War-affected children of Kyiv region will have a vacation and recuperate in Spain, reports Kyivska OVA.
This is stipulated by the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the Kyiv Regional State Administration and the association ASOCIACIÓN VICHE, which operates in the Spanish Asturias. The document was signed by the acting head of Kyiv OVA Mykola Kalashnik and the president of the association Cristina Pechena, according to the message in the Telegram on Thursday evening.
The memorandum talks about joint projects related to the organization of recreation, social adaptation and psychological rehabilitation of children from the Kiev region.
The children are ready to receive for 2 months Spanish families. They will provide their welfare, training in local educational institutions, leisure time. And will also support them after their return to Ukraine.
“I am grateful for such important initiatives, because our children, who live in constant stress, really need such mental unloading. The idea of the project is not just about organizing a vacation for them. It’s about emotional connection: from caring for a particular child to activating support for Ukraine as a whole,” emphasized Kalashnik.
The authorized capital of PJSC Ukrainian Financial Housing Company (Ukrfinzhytlo) has been increased by UAH 20 billion by issuing internal state loan bonds (ISLBs) in exchange for shares of the company’s additional share issue, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yuliya Sviridenko has said.
“The additional capitalization means that Ukrfinzhytlo will be able to continue to raise funds on the financial market to continue the work of eOseli and issue new tranches to partner banks. Accordingly, the partner banks will have the resource to issue new loans to Ukrainians for the purchase of housing”, – explained Deputy Prime Minister on Facebook on Tuesday.
According to her data, at the end of 2024 within the framework of the program “eOsela” was issued 8.5 thousand loans for 14.6 billion UAH, which is 65% more than in pre-war 2021, when banks issued mortgages for 8.9 billion UAH.
As Sviridenko pointed out, eOselia has become a factor in increasing demand for construction materials: their production in the first half of 2024 increased by 37.1%.
“Our goal is to move to the primary market to further enhance the economic effect. This year, the share of mortgages in the primary market has already doubled. The program also contributes to detenization – this year developers paid 2.2 times more taxes than in the same period in 2023 – UAH 1.6 billion in the first half of 2024,” she said.
In the structure of loans issued at 3%, more than half of mortgages fell on the military and security forces (55%, 8.1 thousand loans), 8.3% – teachers (1.2 thousand), 8.2% – medics (1.2 thousand), 2% – scientists (313 loans).
Loans at 7% were most often taken by Ukrainians who do not have their own homes (22%, 3.2 thousand loans), internally displaced persons (2.3%, 340 loans) and veterans (2%, 324 loans).
The leaders in the number of loans issued at the end of the year were Kyiv region (4 thousand loans), Kyiv (2.9 thousand), Lviv region (890), as well as Odessa (711), Vinnitsa (666), Ivano-Frankivsk (630).
According to the report, the average amount of the loan amounted to UAH 1.6 million, with the first installment on average – UAH 615 thousand. The average cost of purchased real estate – UAH 2.2 million, and its average area – 56.9 square meters. m.
As previously reported, earlier the Cabinet of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Finance to increase the authorized capital of Ukrfinzhytlo in order to increase the authorized capital of Ukrfinzhytlo by the end of 2024 issue of government bonds in exchange for shares of additional issue of PJSC in the total amount of UAH 20 billion.
According to the information on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers, UAH 10 billion of them – with the circulation term of 10 years and the rate of return at the level of 12.6% per annum and the coupon period of one year, UAH 5 billion – with the circulation term of 5 years and the rate of return at the level of 15.84% per annum and the coupon period of six months and the same amount with the circulation term of 4 years and the rate of return at the level of 16.35% per annum and the coupon period of six months.
The state program of affordable mortgage lending “eOselia” has been operating in Ukraine since October 2022. For a preferential mortgage at 3% per annum for up to 20 years with a down payment of 20% of the cost of housing can be claimed by contract servicemen of the AFU, security and defense sector workers, medical workers, teachers, researchers.
From August 1, 2023, war veterans, combatants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and citizens who do not have their own housing above the normative area can apply for participation in the program at 7%.
The program involves 11 partner banks: state-owned Oshchadbank, PrivatBank, Ukrgasbank, Sens Bank, as well as MTB Bank, Tascombank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank, Credit Dnipro Bank, BISBANK and Radabank.
The current gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine expires at the end of 2024, with Vladimir Putin having already said there was no time left to renew the contract. Will eastern EU members be hit the hardest?
Currently, Russian gas is still flowing through Ukraine’s pipeline network to the European Union (EU), generating revenue for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and funding his war against Ukraine. The Russian has claimed without Russian gas the bloc won’t be able to meet its energy needs.
For Ukraine, by contrast, the gas transit deal has always meant first and foremost filling Putin’s war chest, even though some of the revenue Russia gains from its exports via Ukraine stay in Kyiv as transit fees.
Now, as the year 2024 ends, Ukraine will not renew the gas transit agreement with Russia, as announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on December 19 in Brussels. Ukraine will no longer allow Moscow to “earn additional billions” while continuing its aggression against the country.
Russian President Putin also confirmed the contract’s termination, telling reporters in a televised briefing on December 26 that a new contract was “impossible to conclude in 3-4 days.”
Putin laid the blame firmly on Ukraine for refusing to extend the agreement.
The end of the agreement, however, raises questions about gas supply in landlocked eastern EU countries, which cannot import liquefied natural gas (LNG) by sea. Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia still rely on Russian gas via Ukraine which is why the governments there are eager to continue purchasing Russian gas.
Russian gas: Mutually beneficial even during the Cold War
Before the Ukraine war, Russia was the world’s largest exporter of natural and Europe was Moscow’s most important market. European governments prioritized access to cheap energy over concerns about doing business with Putin.
The mutually beneficial relationship began more than 50 years ago, when the former Soviet Union needed funds and equipment to develop its Siberian gas fields. At the time, the western part of then still divided Germany sought affordable energy for its growing economy, and signed the so-called pipes-for-gas deal with Moscow, under which West German manufacturers supplied thousands of kilometers of pipes to transport Russian gas to Western Europe.
This energy relationship persists, as European importers are often locked into long-term contracts that are difficult to exit.
According to the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel
, EU fossil fuel imports from Russia amounted to about $1 billion (€958 million) per month at the end of 2023, down from $16 billion per month in early 2022. In 2023, Russia accounted for 15% of the EU’s total gas imports, trailing Norway (30%) and the US (19%), but ahead of North African countries (14%). Much of this Russian gas flows through pipelines via Ukraine and Turkey.
Major consumers include Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Additionally, countries like Spain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands still import Russian LNG by tanker, some of which mixes with other gas sources in Europe’s pipeline network. As a result, it may even reach Germany, despite its efforts to forgo Russian gas.
Gas market upheaval triggers price spikes
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, gas prices surged dramatically — at times by more than 20 times — forcing some European factories to cut production and many small businesses to close. Prices have since dropped but remain above pre-crisis levels, making energy-intensive industries, particularly in Germany, less competitive.
European consumers are also suffering from high energy prices, prompting many to reduce consumption amid a severe cost of living crisis. The additional expenses are a significant burden: Nearly 11% of EU citizens struggled to adequately heat their homes in 2023, according to the EU Commission
The termination of the Ukraine-Russia agreement is already factored into European gas market forecasts, according to an EU Commission analysis reported about by Bloomberg in mid-December.
EU isn’t desperate to keep gas route open
The EU is confident in its ability to secure alternative supplies.
“With more than 500 billion cubic meters of LNG produced each year globally, the replacement of around 14 billion cubic meters of Russian gas transiting via Ukraine should have a marginal impact on EU natural gas prices,” Bloomberg cites from the commission’s document, which is not yet public. “It can be considered that the end of the transit agreement has been internalized in the winter gas prices.”
The EU has long argued that member states still importing Russian gas via the Ukraine route — particularly Austria and Slovakia — could manage without these deliveries. Therefore, the EU commission said it would not enter negotiations to keep the route open.
According to the Commission, member states have been able to reduce their gas consumption by 18% since August 2022 compared to the five-year average. Moreover, the United States is expected to create new LNG capacities over the next two years, and these supplies could help the EU address potential disruptions.
“The most realistic scenario is that no Russian gas will flow through Ukraine anymore,” the EU commission said, adding the bloc was “well-prepared” for this outcome.
Mounting oncerns in Eastern Europe
Despite EU assurances, Hungary and Slovakia remain anxious about their gas supplies and their ongoing close ties to Russia. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, for example, is seeking ways to maintain gas deliveries through Ukraine, even though the country’s current imports largely rely on the TurkStream pipeline.
Orban has floated unconventional ideas, such as purchasing Russian gas before it crosses into Ukraine. “We are now trying the trick … that what if the gas, by the time it enters the territory of Ukraine, would no longer be Russian but would be already in the ownership of the buyers,” Orban told a briefing, according to the Reuters news agency. “So the gas that enters Ukraine would no longer be Russian gas but it would be Hungarian gas.”
Slovakia has taken a more confrontational approach, threatening countermeasures against Ukraine. Prime Minister Robert Fico suggested halting emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine after January 1 if no agreement is reached. “If necessary, we will stop the electricity shipments that Ukraine needs during outages,” Fico said in a Facebook video.
In respons to the threat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Fico of acting under Russian orders, stating on social media platform X that it appears Putin directed him to “open a second energy front against Ukraine.”
Fico remains one of the EU’s strongest opponents of military aid to Ukraine. During a surprise December visit to Moscow, Fico claimed Putin reaffirmed Russia’s willingness to continue supplying gas to Slovakia.
Dynamics of reserves of Ukraine from 2012 to 2024, million USD
Open4Business.com.ua
Who is under the attention of the Tax Service?
The State Tax Service has planned 4.7 thousand business inspections for 2025. The State Tax Service will pay most attention to companies from Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro regions. About 400 businesses will be inspected every month, with the most visits scheduled for October.
Of the 4.7 thousand inspections, about 3.7 thousand are for companies, and the rest are for individual entrepreneurs. Financial institutions and non-residents will also be inspected. The State Tax Service will also visit 266 businesses that have questions about personal income tax, military duty, and unified social tax.
The State Tax Service will pay most attention to companies from Kyiv – 18% of the total number of inspections. Odesa region will be in second place, and Dnipropetrovs’k region will be in third place: 12% and 10% respectively.
Wholesale companies will face the most inspections – 20.7%. Agriculture and hunting will account for another 15% of inspections. Food production rounds out the top three with 6.2%.
In January, 287 companies will be inspected, and in February another 371. In total, the State Tax Service will visit about 400 businesses every month, with 423 companies being inspected in October.
20 companies from the list were included in the Opendatabot 2024 index:
– D. Trading – UAH 165.6 billion in revenue;
– Okko Express – UAH 61.8 billion;
– Vinnytsia Poultry Farm – UAH 39.2 billion;
– Nova Poshta – UAH 36.4 billion;
– Ukrainian armored vehicles – UAH 32.4 billion;
– SpaceX – UAH 27.9 billion.
– Myronivska Poultry Farm – UAH 21.4 billion;
– Pumb – UAH 16 billion;
– Ukrsibbank – UAH 15.4 billion;
– Poltava Mining and Processing Plant – UAH 15 billion;
– Concorde Consulting – UAH 8.5 billion;
– Enselco Agro – UAH 7.2 billion;
– Institute of Information Technologies Intelias – UAH 4.3 billion;
– Berehove Grain Receiving Enterprise – UAH 4.3 billion;
– ONUR CONSTRUCTION INTERNATIONAL – UAH 2.9 billion;
– Testi Food – UAH 1 billion;
– Three O – UAH 906 million;
– Triumph Media Group – UAH 562 million;
– SC Dnipro-1 – UAH 437 million;
– Star Bukovel – UAH 421 million.
You can find out whether your business or partners are scheduled for inspections for free in the Opportunity Bot. To do this, send the bot the company code. If the business is on the tax plan, the relevant information will appear in the company card.
Instructions.
How to find out if the Tax Service is planning to inspect your business?
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/dps-audits-2025
Where are the most expensive Christmas trees in Ukraine?
More than 1 million conifers were grown on special plantations in 2024, according to the State Forestry Agency. Every second one is a pine tree. The average cost of one tree has increased 1.5 times since 2021. At the same time, fewer trees were bought than before the full-scale program. The Vinnytsia region grew the most trees this year, and the most expensive trees are in Zakarpattia.
This year, 1.07 million coniferous trees were grown by forestry enterprises on special plantations. This is half as many as in 2021 – 2.05 million trees. Of these, 52% are pine trees, and another 44% are fir trees. The remaining 4.5% are other coniferous species.
Most of the trees for sale were grown in the forests of Vinnytsia and Zhytomyr regions – 20% and 16%, respectively.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, sales of Christmas trees have halved. Thus, in 2021, 445 thousand trees were sold, and in 2022 – only 206 thousand. Last year, sales increased by 20% to 247.5 thousand.
This year, forestries plan to sell about 200 thousand Christmas trees by the end of the year. 44.5 thousand legal Christmas trees have already been sold as of early December. At the same time, 402 cases of illegal felling of Christmas trees were recorded by December 9 this year. This is twice as many as during the entire New Year’s season last year. However, the year 2021 became the leader in illegal felling with 1932 cases. It is worth noting that we can talk about both individual trees cut down and massive felling.
The average purchase price of a Christmas tree is currently 154 UAH. This is 15% more than last year and 1.5 times higher by 2021. The most expensive trees this year were sold in Zakarpattia region – the average price was UAH 918, while the cheapest ones were sold in Kharkiv region: UAH 92. Last year, the most expensive Christmas trees were in Kyiv region – UAH 414, and the cheapest – in Zhytomyr region: 95 UAH.
When buying a Christmas tree, it is worth checking the seller’s documents, especially if the tree does not come from the forestry of the State Forestry Agency. Each tree must be marked with a label or a tag with an individual number and barcode.
These can be checked on the websiteand the Electronic Timber Accounting System. If there is no information on the number in the system, the tree may be illegal.
By buying legal Christmas trees, you can protect yourself from “conifers” cut down on the territory of the Chornobyl NPP. It also prevents illegal felling of trees in Ukraine.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/legal-christmas-trees-2024
