The Ukrainian state budget for 2025 allocates UAH 14.5 billion for science funding, while the draft (adopted) state budget for 2026 sets this figure at UAH 20.1 billion, according to materials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance.
In the Ministry of Finance’s presentation on the 2026 budget, 3.2 billion hryvnia is earmarked for supporting science on a performance basis, 1 billion hryvnia for creating scientific centers for defense developments, and 0.7 billion hryvnia for projects by young scientists.
At the same time, the latest available official summary statistics on internal expenditures for research and development (R&D) refer to 2024: they amounted to UAH 28.328 billion, which is 32.7% more than a year earlier; R&D intensity (share of GDP) increased to 0.37% from 0.30% in 2023.
According to the summary review, in 2024, 616 organizations were engaged in research and development, and the number of personnel employed in R&D was 63,800.
In terms of the structure of R&D funding in 2024, 30.6% came from the organizations’ own funds, 40.8% from the public sector (including 38.5% from the state budget), 11.6% from the business sector, and 15.9% from foreign sources.
By sector, the business sector accounted for 59.9% of domestic R&D expenditure, the public sector for 33.4%, and the higher education sector for 6.7%.
Ukrainian legislation sets a benchmark whereby the state provides budgetary funding for scientific and scientific-technical activities in the amount of at least 1.7% of GDP.
Compared to the EU, Ukraine’s R&D indicators remain low: according to Eurostat estimates, in 2024 the European Union spent €403.1 billion on R&D, and R&D intensity amounted to 2.2% of GDP (unchanged from the previous year).
The “domestic R&D expenditure” indicator reflects the total expenditure on research and development within the country from all sources. The “funding for science in the state budget” indicators are a narrower snapshot and are not equal to total domestic R&D expenditure.
https://expertsclub.eu/ukrayina-v-2026-r-planuye-201-mlrd-grn-na-nauku/
The total volume of cargo handled by Ukraine’s water logistics in 2025 decreased to 76.1 million tons, according to Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine – Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba, which is 21.7% less than the previously announced results for 2024.
“In 2025, water logistics remained one of the key areas of export and import. The total volume of transshipment through water logistics for the year amounted to 76.1 million tons of cargo, of which 67.8 million tons were provided by the ports of Greater Odessa,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
Based on data for 2024, the reduction in transshipment in the ports of Greater Odessa amounted to 15.1%.
As Kuleba noted, since the launch of the maritime corridor in August 2023, 163 million tons of cargo have been transported, including 100 million tons of agricultural products.
The deputy prime minister specified that more than 8.2 million tons of cargo were transshipped through the Danube ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaysk during the year, while in 2024 this figure was 17.3 million tons.
Kuleba noted that the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company saw a 3.8-fold increase in the average number of caravans, a 43% increase in average monthly transport volumes, a twofold increase in the share of return cargo, and a 1.5-fold reduction in operating losses.
Separately, the Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery added that the port of Chornomorsk has begun preparing public-private partnership projects with a potential investment of up to $300 million.
In addition, $35 million in grant funding has been attracted under the RELINC program for the development of Danube ports and inland waterways, as well as EUR50 million in EU funding for the modernization of port and logistics infrastructure, Kuleba emphasized.
In 2023, Ukrainian seaports handled 62 million tons of cargo, of which 56.3 million tons were for export.
In 2024, according to the State Enterprise “Administration of Seaports of Ukraine,” Ukrainian ports handled 97.2 million tons of cargo.
The Experts Club analytical center has published a video study on silver production in the world by leading countries in 1971-2024, which shows the long-term restructuring of production geography and the strengthening of the role of Latin America and a number of Asian countries.
According to the study (source: BGS), Mexico will remain the largest silver producer in 2024 with 7.43 million kg, having been the undisputed world leader in silver production for 15 consecutive years. It is followed by China with 3.389 million kg and Peru with 3.065 million kg. The next group of producers includes Russia (1.604 million kg), Poland (1.534 million kg), Bolivia (1.495 million kg), Australia (1.218 million kg), the United States (1.097 million kg), Chile (1.049 million kg), and Kazakhstan (878,000 kg).
The top 20 for 2024 also included Argentina (775 thousand kg), India (769 thousand kg), Canada (410 thousand kg), Sweden (372 thousand kg), Indonesia (325 thousand kg), Uzbekistan (258 thousand kg), Morocco (224,000 kg), Papua New Guinea (137,000 kg), Brazil (102,600 kg), and Turkey (96,130 kg).
The study notes that over the decade, the centers of production have changed: some countries have increased output by expanding polymetallic projects, where silver is often a by-product, while leadership has gradually consolidated among large producers with a stable raw material base and developed processing.
Commenting on the results, Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin emphasized that the long series from 1971 to 2024 shows not just a “race” between countries, but investment cycles and a structural shift in demand: “Silver is increasingly perceived as a strategic metal — both for industry and for investors, so understanding who has been increasing production for decades and how helps to assess future risks of shortages and price spikes.”
According to analysts’ estimates, the value of silver in 2025 rose by a record 128.47%, which was the best result among major assets and exceeded the dynamics of gold (+66.59%) as well as the largest crypto assets, which ended 2025 in negative territory (BTC -5.75%, ETH -11.58%).
The video analysis is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel –
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior has issued a decree on increasing fees for processing immigration applications, including residence permits, which will apply to applications submitted from January 1, 2026.
According to the ministry, the increase will range from €50 to €250 and is due to the need to bring the fees closer to the actual costs incurred by the Migration Service (Migri) in processing cases.
In particular, the fee for electronic submission of a permanent residence permit application will increase from €240 to €380, and for paper submission from €350 to €600. For an initial residence permit for adults, electronic submission will cost €750 instead of €530, and paper submission €800 instead of €580.
Applying for international protection remains free of charge, but a fee of €53 will be introduced for processing applications for the extension of international protection status.
The ministry explained the increase in fees by the rise in the cost of processing applications against the backdrop of a decline in their number due to the economic situation, as well as changes in legislation that have increased the burden on Migri. The decree is valid until December 31, 2026.
Marina Adamovskaya, who has been deputy chair of the board since June 2019, will become the new chair of the board of the National Depository of Ukraine (NDU, Kyiv). She will replace Alexei Yudin, who has been chair of the board since June 2021. According to a statement by the National Depository in the NSSMC disclosure system on Tuesday, this decision was made by the depository’s shareholders at an extraordinary meeting on December 24.
According to the statement, until Adamovskaya’s candidacy is approved by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, Alexei Tarasenko, who has been a member of the NDU board since 2016, will serve as acting chairman.
The meeting also appointed Gennady Zhurov to the board, who in 2019-2022 was the head of projects and programs of the Payment Infrastructure Oversight Department of the Payment Systems and Innovative Development Department of the National Bank of Ukraine, and most recently worked as a senior consultant at Ukr-Resheniya LLC and Growth Solutions Partners.
In addition, the meeting re-elected Vitaliy Milentyev (independent) and representatives of the National Bank of Ukraine Yuriy Geletiy and Andriy Suprun as members of the supervisory board of NDU, and replaced two other independent members of the supervisory board – Vitaliy Lisovenko and Oleksiy Kiy were replaced by Oleg Mistyuk and Olena Dyatlova.
Mistyuk and Dyatlova are also independent members of the supervisory board of the Settlement Center, which is controlled by the National Bank, and Mistyuk is also an independent member of the supervisory boards of the state-owned Polygraph Combine Ukraine and Sens Bank.
In addition to managing 25% of the state’s shares in NDU, as of September 24 this year, the National Bank directly owned 25%, while the state-owned Oschadbank and Ukreximbank owned 24.9903% and 9.9903%, respectively. At the same time, the NSSMC appoints the trustee for the shares of Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, and the NBU’s corporate pension fund, but this provision of the law on the depository system is expected to be changed in the process of infrastructure reform.
Another 4.0795% of shares were owned by 27 legal entities and two individuals, in particular, Elena Nusinova owned 1.7054% of shares, and Odessa Privatization Center LLC, owned by former NSSMC member Viktor Ivchenko, owned 1.7151%.
As of the beginning of 2025, the NBU also owned 83.549% of the Settlement Center’s shares and managed another 1.441% on behalf of the state. State-controlled Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank, Sens Bank, and PrivatBank owned 3.208%, 3.208%, 3.222%, 0.319%, and 0.0005%, respectively, while the NDU owned 0.080% and other shareholders (1 individual and 22 legal entities) owned 4.973%.
The chairman of the supervisory board of the Settlement Center is Suprun, who since October this year has also been a member of the supervisory board of the NDU, replacing the representative of the NSSMC.
Paris topped Euromonitor International’s ranking of the most attractive cities for tourism and has held the top spot for the fifth consecutive year, the company said in a press release following the publication of the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2025.
According to Euromonitor’s estimates, Paris welcomed more than 18 million international visitors in 2025, partly due to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. Madrid, Tokyo, Rome, and Milan also made it into the top five, with the top five remaining unchanged for the second year in a row.
Euromonitor notes that international arrivals in the top 100 cities in 2025 increased by 8% to 702 million, with the largest increase in the Asia-Pacific region (+10%). Bangkok became the leader in terms of international visitors (30.3 million), followed by Hong Kong, London, and Macau.
