Shareholders of PJSC “Ukrainian Fire and Insurance Company” (Kyiv) plan to approve, at a meeting on July 13, 2026, the amount of annual dividends for common registered shares based on the company’s performance in 2025, totaling UAH 40 million.
As the company reported in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the decision to pay dividends was adopted by the annual remote general meeting of shareholders (minutes dated May 8, 2026).
The dividend payment is planned to be made in several installments (proportionally to all shareholders within a total 6-month period from the date of the decision).
The first installment (37.5% of the total amount): UAH 15 million by August 5, 2026; the second – UAH 15 million by October 13, 2026; the third installment – 25% of the total amount, or UAH 10 million, by November 7, 2026.
PJSC “UPSK” was registered in 1993. It specializes, in particular, in motor vehicle insurance, financial risk insurance, travel insurance, property insurance, cargo insurance, and baggage insurance.
According to the company, Oleksandr Mykhailov owns 99.999% of the insurer’s shares.
According to the NBU, the company ranks 16th among Ukraine’s non-life insurers in terms of premiums collected in 2025.
In January–May 2026, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises saw a 6.2% decline in revenue from ferrous metal exports compared to the same period last year—down to $1.184435 billion from $1.262746 billion.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, ferrous metals accounted for 6.73% of total export revenue during this period, compared to 7.45% in January–May 2025.
In May 2026, revenues from ferrous metal exports amounted to $291.757 million, compared to $259.544 million in April.
As reported, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased revenue from ferrous metal exports by 7.85% in 2025 compared to the previous year—to $3.339487 billion. Ferrous metals accounted for 8.25% of total export revenue for the year.
Approximately 7 million hryvnias per year are currently allocated for programs to promote reading and support related projects in Ukraine, which does not meet the industry’s actual needs, said Oleksandra Koval, acting director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
“As for the activities of the Ukrainian Book Institute specifically, the main problem remains insufficient funding. We have about 7 million hryvnias per year for programs to promote reading and support related projects. This allows us to support only 15–20 projects across the country. For a country the size of Ukraine, this is extremely little,” Koval said.
According to her, real change in the field of reading requires not dozens, but thousands of events each year, which should be held in libraries, schools, communities, at festivals, and book fairs.
Koval emphasized that one of the key challenges remains Ukrainians’ access to books, especially in small towns and villages.
She also noted that the systematic updating of library collections should become an important focus of state policy.
“We are convinced that new books are the strongest draw for libraries. That is precisely why Ukraine needs a systematic update of its library collections. In my opinion, libraries should receive at least one million new books each year, and ideally—around three million copies,” said the head of the UIC.
According to her, only under such conditions will the changes be noticeable to readers across the country, particularly in small towns and villages.
As reported, Ukrainians have spent over 3.5 billion hryvnias on book purchases under state support programs since late 2021, and in 2026, the Translate Ukraine program plans to publish about 100 translations of Ukrainian books in 33 countries worldwide. Book piracy causes losses to the Ukrainian market amounting to hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
BOOKS, CULTURE, OLEXANDRA_KOVAL, READING, UKRAINIAN_INSTITUTE_OF_BOOKS
On the night of June 13, 2026, state-owned PrivatBank will conduct scheduled maintenance work at its processing center, during which it will temporarily suspend payment card transactions, ATM operations, self-service terminals, and the bank’s POS terminals, the financial institution’s press service reported.
According to the statement, the work will take place from 12:05 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on June 13.
The maintenance work is being carried out to increase capacity and enhance the security of payment card transactions.
PrivatBank recommends that customers planning to make card payments during the maintenance period either complete them in advance or postpone them for a few hours.
PrivatBank is Ukraine’s largest bank. According to the National Bank, the financial institution’s total assets as of May 1, 2026, amounted to UAH 952.46 billion (22.5% of the total).
According to the NBU as of May 1, 2026, PrivatBank had issued a total of 63.85 million payment cards, of which 32.28 million were used for transactions during the month.
The bank’s network comprised 7,433 ATMs, 9,831 self-service terminals, and 346,820 merchant payment terminals.
In its June report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for Ukraine’s wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year (July–June) to 23.5 million tons from 23 million tons, as projected a month earlier, and also increased its export estimate from 13 million tons to 14 million tons.
In the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, USDA analysts attributed the forecast revision for Ukraine to favorable weather conditions in the spring.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the upward revision of the forecast for Ukraine was one of the factors behind the increase in the forecast for global wheat production in the 2026/27 marketing year from 819.1 million tons to 820.1 million tons. Global wheat trade was also revised upward—from 211.7 million tons to 212.0 million tons.
In addition, the USDA raised its forecast for Ukraine’s barley harvest in the 2026/27 marketing year by 300,000 tons—from 5.5 million tons to 5.8 million tons, as expected a month earlier.
The export estimate was also increased by the same 300,000 tons, which, together with other grains excluding wheat and corn, currently stands at 2.49 million tons.
As for the corn harvest forecast, analysts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture left it unchanged at 30 million tons this year, compared to 30.9 million tons last year. Corn exports from Ukraine are expected to reach 23 million tons, the same as a month earlier.
As reported, in its May report, the USDA published its first forecast for Ukraine for the 2026/27 marketing year, estimating the wheat harvest at 23 million tons, exports at 13 million tons, and corn production and exports at 30 million tons and 23 million tons, respectively.
As reported, Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture forecasts the 2026 grain harvest at around 60.4 million tons, which is only 1%, or 0.64 million tons, less than last year. According to preliminary estimates by the Ministry of Economy, the harvest of key crops could amount to about 22.4 million tons of wheat, about 4.7 million tons of barley, and approximately 31.6 million tons of corn.
According to data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the wheat harvest in Ukraine in 2025 increased by 3.6% to 23.34 million tons, the corn harvest by 14.6% to 30.9 million tons, while barley production decreased by 2.4% to 5.2 million tons.
According to Serbian Economist, Montenegro’s housing stock is growing rapidly, but its population is not. According to UNECE data, the 2023 census recorded 392,900 residential properties in the country—78,200 more than in 2011.
Over the past 12 years, the number of apartments and houses has increased by approximately 26%, while the population has remained unchanged at around 624,000 people.
As a result, there are now 627 apartments and houses per 1,000 residents in Montenegro. This is approximately 21% higher than the EU average.
The main problem is that only 54% of housing is used for permanent residence. About 46% of properties stand vacant or are used seasonally, as vacation homes or for tourist rentals.
On the coast, this is linked to tourism, foreign buyers, and short-term rentals. In the north of the country, the reason is different—population outflow and depopulation.
A telling example is Žabljak: there, the number of homes has increased by more than 30%, even though the population has shrunk by about 18%.
For Montenegro, this is becoming a structural problem. Real estate and tourism generate quick profits, but they do not solve the issue of affordable housing for local residents. In Budva, Kotor, Tivat, and Bar, there is formally plenty of housing, but living there permanently is becoming increasingly expensive.
The main conclusion: Montenegro is facing the paradox of the tourism economy—the number of apartments and houses is increasing, while affordable housing for permanent residents may be decreasing.
