Biopharmaceutical company Biopharma (Kyiv) has completed construction of a new pharmaceutical plant in Uzhhorod.
This was announced by Dmytro Kysilevsky, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development.
“Biopharma Plasma has completed 80% of the construction of a plant for the production of blood plasma-based medicines in Uzhhorod. The industrial premises have already been fully built, the construction and connection of the energy infrastructure has been completed, and the installation of production equipment will begin in October,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Kysilevsky specified that commissioning work at the plant is scheduled for late 2025-early 2026, with the launch of the first stage of production planned for the first half of 2026.
According to the plan, the volume of blood plasma-based drugs produced in Uzhhorod will be twice that of Bila Tserkva, amounting to 1.5 million liters of blood plasma per year.
Construction of the Biofarma Plasma plant in Uzhhorod began in the fall of 2024. The planned investment in the new production facility is approximately €80 million. The company’s Uzhhorod plant will focus on exports.
Ukrainians’ attitude towards Austria is generally positive, but a significant proportion of respondents remain neutral. These are the results of a nationwide sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with Experts Club in August 2025.
According to the survey, 48.7% of Ukrainians expressed a positive attitude towards Austria (37.0% — mostly positive, 11.7% — completely positive). Only 4.7% of citizens demonstrated a negative attitude (4.3% — mostly negative, 0.3% — completely negative). At the same time, the largest group — 44.7% of respondents — took a neutral position, while another 2.3% said they did not have enough information about the country.
“Austria is traditionally perceived by Ukrainians as a European country with high social standards, cultural heritage, and a stable political system. Although Austria is not Ukraine’s main partner in foreign policy, the overall level of sympathy remains positive,” emphasized Active Group founder Oleksandr Pozniy.
In turn, co-founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin drew attention to the economic component:
“In January–June 2025, the total trade volume between Ukraine and Austria amounted to over $701 million. At the same time, exports of Ukrainian goods reached $276 million, while imports from Austria amounted to about $425 million. This led to a negative balance of $148.9 million, which indicates a significant advantage of Austrian exports over Ukrainian ones,” the expert emphasized.
The survey is part of a large-scale study of Ukrainians’ international sympathies and antipathies, reflecting not only political and cultural aspects, but also economic aspects of relations with various countries.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, AUSTRIA, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, URAKIN
The Naftogaz Group raised UAH 2.445 billion in additional financing as part of a strategic partnership with the state-owned JSC Ukreximbank, the company said on Monday.
“This is another practical aid in preparation for the autumn-winter period. I would like to thank the Cabinet of Ministers and Ukreximbank for their support and trust,” said Serhiy Koretsky, chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
As the group recalled, Naftogaz, in partnership with Poland’s ORLEN, has already delivered about 400 million cubic meters of American liquefied natural gas to Ukraine in preparation for the winter of 2025-2026, which is carried out through two terminals – Świnoujście in Poland and Klaipėda in Lithuania. As of mid-September, a total of about 450 million cubic meters of American LNG has been contracted for delivery to Ukraine.
As of the end of last week, the total level of natural gas reserves in Ukrainian underground gas storage facilities (UGS) was 12.3 billion cubic meters (including 4.1 billion cubic meters of long-term storage gas, taking into account gas in temporarily uncontrolled territories, as well as 0.6 billion cubic meters of active long-term storage gas, which was transferred to the “buffer gas” category), which is 1% higher than last year (including 0.08 billion cubic meters of non-resident gas).
According to the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator, since the beginning of September, net gas imports to Ukraine (excluding short-haul transit) have amounted to approximately 23-24 million cubic meters per day from Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.
Last week, daily gas consumption in Ukraine fluctuated at 20-21 million cubic meters per day, which, according to AGSI (the European platform Agregated Gas Storage Inventory – IF-U), allowed more than 50 million cubic meters per day to be pumped into UGS facilities.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine plans to accumulate 13.2 billion cubic meters (or 8.6 billion cubic meters without taking into account “buffer gas”) by November 1, 2025, which, according to former OGTSU head Serhiy Makogon, is too low and will require additional imports of 1.5 billion cubic meters in winter.
As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that, as part of the ESSF Energy Security Support Program, it will provide a guarantee to Ukreximbank to partially cover the credit risk on new loans to Ukrainian businesses for the implementation of various energy projects in the amount of EUR 100 million.
The bank’s board of directors approved the project on September 9, and it will cover up to 50% of the credit risk.
Ukreximbank is the third largest bank in Ukraine in terms of total assets as of mid-year, with UAH 318.6 billion (8.3% of the system’s total assets).
Ukrainians have a predominantly neutral attitude towards Libya, although the level of negative assessments is higher than for most other North African countries. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in partnership with Experts Club.
According to the data, 9.3% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward Libya (6% — mostly positive, 3.3% — completely positive). A negative attitude was expressed by 14.3% of respondents (11.7% — mostly negative, 2.7% — completely negative). The majority of Ukrainians — 69.7% — took a neutral position, while another 6.7% said they did not have enough information.
In 2024, trade turnover between Ukraine and Libya amounted to $149.7 million, of which exports accounted for $141.7 million and imports for $8.1 million. The positive balance was $133.6 million.
“Libya remains a traditional market for Ukrainian agricultural products, but political instability in that country affects both trade dynamics and perceptions among Ukrainians. The high level of neutrality indicates a lack of knowledge, as well as the absence of stable humanitarian and cultural ties,” commented economist and founder of Experts Club Maksim Urakin.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, Livia, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, URAKIN
After a year and a half of investigation, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) stated that Trustee Plus provides payment services in the country without the appropriate license. The regulator has ordered the company to cease some of its operations related to money transfers without opening a bank account and P2P payments in euros, according to a statement from the NBU.
The press service noted that such activities require a separate permit under Ukrainian law.
Trustee stated that it considers the regulator’s claims to be partially unfounded and insists on the legality of its work through partners in the EU. According to Trustee CEO Vadym Hrusha, the National Bank withdrew five of the seven initial claims, while the rest relate exclusively to the P2P platform and euro transfers.
“The NBU’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for the entire market, effectively banning P2P interaction between users. At the same time, customer assets are safe, and the service continues to operate in the EU in full compliance with the law,” he emphasized.
The company recalled that back in the spring of 2025, it stopped registering new users from Ukraine, but the terms of service remained the same for existing customers.
Experts note that the situation surrounding Trustee Plus demonstrates the lack of a clear regulatory framework for crypto and fintech services in Ukraine. The precedent set by the largest platform could be a signal to other players about the risks of doing business without a specific law on virtual assets. In the long term, this could slow down the development of the crypto market in the country and encourage Ukrainian companies to move their activities to EU jurisdictions, where the rules are more transparent.
According to the results of a survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with Experts Club in August 2025, Ukrainians identified priority areas for the development of foreign economic relations.
The majority of respondents – 81.3% – believe that Ukraine should first and foremost develop economic cooperation with the countries of the European Union. The United Kingdom also received a high level of support – 66.5%, while the United States came in third with 62.7%.
Citizens also pay significant attention to Asian countries: 36.2% of respondents support expanding relations with Southeast Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, etc.), and 31.7% with China. At the same time, 29.5% pointed to the importance of deepening cooperation with countries in the Arab and Muslim world.
To a lesser extent, respondents are focused on partnerships with African and South American countries — this direction was supported by 14.8% of Ukrainians. Another 8.3% of respondents were undecided, and 1.0% believe that Ukraine does not need any new economic partnerships.
“These data clearly demonstrate the European and transatlantic orientation of Ukrainians in terms of economic priorities. The EU, the UK, and the US form the basis of foreign economic trust, while Asia and the Arab world are perceived as promising but secondary partners,” commented Active Group Director Oleksandr Pozniy.
According to Experts Club co-founder Maksim Urakin, the survey results confirm the real economic structure of Ukraine’s trade.
“The EU is already Ukraine’s main trading partner, accounting for over 40% of trade turnover, but if we analyze individual countries, China remains the leader. The high levels of support for cooperation with the UK and the US reflect society’s trust in Ukraine’s political and economic partners during this difficult period. At the same time, interest in Asia and the Arab world indicates the need to diversify markets and seek new opportunities in the future,” he stressed.
The survey was conducted using self-completed questionnaires among 800 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. The sample is representative in terms of age, gender, and region.
ACTIVE GROUP, Arab countries, CHINA, EU, EXPERTS CLUB, GREAT BRITAIN, JAPAN, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SOUTH KOREA, TRADE, UKRAINIAN ECONOMY, URAKIN, USA
