Yaroslava Maksimenko, who was recently director of the property policy and sanctions department at the Ministry of Economy, and before that, she headed the then state-owned United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC) for a certain period of time, and served as acting chair of the National Agency for Asset Tracing and Management (ARMA).
“Yaroslava is a specialist with many years of experience in law, state asset management, sanctions policy, and international cooperation. She headed the property and sanctions policy department in our ministry and worked continuously with assets that later ended up in ARMA, so she knows the system inside out,” wrote Economy Minister Alexei Sobolev on Facebook, introducing Maksimenko to the ARMA team.
According to him, the recently updated version of the law on ARMA, which has already come into force, has strengthened the agency’s institutional capacity.
“The new version of the law will strengthen the tools for managing seized assets, transfer strategic assets to state-owned companies, and allocate certain assets for defense and military rehabilitation. It will also ensure greater control through Prozorro and expand public reporting tools,” Sobolev explained.
He also recalled that the reform of ARMA is part of Ukraine’s commitments to its European partners under the Ukraine Facility.
“The top priorities for ARMA now will be to conduct an independent audit and a new competitive selection procedure for the head of the agency, which we will monitor closely,” the minister added.
According to Interfax-Ukraine and the declarations of the new head of ARMA, among other things, she was a member of the supervisory board of the Odessa Port Plant (OPZ) and the Nikolaev Thermal Power Plant, and until July 2021, she was the founder and head of the law firm Stalex and Partners, and now owns the LLC “Legal Company AS.”
Before Maksimenko, the position of ARMA deputy chair for European integration was held by former Georgian ambassador to Ukraine Grigol Katamadze. At the end of July, the government also dismissed the agency’s head, Elena Duma.
In January-June 2025, the European Insurance Alliance insurance company paid out UAH 104.7 million in compensation under insurance contracts, which is 32% more than in the same period of 2024, according to the insurer’s website. According to the information, 52% of the total amount of payments was for medical insurance, 25% for compulsory civil liability insurance for drivers (OSAGO), 20% for comprehensive car insurance, and 3% for other types of insurance.
European Insurance Alliance LLC was founded on September 22, 1994. The company is a member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine, the League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine, and the Nuclear Insurance Pool of Ukraine.
The company has a license from the National Bank of Ukraine dated April 25, 2024, to conduct insurance activities in 16 classes, including property, motor vehicle, liability, and medical insurance. The authorized capital is UAH 55 million.
On August 14, the Entrepreneurship Development Fund announced its intention to conclude a contract with Colonnade Ukraine for executive liability insurance. According to the Prozorro electronic procurement system, the expected cost of the service was UAH 1.05 million, and the price offered by the company, the sole participant in the tender, was UAH 995,492.
Colonnead Ukraine Insurance Company (until 2016 – QBE Ukraine Insurance Company) was founded in 1998 as the first international insurer on the Ukrainian market. SCP Luxembourg S.A.R.L. owns 100% of the insurer’s shares.
Against the backdrop of ever-increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait in 2025, China and Taiwan continue their military demonstrations of force. The PRC is conducting exercises near the island, while Taiwan is mobilizing reservists and deepening cooperation with Western partners.
Experts Club offers a comparison of key indicators of the military capabilities of the parties.
Military capabilities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Number of personnel:
2 million active military personnel
510,000 reservists
Over 1 million in the People’s Armed Police Force
Ground forces:
5,250 main battle tanks (Type 99, Type 96)
9,000+ artillery systems, including PCL-191 multiple launch rocket systems
Air Force (PLAAF):
Approximately 3,400 aircraft
1,300+ fighter jets (J-10, J-16, J-20 — 5th generation)
300 strategic bombers (H-6)
Hundreds of strike UAVs
Navy (PLAN):
340+ warships (the largest fleet in the world)
3 aircraft carriers (Liaoning, Shandong, Fujian)
70+ submarines, including 12 nuclear submarines
Latest Type 055 missile destroyers
Nuclear arsenal:
410–500 warheads (according to SIPRI estimates)
Active expansion of missile arsenal: DF-31AG, DF-41
Air, sea, and land delivery platforms
Technological achievements:
Development of DF-ZF hypersonic missiles
Cyber forces and space forces
Own satellite navigation system BeiDou
Military potential of Taiwan (Republic of China)
Number of personnel:
170,000 active military personnel
Up to 1.5 million reservists
Army:
1,000 battle tanks (M60A3, CM11, M1A2T)
2,200 artillery systems (including HIMARS, M109)
Air Force (RoCAF):
500 aircraft
180 F-16V, Mirage 2000-5, IDF Ching-Kuo fighter jets
Modern air defense systems: Patriot PAC-3, Sky Bow III
Navy:
26 combat ships
4 submarines (including new domestic Hai Kun)
New Tuo Chiang class corvettes
Nuclear doctrine:
Taiwan does not have nuclear weapons.
Cyber security forces and latest purchases:
Continuous modernization with support from the US
Purchases of F-16V, Harpoon missiles, HIMARS systems
Strengthening defense based on the concept of “asymmetric strategy”
Despite China’s military superiority, Taiwan enjoys support from:
The US (Taiwan Relations Act, $20 billion in arms supplies)
Japan (strategic cooperation)
Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom (political support, military exercises)
The EU does not officially recognize Taiwan, but is developing trade and exchanges.
As of 2025, only 10 countries officially recognize Taiwan as an independent state:
Belize
Haiti
Marshall Islands
Nauru
Palau
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Lucia
Swaziland (Eswatini)
Tuvalu
Paraguay
Although China has an unquestionable military advantage over Taiwan, the latter is relying on defense modernization, mobilization potential, support from allies, and the development of asymmetric strategies.
The conflict over Taiwan poses global risks to stability in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.
Ukraine’s foreign trade deficit in goods in January-June 2025 increased by 48.9% compared to the same period in 2024, to $18.512 billion from $12.430 billion, the State Statistics Service (Gosstat) reported on Thursday.
According to its data, exports of goods from Ukraine during the specified period compared to January-June 2024 decreased by 4.2% to $20.045 billion, while imports increased by 15.6% to $38.557 billion.
Gosstat specified that in June, compared to May of this year, seasonally adjusted export volumes decreased by 5.6% to $3.321 billion, while imports increased by 2.8% to $7.186 billion.
The seasonally adjusted foreign trade balance in June 2025 was negative at $3.865 billion, while in the previous month it was also negative at $3.465 billion.
The export-to-import coverage ratio for the first six months of 2025 was 0.52 (in January-June 2024, it was 0.63).
The State Statistics Service specified that foreign trade operations were conducted with partners from 221 countries around the world.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical center made a video analysis of the prospects for the Ukrainian and global economies. For more details, see the video — https://youtu.be/kQsH3lUvMKo?si=F4IOLdLuVbYmEh5P
The second quarter of 2025 showed sustained interest from foreigners in the Spanish real estate market. According to data from the Spanish registration authority, British citizens led the way in terms of the number of properties purchased, with 1,874 transactions.
Germany came in second (1,590 transactions), followed by the Netherlands (1,558 transactions). Italy and France shared fourth place, each with 1,242 transactions.
The top ten also included:
Belgium — 1,209 transactions
Poland — 1,085 transactions
Ukraine — 772 transactions
Sweden — 637 transactions
Russia — 420 transactions
The list of top countries is rounded out by buyers from the US and Ireland, with 393 transactions each.
Experts note that the UK’s high ranking is traditionally linked to British buyers’ interest in the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, while the growth in activity in the Netherlands and Poland is due to the favorable economic situation and a desire to diversify investments.
Ukrainians remain interested in the Spanish market, ranking eighth in terms of the number of transactions in the second quarter of this year. Ukrainian citizens are consistently among the top 10 buyers of apartments and houses in Spain.
According to official data from the Spanish Ministry of Inclusion, Social Protection, and Migration, since the start of the war, temporary protection status has been granted to 236,570 people with Ukrainian passports.
This makes Spain the fourth country in the EU in terms of the number of temporary permits issued, accounting for about 5% of all such statuses in the EU.
