The “Ukrcement” Association advocates for a measured increase in rail freight rates, which, on the one hand, will help JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) maintain its capacity to transport cargo, and on the other hand, will not lead to the closure of operating enterprises.
“As business representatives for whom rail transport accounts for more than half of all shipments, we have no interest in a scenario where transport collapses, just as we have no interest in the collapse of any industrial sector. Therefore, we are ready to cooperate to find a realistic solution to today’s complex situation. By agreeing to the tariff increase, we want to see where the additional payments from businesses will go and understand how delivery times to consumers and the turnaround time for empty railcars will be reduced,” said Pavlo Kachur, chairman of the “Ukrcement” Association.
He emphasized that UZ deserves respect and support for its work in transporting cargo for the front lines and national defense, but the situation with the freight transportation of products manufactured in Ukraine—both for the domestic market and for export—is becoming critical and requires joint, and possibly even emergency, measures and actions at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers. “This is not about a single industry or a specific plant, but about Ukraine’s economy as a whole. Therefore, it is the duty of manufacturers and Ukrainian Railways to work together to achieve a positive outcome,” noted the head of the cement manufacturers’ association.
The expert pointed out that, according to Ukrainian Railways, freight transportation remains profitable, businesses pay market rates for transportation, and an additional increase in tariffs is needed to cover losses from passenger transportation.
He highlighted the pressing problems facing the domestic railway: a lack of traction, an exodus of skilled personnel due to low wages, and the (chronic) unprofitability of passenger (especially commuter) transportation. In particular, the situation with traction is critical. According to Ukrzaliznytsia’s estimates, the current average speed of freight car transport is 37 km per day, compared to the standard of 200 km for single-car shipments and 300 km for scheduled services. The average daily number of scheduled locomotives not assigned to formed trains reaches 50.
“The top priority for improving transportation is to secure backup traction. The market expects Ukrzaliznytsia to present a program for modernizing its locomotive fleet as soon as possible. For our part, we see the most realistic and expedient solution to this problem as opening access for the transport of products using our own traction to the nearest marshalling yards. Ukrzaliznytsia’s experience with such transport operations, successfully tested by PJSC “Ivano-Frankivskcement,” has demonstrated its effectiveness and economic benefits for both the manufacturer and Ukrzaliznytsia, and could significantly free up Ukrzaliznytsia’s locomotives for more profitable operations,” Kachur believes.
He emphasized the staffing issue, noting that low wages are causing an exodus of skilled personnel (primarily locomotive engineers, assistant engineers, loaders, and station workers). “As a result of the tariff increase, competitive wages for employees involved in the transportation system—locomotive engineers, assistant engineers, train dispatchers, and station workers—must become a priority,” says the head of “Ukrcement.”
Regarding passenger transportation, he drew attention to the negative trend of increasing volumes of unprofitable passenger service against the backdrop of declining freight volumes. “The financial pressure on operating businesses due to the cross-subsidization mechanism is exceeding reasonable limits,” Kachur stated. In his view, before raising freight rates, Ukrainian Railways should propose a model for optimizing passenger transportation.
The business community expects Ukrainian Railways to take systematic and responsible steps—such as developing programs to modernize the locomotive and railcar fleets and establishing a model for commuter transportation. As soon as possible, the procedure for admitting private traction must finally be adopted (as provided for in regulatory documents), indicators for freight delivery and the circulation of empty railcars must be approved, and the issue of decommissioning railcars must be revised (based on technical condition rather than a calendar schedule).
“We need extraordinary measures, at least for the duration of the war, which will include a measured increase in freight rates, full transparency toward businesses and the public regarding the allocation of funds received from the rate increases—in particular, raising the salaries of locomotive engineers, assistant engineers, freight handlers, and station employees to market levels,” Kachur noted.
In his opinion, given the scale of the problems, the consideration and adoption of anti-crisis measures should take place at the level of the Cabinet of Ministers.
As previously reported, on Monday, the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine published a draft order providing for a 30% indexation of rail freight tariffs effective August 1, 2026, and the standardization of tariffs for the transportation of empty railcars. Ukrzaliznytsia plans to make a separate decision regarding the next stage of freight rate indexation, which could take effect on January 1, 2027.
According to the Ministry of Development, in 2025, freight volumes decreased by 12.5% compared to the previous year, and Ukrzaliznytsia’s net loss amounted to 7.6 billion UAH. In the first four months of 2026, the loss reached 9.3 billion UAH.
CEMENT, locomotive, TARIFF, UKRCEMENT, UKRZALIZNYTSIA, качур
The TAS Group plans to invest $250–300 million in the authorized capital of banks, insurance companies, and other financial sector assets, according to the group’s founder and chairman, Serhiy Tihipko.
According to him, the group is the largest private Ukrainian owner in the financial sector and intends to continue strengthening its position.
“Today, we are the largest among private Ukrainian owners in the financial sector. And we are gaining momentum here. Therefore, whether we like it or not, we will have to invest in authorized capital. I think we’ll invest somewhere between $250–300 million just to increase authorized capital,” said Tigipko at the Concorde Capital investment conference in Kyiv.
The group also continues to consider deals to acquire financial assets. Tigipko reported that TAS was interested in acquiring the insurance company MetLife, but was beaten to it by Poland’s PZU.
“That’s okay, we’ll wait. I told Richard Branson: deals are like a bus—one leaves, another comes. We’ll wait for the next one,” he noted.
The financial division of the TAS Group includes, among others, TAScombank, Universal Bank (which operates the mono platform), and Idea Bank. For the group, further capital increases at its banks and insurance companies mean strengthening its market presence, where—following the war and sector consolidation—the importance of large private players may grow.
The TAS Group is considering investments in logistics and port infrastructure, but is taking a cautious approach to this sector for now, according to the group’s founder, Serhiy Tihipko.
He said he personally visited Chornomorsk to explore investment opportunities.
“I can say that I’m not particularly fond of this sector: in my view, it’s overvalued; everyone has gotten used to the abnormally high rates that were in place at the start of the war. That won’t happen again,” said Tigipko.
In his assessment, some assets in logistics and ports may be overvalued due to the high rates that emerged at the start of the full-scale war amid a capacity shortage and the restructuring of export routes.
At the same time, TAS’s interest in logistics seems logical given the group’s presence in the agricultural sector, industry, and other sectors where transportation, storage, export infrastructure, and access to ports are crucial.
Tigipko emphasized that the group is constantly analyzing new projects and waiting for suitable opportunities for deals.
“We’re sitting and waiting for a good, big catch,” he noted.
American researchers from New York University have concluded that the brains of bilinguals use a common neural system for grammatical transformations across different languages, rather than creating a separate set of rules for each language.
The study, titled “A Shared Neural Mechanism for Abstract Grammatical Computations Across Languages in Bilinguals,” was published in the journal JNeurosci.
The study involved highly proficient bilinguals who speak both Spanish and English. The researchers monitored brain activity using magnetoencephalography, which allows for the recording of neural activity with high temporal resolution.
Participants were asked to transform words into grammatically correct forms, such as converting nouns from singular to plural—for example, “boat” to “boats” in English or “barco” to “barcos” in Spanish.
The researchers found that such grammatical operations activate the left frontal-temporal network of the brain. At the same time, the neural patterns were common to both languages, despite differences in pronunciation, spelling, and grammatical forms of the words.
A key finding of the study is that the same mechanism also worked with pseudowords—artificially created words that the participants had never encountered before. This suggests that the brain can apply grammatical rules not only to familiar words but also to new linguistic units.
The study’s authors believe that the results support the hypothesis of a universal “grammatical engine” in the brain. In other words, the bilingual brain does not maintain completely separate grammatical systems for each language but instead uses a more universal mechanism for processing grammatical transformations.
This may have practical implications for language learning and teaching. If grammatical operations do indeed rely on a common neural mechanism, knowledge of one language may aid in learning another, especially if a person is already able to quickly apply abstract grammatical rules.
At the same time, the study does not imply that all languages are processed by the brain in the same way at all levels. Differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, writing, language proficiency, and age at which a language is learned remain important factors. The focus is specifically on the grammatical transformations of words, which, according to the authors, may be based on a common neural foundation.
This topic is also relevant for Ukraine due to widespread multilingualism, migration, children studying abroad, and the prevalence of Ukrainian-Russian, Ukrainian-Polish, Ukrainian-English, and other language combinations.
New data show that bilingualism should be viewed not as a burden on the brain, but as a complex and flexible system in which different languages can share cognitive resources.
The study was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
On June 17, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved a decision to provide a long-term loan of up to EUR50 million to Volyn West Wind-2 LLC and Volyn West Wind-3 LLC, both majority-owned by VI.AN Holding, a member of the OKKO Group, to finance the construction and operation of a 189 MW wind farm in Ukraine.
According to the bank’s materials, the EBRD loan will be part of the project’s secured debt financing, with participation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB).
The project will also receive guarantee support and grant funds for technical assistance from the European Union under the Ukraine Investment Framework through the HI-BAR program, which reduces risks for investors and helps attract funding to renewable energy and climate technology projects.
Against the backdrop of significant losses in power generation capacity due to the war, this investment is expected to help reduce the electricity shortage, support decarbonization, and strengthen the private sector’s role in the development of renewable energy.
According to the bank’s estimates, the new wind farm will generate approximately 467 GWh of electricity annually and reduce CO2 emissions by about 300,000 metric tons per year. The total cost of the project is estimated at EUR262 million.
OKKO Group brings together more than 10 diverse businesses in the fields of manufacturing, trade, construction, insurance, services, and other sectors. The group’s flagship company is the “Galnaftogaz” concern, which operates one of Ukraine’s largest gas station networks under the “OKKO” brand, comprising approximately 400 gas stations.
The founder and ultimate beneficiary of the group is Vitaliy Antonov.
As previously reported, in April 2025, the EBRD, IFC, and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) announced a EUR157 million loan to the “Galnaftogaz” Group for a 147 MW wind farm in the Volyn region.
The TAS Group plans to invest $250–300 million in the authorized capital of banks, insurance companies, and other assets it holds in the financial sector, It also aims to expand its land bank and strengthen its grain storage operations in the agricultural sector, is actively investing in real estate development, and is exploring opportunities in logistics and port infrastructure, according to the group’s founder and head, Serhiy Tihipko.
“We are currently the largest private owner in the Ukrainian financial sector. And we are accelerating our pace here. Therefore, whether we want to or not, we will have to invest in authorized capital. “I think we’ll invest somewhere between $250 million and $300 million just to increase authorized capital,” said Tigipko at the Concorde Capital investment conference, which the investment firm held for the first time since 2019 last week in Kyiv.
“As for everything else, we’ll explore options. We’re interested in agriculture. We’d be happy to buy 20–25 thousand hectares right now. We’re expanding our grain storage facilities,” the founder added.
He noted that the group has now begun actively investing in real estate development.
“We’ve started a 220,000-square-meter project in Obolon. We’ve purchased an additional 5 hectares for the same project. In 2027, we’ll start a 350,000 (square meters) project on the Left Bank. These are fairly large investments,” the businessman clarified.
According to him, the group is also looking into logistics and port infrastructure, and Tigipko himself has personally visited Chornomorsk.
“I can say that I don’t really like the sector: in my opinion, it’s overvalued; everyone has gotten used to some kind of abnormal rate that existed at the start of the war. That won’t happen again,” the group’s owner noted.
He emphasized that the group constantly analyzes projects “every year, every day.”
“We’re sitting and waiting for a good, juicy deal to come along. We wanted to buy an insurance company (MetLife), but the Poles (PZU) beat us to it. That’s okay, we’ll wait. I told (Richard) Branson that deals are like a rail bus: one leaves, another will arrive. We’ll wait for the next one,” said Tihipko.
The TAS Group is one of the largest financial and industrial groups in Ukraine, operating in the banking sector, insurance, railcar manufacturing, metallurgy, logistics, the agricultural sector, the food industry, the production of packaging materials, and real estate. Among others, it includes TAScombank, Universal Bank (mono), and Idea Bank.
Oleg Zapletnyuk, CEO of the agricultural holding “TAS Agro,” reported earlier this year that the strategic plan calls for expanding the land bank from the current 80,000 hectares to 100,000 hectares by the end of 2026. “The next step is to increase it to 120,000 hectares, but that will be by 2028,” he said.
agricultural sector, DEVELOPMENT, financial sector, TAS, TIGIPKO
