by 13.44 percentage points to 22.09%.
At the end of 2024, the company’s operating profit amounted to UAH 15.842 million, and net profit amounted to UAH 14.122 million.
As of January 1, 2025, the insurer’s assets grew by 7.92% to UAH 81.876 million, while its equity decreased by 2% to UAH 63.298 million.
The company’s liabilities for this period increased by 64.68% to UAH 18.578 million, while cash and cash equivalents increased by 9.9%. Agroholding 2012 LLC was established in September 2015.
Its beneficiaries through the venture fund “Oferent” are Galina and Alexander Gerega.
The company’s activities include the cultivation of cereals, legumes, and oilseeds.
