According to Experts.news, Ukraine could account for about 31.3% of global sunflower oil exports in the 2026/27 marketing year, according to calculations by Open4Business based on the September forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade, published on September 11, 2026, Ukrainian sunflower oil exports are projected to reach 5 million metric tons, while global exports are expected to total 15.968 million metric tons.
Thus, nearly one in every three metric tons of sunflower oil supplied to the global market may be of Ukrainian origin.
In the previous 2025/26 marketing year, Ukraine exported approximately 4.036 million metric tons of sunflower oil out of total global exports of about 13.51 million metric tons. At that time, Ukraine’s share was about 29.9%. In the new season, this figure may increase by approximately 1.4 percentage points.
The USDA expects Ukraine to remain the world’s second-largest exporter of sunflower oil after Russia. Russian shipments are projected at 5.1 million metric tons, accounting for approximately 31.9% of global exports.
Together, Ukraine and Russia could supply about 10.1 million metric tons to foreign markets, or more than 63% of total global sunflower oil exports.
Argentina will remain the third-largest exporter, with projected shipments of about 2.05 million metric tons, accounting for approximately 12.8% of global trade. Turkey is expected to export about 1.1 million metric tons, and the European Union—about 850,000 metric tons.
The growth in Ukrainian exports will be driven by a recovery in the sunflower harvest and increased capacity utilization at processing plants. The USDA forecasts sunflower seed production in Ukraine for the 2026/27 marketing year at 13 million metric tons, compared to 10.7 million metric tons in the previous season.
Sunflower oil production, according to the agency’s estimates, will increase to 5.418 million metric tons from 4.515 million metric tons in the 2025/26 marketing year, or by approximately 20%.
At the same time, domestic consumption of sunflower oil in Ukraine is expected to reach about 470,000 metric tons, so the bulk of the additional production will be directed toward exports.
Overall, the USDA forecasts global sunflower oil exports to grow by approximately 18%—from 13.51 million metric tons in the previous season to 15.968 million metric tons in the 2026/27 marketing year.
The increase in supply will largely be driven by a recovery in production in the Black Sea region, primarily in Ukraine and Russia. At the same time, imports are expected to rise from the largest consumers of vegetable oils, notably India and China.
Ukraine traditionally remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of sunflower oil. A distinctive feature of the Ukrainian industry is the high proportion of domestic seed processing, which means that exports consist primarily of higher-value-added products—oil and meal—rather than raw materials.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade, September 11, 2026: official USDA report.
Forbes has published its 50 Over 50: Innovation 2026 list, which includes 50 women over the age of 50 who continue to exert a significant influence on science, medicine, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, space research, industry and the technology business. The ranking was published on August 11, 2026, and is part of the broader Forbes 50 Over 50 project, which includes a total of 200 women in four categories — Innovation, Impact, Investment and Lifestyle.
An important clarification is that Forbes does not assign all 50 participants positions from No. 1 to No. 50. On the main Innovation page, the names are listed alphabetically. The de facto exception was Ritu Narayan, founder of the transportation startup Zum, whom both the company and the entrepreneur herself describe as the “No. 1 honoree” in the Innovation category and the face of the issue’s cover. However, Forbes did not publish a complete numerical ranking of the remaining 49 positions.
Narayan, who grew up in India and built her career in Silicon Valley, created Zum, a technology platform modernizing the U.S. school bus system using artificial intelligence, GPS and electric vehicles. Forbes values the startup at approximately $1.7 billion, with 2025 revenue of $333 million.
The 50 honorees also include Stanford professor Zhenan Bao, who works on electronic skin and wearable electronics; 2025 Nobel Prize laureate Mary Brunkow; NASA science program leader Nicola Fox; MIT School of Engineering dean Paula Hammond; MIT professor and developer of wireless medical technologies Dina Katabi; Takeda head Julie Kim; astrophysicist and dean of MIT’s School of Science Nergis Mavalvala; former Yahoo chief and Dazzle AI founder Marissa Mayer; HubSpot chief Yamini Rangan; Cummins leader Jennifer Rumsey, and many others.
An analysis by Experts.News reveals an interesting geography of the list. Forbes itself does not publish separate statistics by nationality, so it is more accurate to speak about the countries of birth and origins of the participants. By this measure, the United States clearly dominates: most of the women in the Innovation-50 were born and built their careers specifically within the American scientific and entrepreneurial environment.
Among the participants born outside the United States, several countries stand out. Serbia is represented by two natives — Vunjak-Novakovic and Matarić. India — Ritu Narayan and Yamini Rangan. China — Zhenan Bao and Michelle Zhou. Morocco — Bahija Jallal and Wafaa Mamilli. Serbia therefore belongs to a small group of countries that produced two participants in the Innovation-50. Zhou’s Chinese origin is confirmed by the Association for Computing Machinery, while Mamilli herself lists Casablanca as her city of birth; Roche lists her citizenships as French, Moroccan and U.S.
Among other countries, Pakistan, Syria, South Korea, Thailand, France, the United Kingdom and Israel each have one participant on the list. For example, Nergis Mavalvala was born in Lahore, Pakistan; Dina Katabi in Damascus; Julie Kim in Seoul; Thai Lee in Thailand; Aude Oliva in France; Nicola Fox in Hitchin, England; and Daphne Zohar in Israel.
At the same time, the list’s main geographical conclusion concerns not so much passports as the concentration of talent within the American innovation ecosystem. Even most of the women born in Serbia, India, China, Pakistan, Syria, South Korea or France now work at American universities and companies — MIT, Stanford, Columbia, USC, Berkeley, HubSpot, Cummins and other organizations. Four participants on the list are associated with MIT alone — Paula Hammond, Dina Katabi, Nergis Mavalvala and Aude Oliva.
For a Ukrainian audience, it is notable that there are no Ukraine-born women in the Forbes 50 Over 50: Innovation 2026 category. However, the structure of the list itself demonstrates a model that is also relevant to Ukraine: a significant share of the most successful scientists and technology entrepreneurs are migrants or people originating from other countries who developed and implemented their innovations after integrating into major international universities, research centers and venture ecosystems. In this respect, the example of the two women born in Belgrade is particularly illustrative for Eastern European countries.
The full Innovation-50 includes Maya Ajmera, Lauren Antonoff, Katrina Armstrong, Zhenan Bao, Wendy Barnes, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Karen Blanks Ellis, Marsha Anderson Bomar, Christine Brown, Mary Brunkow, Jennifer Tour Chayes, Karen S. Carter, Margaret Dawson, Cindy Eckert, Karen Eng, Katie Farmer, Nicola Fox, Paula T. Hammond, Lisa Harris, Lisa Gelobter, Jacqueline Hinman, Colette D. Honorable, Janice Bryant Howroyd, Bahija Jallal, Sabrina Martucci Johnson, Dina Katabi, Julie Kim, Debra Laskin, Tessa Lau, Thai Lee, Emily Liman, Wafaa Mamilli, Christina Maslach, Maja Matarić, Nergis Mavalvala, Marissa Mayer, Vivienne Ming, Aude Oliva, Ritu Narayan, Yamini Rangan, Shubhi Rao, Jennifer Rumsey, Heather Shoemaker, Ellen Stofan, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Susie Wee, Beth Wozniak, Laura Yecies, Michelle Zhou and Daphne Zohar.
Thus, the 2026 Forbes list demonstrates two trends at once. The first is that an innovation career after the age of 50 increasingly continues for decades and can lead to major scientific and entrepreneurial achievements well beyond the traditional career peak. The second is that the United States remains the main center of attraction for such specialists, while simultaneously making use of the talents of scientists and entrepreneurs born in dozens of other countries.
Original source: Forbes — 2026 50 Over 50: Innovation
According to Experts.news, Poland remained the top destination for Ukrainians applying for EU residence permits outside the temporary protection mechanism: in 2025, the country accounted for 72% of all first-time residence permits issued to Ukrainian citizens in the European Union, according to Eurostat data.
In total, Ukrainians received 335,096 first-time residence permits in EU countries. Based on Poland’s share, this amounts to approximately 241,000 permits issued to Ukrainians by Polish authorities.
This concentration clearly sets Ukrainian migration apart from other large groups of third-country nationals. By comparison, Poland was also the primary destination for Belarusians, issuing 87.1% of all first-time residence permits received by Belarusian citizens in EU countries.
For Ukrainians, employment remains the main reason for applying for a residence permit. Moreover, 86.3% of all first-time residence permits granted to Ukrainians in the EU for work purposes were issued by Poland.
Poland itself issued 467,300 first-time residence permits to citizens of non-EU countries in 2025, ranking third in the European Union after Spain and Germany.
At the same time, Poland remains the undisputed EU leader in terms of the number of work-related permits: the country issued 318,200 first-time work-based residence permits. Eurostat notes that the main recipients were citizens of Ukraine and Belarus.
The statistics on first-time residence permits do not include Ukrainians who are in Poland or other EU countries under temporary protection.
French diplomat Gaël Vésier, who served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the French Republic to Ukraine from 2023 to 2026, has been awarded an international prize in the field of diplomacy as part of the 30th anniversary nationwide “Person of the Year 2025” program.
Gaël Vésier was born in 1972. He graduated from ESSEC Business School and Sciences Po, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and also holds a degree in history. He began his diplomatic career at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1997.
Throughout his career, Vésier has served twice at the Permanent Mission of France to the European Union in Brussels, where, among other roles, he served as spokesperson and headed the press office. He also worked at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York and held a number of positions at the headquarters of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 2004 to 2005, Vésier served as a technical advisor in the office of French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and was responsible for relations with EU countries, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. From 2017 to 2019, he headed the offices of the ministers and state secretaries for European affairs Marielle de Sarnez, Nathalie Loiseau, and Amélie de Montchalin.
Prior to his appointment to Kyiv, Vésière served as France’s ambassador to Croatia from 2019 to 2023. On August 20, 2023, he officially took office as France’s ambassador to Ukraine.
His diplomatic mission in Ukraine concluded in July 2026. During a farewell meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga highlighted Vesier’s contribution to strengthening the Ukrainian-French strategic partnership, deepening political dialogue, defense cooperation, and coordination between the two countries on the international stage.
Effective July 17, 2026, Vesier was appointed director of the Crisis Response and Support Center at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. The corresponding decree by French President Emmanuel Macron was signed on July 9.
Brice Rocfay has become the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine; on July 30, 2026, he presented his credentials to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Gaël Vésier is a recipient of French state honors, including the National Order of Merit. Throughout his diplomatic career, he has specialized primarily in European politics, international security, and France’s relations with Central and Eastern European countries.
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The Kyiv and Lviv regions together accounted for over 1.1 million square meters of new residential construction reported in Ukraine from January through June 2026.
According to the State Statistics Service, 599,300 square meters were reported in the Kyiv region and 501,500 square meters in the Lviv region.
Another 437,900 square meters were accounted for by Kyiv, 328,700 square meters by the Odesa region, and 248,400 square meters by the Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The concentration is particularly noticeable in terms of the number of future apartments. In the Kyiv region, approximately 9.1 thousand apartments were announced; in the Lviv region, 7.2 thousand; and in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, 5.8 thousand
Together, these three regions alone accounted for over 22 thousand apartments—that is, a significant portion of the total new supply of multifamily housing announced nationwide in the first half of the year.
The regional breakdown reflects an ongoing redistribution of development activity. Kyiv and the Kyiv region remain the largest metropolitan market, while the Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions maintain a significant volume of construction in the western part of the country.
At the same time, the trend is uneven: in the Kyiv region, the volume remained virtually unchanged from last year’s level, while in Kyiv it decreased by 10.7%, and in the Ivano-Frankivsk region—by 20.5%.
Source: State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
Hungary plans to meet the country’s natural gas needs without supplies from Russia by October 2027, said István Kapitány, the country’s Minister of Economy and Energy.
“If everything goes as we expect, Hungary’s gas supply will be secured from other, non-Russian sources by the deadline set by the European Union in October of next year,” the minister said in an interview with Telex published on September 18.
According to Kapitány, Hungary’s high dependence on Russian gas did not arise from a lack of technical capacity to purchase fuel from other countries. Hungary is connected by gas pipelines to several neighboring countries, and the Russian supply system was used for a long time primarily because it was considered the most cost-effective option. The minister did not specify by how much the share of Russian gas has already decreased in recent months.
The deadline is directly linked to new EU regulations. EU Regulation 2026/261 provides for the cessation of imports of Russian pipeline gas under long-term contracts after September 30, 2027. In exceptional cases, if a country is unable to ensure the required level of storage filling, the deadline may be extended to November 1, 2027.
For Hungary, the transition is particularly significant, as the state-owned MVM maintains a long-term contract with Gazprom Export for approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The contract originally runs through 2036; however, MVM’s own documents note that the European ban will effectively prevent the use of Russian long-term supplies after the fall of 2027. The company is already expanding its portfolio of alternative gas sources.
LNG is becoming one of the key areas of focus. MVM ONEnergy has signed a five-year contract with the U.S.-based Chevron for approximately 2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas. Deliveries under this contract are scheduled to begin on October 1, 2027, immediately after EU restrictions on Russian pipeline gas take effect.
In addition, MVM has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR for the supply of 800 million cubic meters of gas over a two-year period starting in 2026.
Romania is emerging as another potential source. The development of the Neptun Deep field in Romania’s sector of the Black Sea is expected to begin production in 2027. Once it reaches full capacity, it is projected to supply approximately 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which will create additional opportunities for deliveries to Central Europe, including Hungary.
Thus, Captain’s statement signals a significant shift in Hungarian energy policy: Budapest, which in previous years had opposed an accelerated phase-out of Russian fuel, is now preparing its gas supply balance to meet EU requirements by the fall of 2027. At the same time, the minister emphasized that the country has sufficient gas supplies for the current heating season and that the authorities do not anticipate any problems with the physical availability of fuel.
