“Fruits of Polissya” LLC plans to raise $21.9 million to build a complex for growing, cooling, sorting, and packaging blueberries in the Volyn 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 $24.2 million, of which the company is prepared to finance $2.3 million with its own funds.
The project involves the creation of a 90-hectare blueberry plantation and a production complex for cooling, sorting, and storing the berries in the village of Omelne (Lutsk District, Volyn Oblast).
The planned production capacity will be 1,720 metric tons of blueberries per year; the company also plans to sort and sell an additional 1,580 metric tons annually by purchasing berries from other producers.
As noted in the catalog, the project is based on modern Dutch technologies that protect the plantations from frost, precipitation, strong winds, damage by birds, power outages, and labor shortages.
The primary target market is the European Union, particularly the United Kingdom.
The project is expected to launch within three years, with a payback period estimated at 7.5 years.
“Fruity Polissya” LLC was founded in 2016. The company specializes in blueberry cultivation. In 2018–2019, it leased 94.39 hectares of land, and in 2020, it planted the first phase of a blueberry plantation covering 14 hectares, built a water reservoir with a capacity of 8,000 cubic meters, and constructed a pumping station for drip irrigation covering an area of 46 hectares.
According to the company, about 90% of its production is exported to EU countries, primarily to Poland through an intermediary. The ultimate beneficiaries are Olga Volovchuk and Oleg Ordinat.
In 2025, “Fruity Polissya” LLC saw its revenue decrease by a factor of 4.5 to 1.2 million UAH and its net loss increase by 49.3% to 9.1 million UAH.
Ukrainian steelmakers reduced their production of total rolled steel by 4.3% in January–June of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 2.940 million metric tons.
According to information released by the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association on Wednesday, 599.8 thousand metric tons of rolled steel were produced in June, 537.8 thousand metric tons in May, 460.8 thousand metric tons in April, 544.5 thousand metric tons in March, in February—390.3 thousand metric tons, and in January—406.4 thousand metric tons.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s steel companies increased total rolled steel production by 4.8% in 2025 compared to 2024—to 6.521 million metric tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its production of general-purpose rolled steel by 15.8% compared to 2023—to 6.222 million metric tons from 5.372 million metric tons. In 2023, total rolled steel production rose by 0.4% to 5.372 million metric tons, while in 2022 it fell by 72% to 5.350 million metric tons.
In 2021, before the war, 19.079 million metric tons of rolled steel were produced, or 103.5% of the 2020 level.
New fares for single rides on public transit will take effect in Kyiv on July 15—a single ride on the metro, bus, tram, trolleybus, or funicular will cost 30 UAH.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko signed the corresponding order on July 7; the document was published on the Kyiv City State Administration’s website on Friday, July 10.
At the same time, discounts are available on “multi-ride passes” depending on the number of trips: 1–9 trips—30 UAH; 10–19 trips—28.90 UAH; 20–29 trips—27.80 UAH; 30–39 trips—26.60 UAH; 40–49 trips—25.50 UAH; 50 trips – 25 UAH.
Starting August 1, a 60-UAH ticket will also be available, allowing for an unlimited number of transfers within 90 minutes.
Tickets purchased before July 14 are valid until September 14. After that, any unused balance will be automatically credited as a cash equivalent to the transit card.
As previously reported, five petitions on the Kyiv City Council website calling for a halt to fare increases on the capital’s public transit system until the end of martial law had already garnered the number of votes required for consideration, but most of them were rejected by city authorities.
On May 18, the Kyiv City State Administration announced plans to update public transit fares. Specifically, the cost of a single trip will depend on the number of trips purchased on the transit card. Specifically, for 1–9 trips, the fare will be 30 UAH; for 10–19 trips, 28.90 UAH; for 20–29 trips, 27.80 UAH; for 30–39 trips, 26.60 UAH; for 40–49 trips, 25.50 UAH; and for 50 trips, 25 UAH. Monthly passes are also available, with the cost of a single trip amounting to approximately 23.3–23.6 UAH. Discounted rates remain in effect for students and schoolchildren: students will pay 50% of the monthly pass price; schoolchildren will ride for free during the school year and receive a 75% discount in the summer. Separately, there are plans to introduce a transfer ticket for 60 UAH, which will allow unlimited transfers between the metro and surface transit within 90 minutes.
Fares in the capital have not been adjusted since 2018. Starting January 1, 2022, there were plans to raise public transit fares to 20 UAH, and to 12 UAH for holders of the “Kyiv Card.”
At the end of 2021, Klitschko assured the public that public transit fares would not increase until the end of the heating season. In 2023, city officials stated that they had no intention of raising public transit fares until the end of the war. In September 2025, Klitschko stated that although public transit in Kyiv is subsidized, the city is looking for ways to avoid raising fares.
Ukrainian tennis player Oleg Prykhodko has decided to change his sporting nationality and compete under the flag of North Macedonia going forward, according to the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist.”
The athlete is giving up the previous flag under which he competed in international tournaments. Details of the transfer procedure, as well as the reasons behind the decision, have not yet been officially disclosed.
At present, Oleh Prykhodko is ranked 296th in the ATP rankings, which will make him one of the leading tennis players of North Macedonia once the change of sporting citizenship is completed.
The 27-year-old tennis player mainly competes in ATP Challenger and ITF tournaments. During his career, he has won several singles and doubles titles.
In the first half of 2026, Ukrainians purchased 111,500 used passenger cars imported from abroad, which is 2% less than in the same period of 2025, according to a report by “Ukravtoprom” on its Telegram channel.
Gasoline-powered cars accounted for the largest share of this segment of the auto market, increasing their share by 11 percentage points compared to January–June 2025, to 58%.
Next came diesel cars at 20% (22%), while the share of electric vehicles fell to 11% from 22%, though they still outpaced hybrids, which accounted for 8% (5%). The share of cars with LPG systems was 3% (4%).
The average age of imported used cars was 9.7 years.
The Volkswagen Golf confidently tops the list of the ten most popular imported used models with 5,143 units. Next are the VW Tiguan with 4,549 units, the Audi Q5 with 3,962 units, the Nissan Rogue—3,896 units, the Skoda Octavia—3,688 units, the Renault Megane—3,435 units, the Volkswagen Passat—2,477 units, the Ford Escape—2,446 units, the Nissan Qashqai—2,166 units, and the Audi A4—2,144 units.
As reported by “Ukravtoprom,” in 2025, Ukrainians purchased 274,300 used passenger cars imported from abroad, which is 24% more than in 2024; the top three most popular models after the Volkswagen Golf included two Tesla electric vehicles—the Model Y and Model 3.
This year, the market showed a 22% increase in January compared to January 2025, but began to decline starting in February.
Ukrainian steelmakers reduced steel production by 3.2% in January–June of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 3.566 million metric tons.
According to information released by the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association on Wednesday, 690,800 metric tons of steel were produced in June, 629,400 metric tons in May, 517,300 metric tons in April, 702,300 metric tons in March, in February—515 thousand metric tons, and in January—511.1 thousand metric tons.
As previously reported, Ukraine’s steel companies reduced steel production by 2.2% in 2025, to 7.409 million metric tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased steel production by 21.6% compared to 2023, reaching 7.575 million metric tons. In 2023, steel production fell by 0.6% to 6.228 million metric tons, and in 2022, it fell by 70.7% to 6.263 million metric tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.366 million metric tons of steel were produced, or 103.6% of the 2020 level.
