Ukraine exported 24.406 thousand tons of honey in January-June 2025, which is 1.9 times less than in the same period of 2024, when 48.113 thousand tons of this product was supplied to foreign markets. According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), revenue from honey sales for the period amounted to $53.261 million, which is 41.7% less than for the same period last year, when revenue amounted to $91.417 million.
The top three importers of Ukrainian honey in January-June 2025 were Germany, which accounted for 22.86% of purchases worth $12.177 million, Spain – 10.83% and $5.769 million respectively, Poland – 9.77% and $5.2 million respectively.
A year earlier, during the same period, the most active importers of sugar from Ukraine were Germany (25.76% at $23.546 million) and Poland (10.16% at $9.288 million), as well as the United States (15.27% at $13.955 million).
Head of business security practice at Juscutum law firm Oleksandr Horobets supported the adopted amendments to the CPC regarding NABU and SAP.
“Instead of political manipulation – legal clarity. Bill No. 12414 for the first time clearly establishes the boundaries of authority and raises the standards of human rights protection,” he said in a comment transmitted to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Wednesday.
In his opinion, in the framework of expanding the powers of the Prosecutor General, the law returns the situation to the legal field, because the expansion of the competence of the SAP from January 1, 2024, according to the law №3509-IX, contradicted the norm of the Constitution that the powers of the Prosecutor General can not be transferred to another prosecutor.
“A significant achievement of the draft law is the elimination of the destructive practice of conducting searches without court orders. The draft clearly limits this right exclusively to cases where there is an urgent need to save a person’s life, health, sexual freedom, safety or to preserve evidence of these crimes. This approach is worthy of the highest praise, because it is a direct step towards strengthening the guarantees of protection of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens from unjustified interference in private life”, – the head of Juscutum’s business security practice is of the opposite opinion to the UBA.
He added that the adopted law also provides a number of additional guarantees for the participants of the proceedings, in particular, the request to extend the pre-trial investigation up to 12 months must now be coordinated personally by the Prosecutor General, and his deputies will not have such a right.
Horobets believes that the adopted law leaves a wide range of legal opportunities for this NABU to work in a civilized and productive manner, and reminds that the expansion of powers of the SAP occurred only from January 1, 2024, and before that this body also worked effectively.
The lawyer also noted that the changes made concern all law enforcement agencies and structures, not only anti-corruption, so we should not talk about selective intervention.
“Bill No. 12414 is not a threat, but an important step towards a more efficient, constitutional and human rights-based justice system in Ukraine. It is designed to eliminate imbalances, strengthen guarantees of citizens’ rights and make the work of law enforcement agencies more transparent and responsible,” summarized the head of Juscutum’s business security practice.
The adoption of the law with amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) No. 4555-IX (in the Rada it was under No. 12414) significantly weakens the independence of anti-corruption bodies, jeopardizes Ukraine’s European integration aspirations, and violates the principles of the rule of law and legality, in particular, due to the violation of procedures provided for by the regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) made a public statement on Wednesday.
Among the norms criticized by the UBA are the abolition of the exclusive jurisdiction of the NABU and the SAP for corruption crimes, the deprivation of the SAP prosecutors of the authority to refer to the competence of the NABU other proceedings not expressly provided for by the CPC, and the consolidation of the right of the Prosecutor General to request the materials of any proceedings and the possibility of assigning the analysis of such materials for compliance with the requirements of the law to any other prosecutor.
The statement also notes the consolidation of the exclusive competence of the Prosecutor General to report suspicion of top officials and authorizing him to close criminal proceedings against top officials.
“The possibility of appointing a prosecutor without a competition – on the basis of a personal application and based on the results of a special inspection. Such a norm levels the selection standards, contradicts the principle of independence of the prosecutor’s office and creates risks for the legitimacy of personnel decisions”, – commented in the UBA another of the norms of the adopted law.
In its opinion, the fixing of such grounds for suspension of an investigator/detective as non-compliance with the prosecutor’s instructions can be used as a tool to influence the procedural independence.
The Association also pointed out that the grounds for conducting an “urgent” search without a court decision have been expanded to include the seizure or preservation of evidence, whereas previously it was possible only to ensure the life of persons, the safety of property or in the case of prosecution of persons.
The UBA notes that the independence of anti-corruption bodies is a key requirement of international partners and a condition for financial support to Ukraine. Its provision was envisaged, in particular, in the framework of visa liberalization with the EU and programs with the IMF.
“Moreover, such a law may create obstacles for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, because it violates the principles of the rule of law, which is a fundamental component of the European integration process. Given the above, the Ukrainian Bar Association calls on the Verkhovna Rada to initiate an immediate review of the provisions of the law, which undermine the institutional independence of the NABU and SAP,” the statement reads.
The Association also calls on international partners to continue monitoring and promoting compliance with the principles of independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption system, and on the professional legal community and the public to work out changes that will comply with international standards of the rule of law.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed Decree No. 518/2025 on the appointment of Oleksandr Voronin as Ukraine’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
Official diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Algeria were established in 1992. The Ukrainian Embassy in Algeria has been active since the early 2000s, developing cooperation in trade, education and energy.
Alexander Voronin has experience in the diplomatic system of Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Mykola Doroshenko from the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Uzbekistan by decree No. 506/2025.
At the moment the decree on appointment of a new ambassador to this post has not been published. Thus, the diplomatic mission of Ukraine in Tashkent temporarily remains without a head.
Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Uzbekistan were established in 1992.
Dniprometiz-TAS LLC (Dnipro) of Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Tihipko plans to build a new $4m hot-dip galvanizing line for steel wire, the company presented the project at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) held in Rome on July 10-12.
According to the company’s information in the URC project catalog, the project involves the construction of a new hot-dip galvanizing line to improve operational efficiency and optimize energy consumption, is a diversification of production of highly profitable products through the manufacture of high-quality fine (0.7-1.6 mm) and medium-diameter (1.8-5.0 mm) wire, including low-carbon, medium- and high-carbon steel grades.
The capacity of the plant is 24 thousand tons per year. New energy-saving equipment is used for the furnace and zinc bath. The project’s strengths include lower production costs, improved space efficiency, increased production capacity, and strategic investment in the cable industry.
The target market is European, North American, Middle Eastern.
The project is 100% ready for realization: pre-project planning has been completed, infrastructure has been developed (workshop, power plant and other facilities), detailed technical, production and market analyses have been performed, there is production of semi-finished wire products.
The project will result in a change in product mix from relatively low-margin fencing wires to high-margin products for the cable industry. The model focuses on efficiency by phasing out old lines with the goal of reaching an annual production capacity of 24,000 tons with an average diameter of 1.6 mm.
The total project budget is $4 million, with $2 million to be raised. Expected financials: net present value (NPV) of $1.5 million, revenue in 2030 of $1.4 million, EBITDA in 2030 of $0.9 million.
The project startup period is three years.
Through 2025, it will invest $0.1 million in concept development, require $1.5 million in design funding this year, $2 million in 2026 and $0.4 million in 2027 for construction. In 2027 is the start of operations.
