On July 12, Rush LLC, owner of the EVA chain in Ukraine, opened its first store of the new compact format “EVA поруч” in the village of Zazimya in the Brovarsky district of the Kyiv region, according to the company’s press service.
By the end of 2025, the chain plans to open 10 EVA Nearby stores. The next openings are already scheduled for July in the Kyiv region in the village of Sofiivska Borshchahivka (Bucha district) and in the village of Hatne (Fastiv district).
It is specified that the experimental format of the compact “EVA Nearby” store will have an average area of about 60 square meters, which is 3-4 times less than a standard EVA store.
“This format is designed to help us meet consumer needs where this was previously impossible due to a lack of space sufficient to open a regular EVA store. EVA Nearby will ensure our presence where it is important to shoppers,” said Viktor Sredniy, COO of the EVA chain.
The range will include around 2,000 SKUs (15-20,000 SKUs in full-format stores). However, the compact format will also feature unique offers with a focus on the affordable price segment. The focus of the assortment will be on household chemicals, household goods, basic childcare products, hygiene products, and body and hair care products. Decorative cosmetics and perfumes will not be available in the new format. However, the advantage of the “EVA поруч” format is that such a store will serve as a pickup point for online orders.
Investments in opening an “EVA поруч” store amount to UAH 500,000, while launching a standard EVA store costs UAH 3-5 million, depending on the design of the retail outlet, its area, and the initial condition of the premises. Each compact store creates an additional 3-4 jobs.
EVA Nearby currently has experimental status. The strategic development potential of the format will be determined by the results demonstrated, which the company plans to evaluate in 2026.
Rush LLC, which manages the EVA chain, was founded in 2002. As of early 2025, the chain had 1,109 stores in operation.
According to Opendatabot, the owner of Rus LLC is listed as Incetera Holdings Limited (Cyprus, 100%), with Ruslana Shostak and Valery Kiptika as the ultimate beneficiaries.
At the end of 2024, Rush’s revenue increased by 28.2% compared to the previous year, to UAH 27 billion. Net profit decreased by 36.7%, to UAH 1.4 billion.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka has met with civil society experts for the second time in a week to discuss preserving the full functionality of the law-enforcement and anti-corruption systems.
According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the key issue on the agenda is the discussion of the draft law No. 13533 on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and some legislative acts of Ukraine on strengthening the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) submitted by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the Verkhovna Rada.
“Thank you for your willingness to open dialog and cooperation. Thanks, in particular, to your expertise and preliminary consultations it was possible as quickly as possible to work out a draft of legislative changes aimed at responding to the challenges and ensure the institutional independence of the anti-corruption system,” – quotes Kachka press service.
He emphasized that such interaction between the public sector and civil society is already becoming systemic, and noted that further regular coordination with representatives of civil society is planned.
It is noted that during the meeting the parties also discussed the issues of realization of transformations provided for by the Roadmap in the field of the rule of law – in particular related to the further functioning of law enforcement agencies.
As reported, on July 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced a bill to the Verkhovna Rada regarding the powers of NABU and SAP.
BILL, NABU, САП, Тарас Качка
On Friday, the multinational military exercise Agile Spirit began in Georgia, which is being held for the twelfth time. The exercise is being held at the Krtsanisi base, where the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center is located.
The Agile Spirit 2025 exercise is being held in two countries – Georgia and Turkey – to help strengthen regional cooperation, according to the Georgian Ministry of Defense.
The exercises began in Turkey on July 21 with a joint airborne operation by the United States and Turkey. In addition to the military of Turkey, the United States, and Georgia, the military of eight other countries will take part in the exercises that opened in Georgia.
At the opening ceremony, General Terry Tillis, commander of the 7th U.S. Army Training Command in Europe and Africa, said that “this is a strategic exercise that allows for increased interoperability between military personnel from different countries.”
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Switzerland is maintaining its level of involvement in helping Ukraine with humanitarian response despite the global recession in donor support, said Serge Umov, Head of Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
“As for Switzerland, I am pleased to announce that we are not reducing our humanitarian commitments. Our assistance is not as large as that provided by the United States and other European partners. But we are maintaining our involvement for at least the next few years. We do not plan to reduce our efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,“ said Serge Umov during a roundtable discussion titled ”Humanitarian Action in War: Protection of Personnel, Innovation and Influence on World Politics” at Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, according to the representative of the Swiss Agency, the current crisis opens up opportunities to rethink approaches to humanitarian response.
“We will need, and we are already doing, to change some things in our approaches and the way we operate. Every crisis also opens up new opportunities,” he added.
He called localization of humanitarian aid and support for the capacity of Ukrainian organizations one of the priorities of the conditions.
Ukrtransnafta CEO Volodymyr Tsependa and Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) head Olena Duma signed an addendum to the current agreement on managing the Ukrainian section of the Samara – Western Direction” (SZN), which provides for an increase in the company’s monthly payments to the state budget from UAH 1.1 million to UAH 5 million.
“The focus is on responsible management of part of the Samara-Western Direction oil product pipeline in the new security environment of 2025,” Ukrtransnafta said on Facebook on Friday.
According to the company, the decision takes into account the updated operating conditions of the facility and is aimed at improving its efficiency.
“We view the management of this facility not only as an operational function, but as the company’s responsibility to the state to work efficiently, transparently, and results-oriented,” Tsependa said.
Ukrtransnafta emphasized that the parties had demonstrated a common position: to act proactively, ensure the continuous operation of critical infrastructure, and transparently manage state property.
As reported, the Ukrainian section of the SZN had long belonged to Prikarpatzakhidtrans LLC (Rivne), but as a result of court proceedings, it was returned to state ownership in early 2021. Ukrtransnafta won the tender for its management and in September 2021 received all the necessary documents for the operation of the Ukrainian branch of the SZN and confirmed its readiness to resume its work.
After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, given the impossibility of resuming the operation of the oil product pipeline in the planned direction of pumping oil products from Belarus, as well as the need to ensure the state’s defense capability to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in wartime, Ukrtransnafta began pumping diesel fuel in reverse from Hungary to Ukraine.
Ukrtransnafta, 100% of whose shares are managed by Naftogaz of Ukraine, is the operator of the country’s oil transportation system.
In 2023, Ukrtransnafta’s net profit increased by 40% to UAH 5.6 billion. In 2024, the company paid UAH 5.29 billion in dividends to its shareholder, Naftogaz of Ukraine, based on its performance in 2023.
Sunflower production in Ukraine in 2025 will not exceed 13.6-13.7 million tons, which is only 7% higher than in 2024, according to the information and analytical agency APK-Inform.
Analysts noted that weather conditions continue to reduce the yield potential of sunflower in Ukraine, particularly in the south and east of the country, where up to 50% of the total area under this oilseed crop is concentrated. Cool weather in the spring and critically low soil moisture reserves in these regions, combined with insufficient rainfall, have created unfavorable conditions for the development of oilseed crops.
According to their information, a number of farmers report that crops are in very poor condition: uneven plant growth in the field, delayed vegetation, small heads, as a result of which decisions are being made to disc these fields and prepare for winter sowing. In a number of regions, crops suffered from high temperatures in July, and hail was also reported locally.
Experts noted that crop losses in the south and east may be offset by expected better sunflower yields in the center, as well as in the west and north, where temperatures and precipitation were more favorable.
They are convinced that a significant increase in the cost of sunflower seeds in the new season should not be expected.
“First, many factories are changing their operating strategies to avoid losses and negative margins, as in the 2024/2025 season. Second, the low cost of sunflower oil, whose trade slowed in the 2024/2025 season due to lower production. Thirdly, plants will now have an advantage in the form of export duties on soybeans and rapeseed, which may contribute to an increase in the supply of oilseeds on the domestic market,” APK-Inform concluded.
