According to “Serbian Economist”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that he intends to travel to Kyiv to participate in the “Southeast Europe–Ukraine” summit, scheduled for Wednesday, July 15.
“I am going to Kyiv for the ‘Southeast Europe–Ukraine’ summit,” Vučić told reporters in Paris after attending a military parade marking France’s national holiday.
His statement was reported by the Serbian state news agency Tanjug.
Vucic noted that he had previously participated in four such meetings—in Odesa, Dubrovnik, Athens, and Tirana. At the same time, he warned that the upcoming summit in Kyiv “will not be easy,” given the content of the proposed final declaration.
The Serbian president also announced that he is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his trip.
In June 2025, Vučić had already visited Ukraine to participate in the previous “Ukraine–Southeast Europe” summit, which took place in Odesa.
The first Odesa Investment Congress, dedicated to urban development, investment, and Ukraine’s recovery, took place on July 10 at the SPATIUM Hotel in Odesa and brought together over 300 developers, investors, architects, experts, and government officials.
According to the event organizers, the congress ran throughout the day simultaneously in two thematic halls—“Urban Development” and “Urban Design.”
Participants discussed the investment appeal of the Odesa region, prospects for new development projects, housing policy for reconstruction, the digitalization of the construction industry, the development of medical and rehabilitation facilities, the preservation of Odesa’s historical heritage, and the energy independence of real estate properties.
Among the keynote speakers and panelists were Natalia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine; Ihor Reva, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation, and Digitalization; Oleksandr Novitsky, Head of the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban
Planning of Ukraine; and Yevhen Metzger, Chairman of the Board of PJSC “Ukrfinzhytlo.”
Also participating in the congress were Serhiy Lysak, Head of the Odesa City Military Administration, First Deputy Mayor of Odesa Oleksandr Filatov, Deputy Head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration Nataliia Melnychuk, Chief Architect of Odesa Nadiia Novikova, CEO and Owner of SPATIUM Group Oleksandr Seleznyov, as well as representatives of development, architectural, investment, and hotel companies.
Representatives from SPATIUM Group, ZEZMAN Holding, KADORR, “Gefest,” “Two Academicians,” Akvareli, Ribas Hotels, RIEL, UDP, SAGA, Creator-Bud, Avalon, SIGMA+, and CREDO joined the discussions.
According to Alexander Seleznyov, CEO of SPATIUM Group, Odessa’s real estate development market is gradually recovering.
“We are already nearly back to pre-war levels. Old projects have been completed, and we are starting to build new ones,” he said during the congress.
Serhiy Lysak, Head of the Odesa City Military Administration, stated that the city is ready to collaborate with businesses and investors.
“Odesa is open to partnerships, constructive dialogue, and the implementation of joint projects aimed at developing our city,” Lysak emphasized.
Odessa’s Chief Architect, Nadiya Novikova, commenting on the city’s development in light of its status on the UNESCO World Heritage List, noted that changes must occur harmoniously.
“Our goal is for our city to develop—and to do so harmoniously. I don’t think this is anything to be afraid of. We will get to work,” Novikova said.
A separate segment of the program was dedicated to medical development, wellness infrastructure, and rehabilitation and inclusive spaces. The congress also featured a presentation by the Superhumans team in Odesa.
In the Urban Design hall, chief architects of Ukrainian cities and representatives of the professional community discussed modern approaches to urban planning, accessibility, the preservation of architectural heritage, and the development of public spaces.
The congress was held at the SPATIUM Hotel in Arcadia. According to the organizers, this is Odessa’s first five-star medical & wellness aparthotel that operates year-round.
The Odesa Investment Congress concluded with a gala evening, a concert program, and the presentation ceremony for the special Wassily Kandinsky Award.
The event was organized by the DMNTR media group, with SPATIUM Group serving as the general partner.
The Interfax-Ukraine news agency served as the official media partner of the Odesa Investment Congress.
DEVELOPMENT, DMNTR, INVESTMENT, ODESA, Odesa Investment Congress, RECONSTRUCTION, SPATIUM Group
The residential real estate market in Northern Greece continues to rise in price amid high demand from foreign buyers, who are primarily interested in apartments in Thessaloniki, the Chalkidiki Peninsula, and the coastal regions of Thrace, according to a study by Spitogatos Insights for the first quarter of 2026.
According to the study, between 2022 and 2026, average home prices in Thessaloniki rose by 61% to 2,300 euros per square meter. In Macedonia (a region of Greece), the figure rose by 53.7% to 1,992 thousand euros per square meter, and in Thrace, it rose by 38.3% to 1,5 thousand euros per square meter.
Chalkidiki remains the most expensive market in Northern Greece, where the average housing price in the first quarter of 2026 reached 2,716 thousand euros per square meter. The municipality of Thessaloniki came very close to this level at 2,667 thousand euros per square meter, while Kavala led in growth over the past five years—up 68.1% to 2,194 thousand euros per square meter.
In the rental market, Thessaloniki also remains the largest center of demand: the average rent has risen by 34.3% since 2022, to 9.4 euros per square meter per month. In the municipality of Thessaloniki itself, rent reaches 10.4 euros per square meter, and in Chalkidiki—12.3 euros per square meter, due to the strong influence of tourism.
Foreign buyers most often consider the suburbs of Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, the municipality of Thessaloniki itself, Kavala, and Pieria. The top ten destinations most in demand among foreign buyers also include Evros, Serres, the Rhodopes, and Xanthi.
Apartments are the main focus of demand from foreign buyers. They lead the way in both the purchase and rental segments. Detached houses and townhouses follow in terms of interest.
According to analysts’ estimates, foreign capital is gradually moving beyond major cities and penetrating more actively into the coastal and border regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
The published materials do not provide data on the nationalities of foreign buyers.
Surgeons and engineers at the University of California, San Diego, have used remotely controlled humanoid robots to perform surgery on live animals for the first time as part of a preclinical study.
This was not autonomous surgery: the surgeons controlled all of the robots’ movements from a console. However, the experiment marked an important step forward for medical robotics, as humanoid robots had not previously been used to perform full-scale surgical procedures on living subjects.
According to UC San Diego, two surgeries were performed as part of a preclinical trial, the results of which were published on July 8 in the journal *Nature*. In one case, the surgery was performed by a “human-robot” team: a humanoid robot operated under the surgeon’s control, while a human assisted. In the second case, the procedure was performed by two humanoid robots working side by side. Both surgeries were performed on pigs.
Ars Technica notes that the robots performed two invasive gallbladder removal surgeries on live pigs.
The robots are called Surgie. Unlike specialized surgical systems, such humanoid systems are more compact and can potentially be used in standard operating rooms without major renovations. UC San Diego notes that Surgie is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 60 pounds, whereas traditional robotic surgical platforms can weigh around 1,800 pounds and require a large team to set up.
According to one of the study’s senior authors, Professor Michael Yip, remotely controlled and, in the future, autonomous humanoid robots could expand access to surgical care in regions where there is a shortage of doctors and specialized infrastructure. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, believe that such systems could be useful in rural hospitals, field medical settings, disaster zones, and other locations where it is impossible to quickly deploy a full-fledged surgical center.
However, the researchers emphasize that the technology is still far from clinical application in humans. During the operations, the robots had to be recalibrated several times, which caused the procedures to take longer than when using specialized surgical systems. Another issue is the delay between the surgeon’s movements at the console and the robot’s movements, which is particularly important for future remote surgeries.
The main significance of the experiment lies not in the fact that robots replaced surgeons, but in the fact that a humanoid robot was tested in a real surgical setting for the first time. Researchers view the immediate future of such systems primarily as assistants: they can help in the operating room, hand instruments, perform physical tasks, and eventually take over part of tele-surgical procedures.
For the medical technology market, this could open up a new niche between traditional surgical robots and versatile humanoid platforms. If such systems become sufficiently precise, safe, and affordable, they could lower the barriers to robotic surgery in small hospitals and resource-limited countries.
As of July 14, Ukrainian farmers have begun harvesting early grain and legume crops in all regions of the country and have harvested 3.1 million metric tons of grain from the new harvest across 763,000 hectares, or 6% of the projected area, according to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
According to the report, barley currently accounts for the largest gross harvest—1.84 million metric tons from 417,700 hectares, with an average yield of 44.1 centners per hectare.
Wheat yields totaled 1.11 million metric tons from 280,700 hectares at a yield of 39.6 centners per hectare, while peas yielded 156,400 metric tons from 64,600 hectares at a yield of 24.2 centners per hectare.
The Odesa region leads in harvest pace, having harvested 1.001 million metric tons of grain from 238 thousand hectares. The Mykolaiv region has harvested 805.1 thousand metric tons from 227.3 thousand hectares, and the Dnipropetrovsk region has harvested 567.3 thousand metric tons from 148.2 thousand hectares.
In addition, farmers have begun harvesting winter and spring rapeseed. To date, 77,000 hectares have been threshed, yielding 149,100 metric tons with an average yield of 19.4 centners per hectare.
As previously reported, a total of approximately 11.3 million hectares were sown with winter and spring grains and legumes in Ukraine this year, while total plantings of oilseeds exceeded 20 million hectares.
Euro Land UA LLC (Euro Land UA) plans to raise $8 million for the construction of a liquid microfertilizer plant in the Ternopil region, according to the Ukraine Investment Guide 2026, presented at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2026) in Gdańsk, Poland, which took place in late June.
The total project budget is $13 million, of which the company is prepared to finance $5 million using its own funds. A mixed financing structure (equity and debt) is envisaged.
The project involves the construction of a modern plant for the production of liquid micronutrient fertilizers based on EDTA technology. Its annual production capacity will be 10,000 metric tons of liquid micronutrient fertilizers, 5,000 metric tons of specialty fertilizers, and 3,000 metric tons of chelated micronutrients. The products will be supplied to Ukrainian agricultural producers as well as to export markets, primarily to EU countries.
According to the catalog, production is scheduled to begin 1.5 years after the project’s launch. The payback period is four years.
The project is currently in the advanced preparation stage: the product concept, formulation, and market positioning have been developed; negotiations are underway with technology partners; and the site selection and design of the future plant are in progress. Potential partners include the British company OMEX, as well as European suppliers of equipment and raw materials.
Euro Land Yue LLC was registered in 2017 in the Ternopil region. It specializes in supplying plant protection products, micronutrients, and other agrochemical products. Bogdan Kaminsky is the owner, ultimate beneficiary, and director of the company.
In 2025, Euro Land Uei LLC saw its revenue decline by 4.0% to 89.83 million UAH and its net profit fall by 33.1% to 10.88 million UAH.
