Ukraine has announced an international tender for the purchase of a modern multifunctional vessel for Danube ports, which will perform environmental, emergency rescue, and technical tasks.
According to a statement by the State Enterprise “Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority” (USPA), the vessel will be designed to operate in the ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaysk, which are currently key logistics hubs in the south of the country.
According to the technical specifications, the new vessel will be able to collect oil products and debris from the water surface, extinguish fires on ships and port facilities, and perform tugboat and mooring functions, assisting large ships in maneuvering.
The project is being implemented as part of the RELINC (Restoration of Essential Logistics Infrastructure and Network Connectivity) program with the support of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
Experts note that the new vessel will not only strengthen the port infrastructure, but will also be an important element of the environmental safety of the entire Danube.
Danube ports currently handle more than 40% of all Ukrainian agricultural exports and play a key role in international logistics, especially after the blockade of Black Sea routes.
The Danube is approximately 2,850 km long, the second longest river in Europe after the Volga.
The river basin flows through 10 countries — Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine — and flows into the Black Sea through the Danube Delta, part of which is located in the Odesa region.
According to estimates by the European Commission and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), the level of pollution in the river remains moderate, but there is an accumulation of heavy metals, pesticides, and microplastics, especially in the tributaries.
The main sources of pollution are industrial discharges, agrochemicals, household waste, and shipping.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that Italy intends to submit a proposal to the United Nations for a general ceasefire during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
According to ANSA, the initiative will cover all armed conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and hostilities in the Middle East.
“We support the US plan (for Gaza) and, as Pope Leo said, we must never lose hope for peace. Rome and Italy are becoming increasingly important crossroads of peace, development, and growth. In view of the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, we are submitting a proposal to the UN for an Olympic truce for all wars, including Ukraine and the Middle East,” said the Italian Foreign Minister.
The XXV Winter Olympic Games will be held in Italy from February 6 to 22, 2026.
These are the first Olympic Games to be hosted by two cities at the same time — Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
According to Olympic tradition, host countries often appeal to the UN with an “Olympic Truce” initiative, calling on world powers to cease military action during the Games in the spirit of international unity and peace.
Italy expects its proposal to be considered by the UN General Assembly in the near future.
GAZA STRIP, ITALY, OLYMPICS, truce, UN
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) has invested $325 million in production, according to Oleg Krykavsky, the company’s director of government relations, at the conference “Ukrainian Export: Through Thorns to the EU,” organized by the publication Ukrainska Pravda.
According to him, AMKR operates in difficult conditions, with electricity prices in Ukraine significantly higher than in Europe, because in Ukraine, companies buy expensive electricity on the market a day in advance, while in a number of European Union countries, long-term contracts are in place and special state programs to support metallurgy are being introduced to stimulate economic growth.
In particular, there are special mechanisms for reducing the cost of electricity on the French market through nuclear power plants, and in Germany, there are plans to allocate €6.5 billion and introduce a number of additional measures, including regulating the upper price limit to €60 per MWh (although industry insists on a price of €50), while in Ukraine, prices are constantly rising and have already reached $180 per MWh. Therefore, the Ukrainian government must also implement similar solutions to preserve industrial potential and jobs.
“Despite the current challenges, we continue to invest: during the full-scale invasion, our investments amounted to more than $325 million. These include repairs, modernization, logistics, preparation for European standards, and future capital projects,” Krykavsky stated.
He added that the key tasks for AMKR remain unchanged: integration into the EU, investment in development, and support for Ukrainian production even in the most difficult times.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of long products in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tons of steel, more than 5 million tons of rolled products, and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron.
ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
In January–September 2025, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” increased its revenue from product sales by 25.4% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 21.7 billion, according to the press service of the state-owned enterprise.
According to the report, half of the funds received by Forests of Ukraine were directed to budgets at all levels. The enterprise also increased its tax payments in the current year by almost 70% to UAH 10.7 billion.
“Thanks to the growth in sales revenue, significant savings on purchases, and optimization of expenses, profitability increased from 14.8% to 28.6% compared to last year,” Lisy Ukrainy specified.
In September, the state-owned enterprise harvested the largest volume of timber in the last five months. Harvesting volumes reached 1.07-1.1 million cubic meters per month.
The fulfillment of auction contracts for the supply of timber currently stands at over 90%, and taking into account buyer refusals, 97%. A significant proportion of refusals occur in the frontline, eastern, and northern regions, where the risks of harvesting or delivering products have increased. Forward six-month contracts are almost 100% fulfilled.
The balance of products in the company’s warehouses at the end of the quarter is the lowest since the beginning of the year – 550 thousand cubic meters.
Lesy Ukrainy drew attention to the seasonal increase in demand for firewood for the population, which corresponds to last year’s level. In September, the company harvested over 300,000 cubic meters of firewood. By the end of 2025, it plans to harvest over 900,000 cubic meters more to build up a strategic reserve for the winter period.
“Exchange prices for firewood have risen significantly since last year. For the population and the social sphere, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” maintains social prices at a stable level. The average cost of firewood in Ukraine, as in the previous year, is approximately 1-1.1 thousand hryvnia per cubic meter,” the state-owned enterprise summarized.
Zinc prices are climbing on worries about a global shortage of the metal, bouncing back from earlier losses and hitting their highest level since last December.
Zinc rose 0.6% to $3,026 per ton during trading in London on Tuesday.
According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG), zinc production in the first half of 2025 increased by 6.3% year-on-year.
However, due to problems at processing plants, refined zinc output fell by more than 2%.
As a result, zinc stocks on the London Metal Exchange fell to 30,000 tons, although at the beginning of the year they reached 171,500 tons, according to Trading Economics.
In less than a month, professional market participants bought three-year series K bonds of the international financial service NovaPay (TM NovaPay) for a total amount of UAH 100 million.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, the issuer was NovaPay’s subsidiary, NovaPay Credit LLC, and the bonds were placed on the Perspektyva stock exchange.
Their term of circulation is until August 6, 2028, with an annual offer, interest is paid quarterly, and the nominal rate in the first year of circulation is 18% per annum.
During 2023-2024, NovaPay issued nine series of bonds, and in 2025, it issued the 10th series and has already announced the issuance of the 12th series, “L.” The volume of each series is UAH 100 million, with the exception of one series, which is UAH 90 million.
Securities of all series, except for three, are used for REPO operations as an alternative to bank deposits and are available for purchase in the NovaPay mobile app. Series C and I bonds, as well as series K bonds, were placed among institutional investors for a total amount of UAH 190 million.
NovaPay was founded in 2001 as an international financial service, part of the Nova group (“Nova Poshta”), providing online and offline financial services at Nova Poshta branches. According to the website, the company employs about 13,000 people in more than 3,600 Nova Poshta branches throughout Ukraine. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the company accounts for about 35% of the total volume of domestic money transfers.
NovaPay was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended license from the NBU in 2023, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards, and was also the first among non-banks to launch its own financial application with a wide range of financial services at the end of last year.
According to the prospectus, NovaPay Credit plans to increase its interest income to UAH 802.1 million this year and to UAH 1 billion 515.1 million next year, and to earn UAH 518.9 million and UAH 1 billion 30.6 million in net profit, respectively.
Last year, the company’s net profit grew to UAH 89.2 million from UAH 40.3 million a year earlier, with revenue growing to UAH 285.6 million from UAH 95.6 million.
