The draft state budget for 2026 allocates UAH 17.9 billion for measures to support veterans, which is UAH 6.1 billion (51.5%) more than in the current year 2025, according to a statement posted on the official website of the Servant of the People party on Friday, citing Taras Tarasenko, a member of parliament from this political force and deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights.
“Veterans are not a separate category of citizens, but part of modern Ukrainian society, which is shaped by their courage. That is why state policy is aimed at ensuring that every veteran has the opportunity to return to a full life, realize their potential, and feel dignified support from the state and the community,” Tarasenko emphasized.
He emphasized that the increase in funding applies to all key areas of veteran policy, from housing programs to psychological rehabilitation and the development of the veteran movement.
In particular, in 2026, UAH 5.7 billion is earmarked for housing compensation for veterans with disabilities of groups I and II (UAH 1.7 billion more than in the 2025 State Budget).
UAH 4 billion is earmarked for measures to support veterans, including psychological assistance, professional adaptation, the development of veteran sports, support projects, and one-time cash assistance. This is UAH 2.6 billion more than in the current year’s budget and will include new programs for converting cars to meet the needs of veterans, treating burns and scars, and adapting those who have lost their sight.
UAH 2.9 billion is earmarked for specialists to support veterans, who will help each of them navigate the process from applying to state structures to receiving all the necessary services (an increase of UAH 0.9 billion compared to the 2025 State Budget).
UAH 1.1 billion is earmarked for the creation and development of veterans’ spaces where veterans can receive counseling, psychological support, and participate in educational and community initiatives (an increase of UAH 0.6 billion compared to the 2025 State Budget).
“Support specialists, veteran spaces, and rehabilitation programs are an investment in human capital, in returning soldiers to a life where they feel support, respect, and the opportunity to move forward. We are trying to build a system centered on people who have gone through war,” said the MP.
He also emphasized the importance of communication with municipal and public institutions and veterans’ organizations, since the network of veterans’ spaces cannot be based solely on state institutions, but must bring together all existing initiatives.
“Only together can we create an effective system. Because when a veteran is forced to run between different spaces in search of help, it is not useful for him or for the system as a whole. Our goal is to ensure that veteran policy is not reduced to privileges, but becomes a system of opportunities,” Tarasenko concluded.
Demand for charging stations, generators, and power banks increased by an average of 3.5 times, while prices for these categories of goods rose by 10-20%, returning to market levels, according to omnichannel retailer Foxtrot.
“In just four days (October 10-13), sales of charging stations, power banks, and generators were comparable to the figures for the previous three months combined. Portable charging stations showed the highest growth: +400% compared to the previous day last Friday alone,” said Vyacheslav Sklonny, commercial director of Foxtrot, in response to a request from Interfax-Ukraine.
Demand began to grow in the last week of August and peaked after a massive enemy attack on critical infrastructure on October 10. According to the chain, sales of charging stations and related product categories in September exceeded August figures by 70%.
Sales of charging stations grew 3.6 times in monetary terms and four times in volume; power banks grew six times (in monetary terms and in units); and router cables grew 3.5 times and four times, respectively.
In addition, after a period of significant discounts amid weak demand in the summer, when the energy supply situation was more stable, prices returned to market levels, with an increase of 10-20%.
“This is not an artificial jump in prices, but a return to the real market level, because previously stations were sold below cost due to a lack of demand for this product. In addition, demand has grown significantly, and stocks in Ukraine and Europe are rapidly declining,” explained Sklonny.
Foxtrot is one of Ukraine’s largest omnichannel retail chains in terms of the number of stores and sales of electronics and household appliances. As of early October 2025, the company operates 127 stores in 68 cities, the online platform Foxtrot.ua, and the mobile app of the same name.
According to Opendatabot, the revenue of FTD-Retail LLC (Kyiv), which develops the chain, amounted to UAH 14 billion 882.632 million in 2024, which is 17.6% more than in 2023, and its net profit was UAH 6 million 721 thousand against UAH 314 million 436 thousand, respectively.
In the first half of 2025, the company received UAH 7.3 billion in revenue and UAH 66.5 million in net losses.
The founders of the omnichannel retailer Foxtrot are Ukrainian businessmen Gennady Vykhodtsev and Valery Makovetsky.
The Capital Region regional press center has been officially opened in the Kyiv region, designed to become a new media and analytical hub for interaction between the media, the public, the authorities, and business.
The opening was organized by the My Kyiv Region news agency and the editorial office of the Slovo i Dilo newspaper. The event featured the presentation of work plans and an exhibition of works by Ukrainian artists from different regions of the Kyiv region.
The Capital Region press center aims to bring together journalists, social activists, entrepreneurs, cultural figures, and government officials to discuss and promote issues of recovery, reform, and regional development.
Key formats include round tables, discussions, interviews, press conferences, as well as sociological research and charity events. Significant attention will be paid to journalistic investigations and the study of foreign experience in the development of metropolitan areas.
At the opening, it was noted that on October 10, a press conference was held at the Interfax-Ukraine press center on the topic “The end of local government powers: what next and what are the risks for communities,” which underscores the Capital Region’s desire to become a point of intersection between the media environment and regional discussion.
The creation of such a press center in the Kyiv region is important not only as a local project, but also as a platform for consolidating information, strengthening ties between the public and the authorities, exchanging opinions, and formulating development strategies.
The activities of the Capital Region can strengthen the role of local media, improve the quality of analytics and communications in the region, and serve as a link between the capital and the region.
Against the backdrop of rapid growth in international gold prices, residents of a number of Asian countries really did rush to buy bullion — and in the first half of the day, stores sometimes closed by noon. Vietnamese people in a number of cities lined up at dawn when legislation finally abolished the state monopoly on gold trading.
Meanwhile, the price of gold has already surpassed $4,300 per ounce and continues to hit historic highs.
Growing expectations of a Fed interest rate cut and tensions in US-China relations have pushed investors toward “safe havens” — gold has become a safe asset. Against the backdrop of inflationary pressure and market volatility, the precious metal is once again in the spotlight for investors.
In Australia, at the peak of gold price growth, areas and rivers traditionally used by amateur gold miners (washing gold in river streams) are once again attracting attention. Some people are earning hundreds of dollars in just a few hours. This phenomenon is being covered by the media as a “gold renaissance” not only in the corporate sector, but also among mass investors.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center presented an analysis of the world’s leading gold-producing countries in its video on YouTube channel — https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=YuRnDiu7jtfUPBR9
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest in the capital of Ukrainian insurance companies, which is a powerful signal for Ukrainian insurers and international companies.
This was discussed at a meeting between the leadership of the National Bank of Ukraine and World Bank President Ajay Banga and Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde, according to the NBU’s Facebook page.
It was emphasized that additional investment opportunities will be created with the help of MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency), which provides guarantees for financing.
In addition, the meeting discussed further financial support for Ukraine, strengthening energy security, and increasing the country’s investment potential through the introduction of new financial instruments.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has recognized that M.S.L. does not have effective legal remedies for its complaints in Ukraine. This decision is the first substantive decision in the ECHR’s practice against Ukraine regarding the application of sanctions in accordance with the Ukrainian law “On Sanctions.”
As Elvira Lazarenko, a partner at the Barristers law firm, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, the relevant decision in the case of M.S.L., TOV v. UKRAINE” was published by the ECHR on October 16, 2025 (https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-245275%22]}).
Lazarenko noted that “today, there is a fairly well-established practice of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court in ‘sanctions cases’, which states that there is limited possibility for judicial review of decisions by state bodies on the application of sanctions due to the discretionary powers of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the President of Ukraine to resolve issues of national security.”
“This practice has long been criticized by lawyers, as it demonstrated the de facto refusal of Ukrainian courts to review the factual grounds for the application of sanctions, i.e., a refusal to administer justice properly. The decision in M.S.L., TOV v. UKRAINE is important in that it raises questions about the limits of judicial review by Ukrainian courts of decisions on the application of sanctions and the possibility for courts to assess the significance of the risks that form the basis for the application of sanctions to individuals in accordance with the Ukrainian law “On Sanctions,” she said.
Lazarenko recalled that the case “M.S.L., TOV v. UKRAINE“ concerned the appeal by the company ”M.S.L.” against sanctions imposed on it by a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and enacted in 2015 by a decree of the President of Ukraine, with the subsequent extension of the sanctions by decrees in 2016 and 2017.
The applicant company complained that the imposition of sanctions, in particular the freezing of assets, constituted an interference with its rights guaranteed by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention, as it was prohibited from using and disposing of its assets. The applicant company also raised an issue under Article 13 of the Convention in connection with its lack of an effective remedy for the violation of its property rights.
At the national level, the Ukrainian courts dismissed the applicant company’s claim regarding the first Presidential Decree of Ukraine, and the company withdrew its claims regarding the second and third Decrees.
“In dismissing the company’s claim, the national courts refused to assess the factual grounds for the application of sanctions, referring to the discretionary powers of the authorities that had issued the contested decisions. The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court indicated that the scope and results of the president’s assessment of the significance of the risks that served as the basis for imposing sanctions on the applicant company are beyond the scope of judicial review, since the administrative court does not have the competence to make decisions on matters of national security and defense,” the lawyer explained.
She noted that, in appealing to the ECHR, the company claimed, in particular, that the national courts had failed to administer justice because they had not examined whether the state authorities had sufficient grounds for imposing sanctions and whether those grounds were supported by any evidence.
“Moreover, the restriction of the scope of judicial review was not based on any provision of national law. In the company’s opinion, the president’s discretionary powers on national security issues should not limit judicial review by national courts or exempt courts from the obligation to verify the grounds for sanctions in accordance with the sanctions law,” Lazarenko said.
The lawyer noted that the ECHR, in turn, pointed out that the decisions of the national courts lacked a substantive judicial assessment of the decision to impose sanctions on the applicant company. In particular, the Supreme Court limited its analysis to the sole question of whether the decision of the NSDC and the first presidential decree complied with the formal requirements of the sanctions law and did not address the substance of the SBU’s allegations against the applicant company.
“Due to the fact that the courts did not verify whether the first presidential decree had a solid factual basis, the ECHR concluded that such judicial review could not be considered a sufficient procedural guarantee against arbitrariness. Accordingly, the ECHR recognized the interference with the applicant company’s right to peaceful enjoyment of property as unlawful,” she said.
In addition, Lazarenko noted that the ECHR, referring to its conclusion about the lack of adequate procedural safeguards against arbitrariness during the judicial review of the decision to apply sanctions, as well as the ineffectiveness of the company’s complaints to the SBU, concluded that the applicant company did not have effective legal remedies for its complaints.
“Given the established status of ECHR practice as a source of law, we expect an appropriate response to the ECHR’s decision in M.S.L., TOV v. UKRAINE,“ from the Administrative Court of Cassation and the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, as the courts of first and appellate instance designated to review decisions on the application of sanctions,” the lawyer concluded.
