The French Development Agency (AFD) is allocating EUR 5 million to Lviv for the reconstruction of part of Mykolaychuk Street, near the UNBROKEN center, and the construction of the foundation for a future tram line, according to the press service of the Lviv City Council.
The grant agreement was signed in Lviv on June 18 by Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, Chief Executive Officer of the French Development Agency (AFD) Remi Riu, and French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Vessier.
It is noted that the project to launch a tram to this part of Lviv will involve five stages.
“The grant we will receive under the signed agreement is intended for the implementation of the first stage of the project – the reconstruction of part of Mykolaychuk Street, including the intersection of Orlyka and Shchurata Streets,” Sadovyi said.
According to him, in particular, opposite the hospital, four lanes will be built instead of two – two for public transport, two for private transport, and one for a duplicate entrance to the hospital. A two-way bike path will also be built on the side of the medical facility, and barrier-free sidewalks will be built along the entire length of the street. The foundation for laying tram tracks will be laid.
The second stage involves the construction of a pedestrian bridge in this area, which will connect the residential quarter with the hospital; the third and fourth stages involve the laying and connection of tram infrastructure from Horodnytska Street to the hospital area, and the fifth stage involves the laying of tram tracks from the hospital to social housing on Mykolaychuk Street.
To launch the tram and ensure inclusivity for pedestrians, the terrain will be leveled: in some locations, the street will be lowered by 1.5 to 4 meters.
The street reconstruction project will soon undergo expert review, and then, tentatively in October-November of this year, the first phase of work can begin. It will last about eight months.
Riu expressed hope that the organization will become a partner of Lviv in the implementation of the next phases of this large-scale project. “This project and our participation in it are a sign of solidarity and support for the entire Ukrainian people. We are participating in the first stage, but I hope we will be partners in the further phases of this project,” he said.
The total length of the new tram line will be 2.6 km (one way).
Oil prices accelerated their rise on Thursday afternoon as investors continued to monitor the Iran-Israel conflict, fearing supply disruptions if it escalates further.
The price of August Brent futures on the London ICE Futures exchange rose by $0.63 (0.82%) to $77.33 per barrel as of 13:53 GMT.
WTI oil contracts for July on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose by $1.07 (1.42%) to $76.21 per barrel.
The situation in the Middle East remains in the spotlight. Investors are most concerned about the threat of restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which could lead to significant disruptions in oil supplies. The lack of clarity regarding US plans for involvement in the Iranian-Israeli conflict is negatively affecting market sentiment.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had not yet made a final decision on how to resolve the Iranian issue. He reiterated that he did not rule out resuming talks with Tehran. At the same time, Trump noted that the outcome should be guarantees that Tehran will not have nuclear weapons.
The unpredictability that characterizes Trump’s foreign policy “is causing nervousness in a market that is looking for clearer signals that could affect global oil supplies and regional stability,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at brokerage firm Phillip Nova.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Helima Croft believes that the threat of serious supply disruptions will increase if Iran feels a real threat to its existence. In her opinion, US involvement in the conflict could provoke direct attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure.
Meanwhile, according to data published yesterday by the US Department of Energy, commercial oil reserves in the country fell by 11.473 million barrels last week, marking a record drop since June last year. Experts had expected a decline of 2.3 million barrels, according to Trading Economics.
Gasoline inventories increased by 209,000 barrels, distillates by 514,000 barrels. Inventories at the Cushing terminal, where oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is stored, fell by 995,000 barrels.
On June 23, a second auction will be held for gas supplies to Ukraine from Greece via the Trans-Balkan corridor after the first auction on May 29 failed to take place, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System Operator said on Thursday.
As noted in particular by the Ministry of Energy, Deputy Minister Mykola Kolisnyk called on traders to actively participate in booking the product.
“At the end of 2024, the guaranteed capacity was set at 7 million cubic meters per day. The parties are now working to increase the guaranteed capacity to 11.5 million cubic meters per day by 2025,” the ministry said.
According to Kolesnik, having a joint product in the form of gas transportation from other countries, in particular from Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania to Ukraine using an economically advantageous tariff, it is possible to increase the capacity and tariff revenues of each of the participating countries, as well as ensure the supply of non-Russian resources to the EU.
“This is a way to integrate our existing infrastructure into the pan-European infrastructure on fairly competitive terms and with resources to cover the consumption of Central and Eastern Europe,” the deputy minister noted.
As emphasized by Vladislav Medvedev, acting director general of OGTSU, for Ukraine, the Trans-Balkan pipeline means access to new sources of gas: liquefied gas coming from all over the world to Greek and Turkish LNG terminals; Azerbaijani gas transported via the TAP gas pipeline; and Romanian and potentially Bulgarian offshore gas.
“Currently, together with the TSO operators of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, we have introduced a joint package product for gas imports from Greece to Ukraine on competitive terms until October 2025. This product temporarily resolves the issue of high tariffs along the route,” he said.
According to Medvedev, the next step is to develop a long-term commercial solution to enable gas transportation along the entire route to Central European markets.
As reported, the first auction on May 29 for booking capacity for gas transportation from Greece to Ukraine along the Trans-Balkan route for June in the amount of 2.9 million cubic meters per day ended without any bids from participants.
Gas transmission system operators in Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine have developed a scheme for supplying natural gas from Greece to Ukraine via the Trans-Balkan corridor. In particular, Bulgaria’s Bulgartransgaz EAD, Greece’s DESFA SA, Romania’s Transgaz SA, and Moldova’s VestMoldTransgaz SRL, together with Ukraine’s OGTSU, are jointly offering a route package product for natural gas supplies for the period from June to October 2025, which will facilitate gas transportation from Greece to Ukraine.
To increase the attractiveness of the route, the parties have agreed on a single gas transit tariff with a 25% discount. For the Ukrainian operator, the discount will be 46%.
The operators of the countries participating in the project will hold a single auction to allocate capacity at all points of the Trans-Balkan Corridor along the natural gas transportation route from Greece to Ukraine.
On the fourth Monday of each month, tenders will be held for the sale of capacity for the following calendar month. A single-price auction mechanism will be implemented for capacity allocation.
The proposed transport package can only be used for gas supplies to Ukraine. Previously, gas was not supplied to the country via the Trans-Balkan corridor.
Despite the war in Ukraine, bank lending to businesses is growing, consortium lending is reviving, but the issue of war risk insurance remains in limbo. Vladimir Mudry, Chairman of the Board of OTP Bank JSC and Chairman of the Board of the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine, spoke about trends and challenges in the economy in general and the banking sector in particular during the conference “Finance for Business During War 2.0.”
“This year, new areas of work have emerged that no one was talking about last year. For example, syndicated lending, which allows for the financing of large-scale infrastructure projects. We see that banks with private and state capital are joining forces to finance initiatives aimed at developing the economy. I believe that the banking sector and business should look for new areas for cooperation. This will allow banks to refine their internal programs in line with the current needs of business, and entrepreneurs to understand which ideas can already receive financing from banks today,” said V. Mudryi.
He emphasized that bank lending to businesses is growing in Ukraine, with the hryvnia corporate portfolio growing by 9.5% in the first quarter of 2025 and 28.4% year-on-year. At the same time, there are a large number of state programs for financing SMEs, including the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” and compensation for loans for domestically produced machinery and equipment. The share of total loans to small and medium-sized businesses in the banking system as a whole has already exceeded 60%.
“At the same time, other indicators, which currently remain quite low, are cause for concern. According to the results of 2024, the loan portfolio of banks amounted to only 23% of total assets. And if we take GDP, the total loan portfolio is only 19%. For comparison, in Poland this figure is 33%. This means that there is considerable potential for growth,“ emphasized V. Mudry.
Separately, V. Mudry drew attention to the challenges common to both business and banks. ”Unfortunately, no concrete results have been achieved in the area of war risk insurance over the past year. The law is still being considered by members of parliament. We also do not see an increase in financing programs from international partners,” emphasized the head of OTP Bank.
As a reminder, the credit rating agency S&P Global raised the rating for OTP Bank (Hungary) from BBB-/A-3 to BBB/A-2. This level is higher than Hungary’s sovereign credit rating.
OTP Group is the fourth most stress-resistant banking group in Europe based on the European Banking Stress Test 2023 conducted by the European Banking Authority. OTP Group also tops the Ranking of the 100 Best Banks in Central and Eastern Europe for 2023 and 2024.
Value added tax (VAT) refunds for January-May 2025 reached UAH 70.9 billion, which is 23.8%, or UAH 13.3 billion, more than in the same period of 2024, and 15% (UAH 9.3 billion) more than in 2023, the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) reported on Wednesday.
According to a statement on the agency’s Telegram channel, taxpayers were reimbursed UAH 15.5 billion in May 2025.
“This is 22.3% (+2.8 billion UAH) more than in May 2024. Compared to May 2023, the figure increased by 55.9% (+5.6 billion UAH),” the service emphasized.
As reported, on May 27, Kravchenko denied the growth of VAT refund arrears, as as of May 1, the figure reached UAH 30.4 billion. He explained that these funds are “in progress” as audits are being conducted.
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, has received permission from the National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCCEC) to conduct test trials of Direct to Cell (D2C) satellite technology.
“During the testing, initial research will be conducted on the operation of SpaceX Direct to Cell technology, in particular the possibility of receiving text messages on 4G smartphones in Ukraine,” the company said in a press release on Wednesday.
Kyivstar notes that it is the first electronic communications operator in Europe to launch a new format of direct satellite communication with smartphones, alongside the US, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.
The company notes that thanks to Direct to Cell, it plans to provide connectivity in so-called “white spots,” i.e., regions without traditional terrestrial mobile coverage, particularly in remote mountainous and rural areas.
This is especially important in times of war, when infrastructure may be damaged or power is unavailable.
It is noted that in the initial phase of implementation, the technology will allow subscribers to send text messages: users’ 4G/LTE phones will connect directly to a satellite in orbit without the need for additional equipment or software. The technology will work in open areas with a clear view of the sky.
“With this step, we are confirming our technological leadership and are proud to be among the first in the world to launch such an innovation… Our task at the testing stage is to take into account all technical aspects and make the service as convenient and accessible as possible for subscribers,” said Kyivstar CEO Alexander Komarov in the release.
It is noted that the company’s specialists will begin the first beta testing of the service in the summer of 2025 in selected regions of Ukraine, with wider access in test mode for subscribers expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Kyivstar recalled that the first registration of a Kyivstar SIM card in a satellite network was successfully completed in the US at the Starlink laboratory. This allowed the compatibility of the networks to be tested and technical readiness for pilot testing in Ukraine to be confirmed.
At the end of 2024, Kyivstar was the first in Europe to sign an agreement with Starlink, a division of SpaceX, to begin the implementation of Direct to Cell satellite communications in Ukraine.
As of March 2025, Kyivstar served approximately 22.7 million mobile subscribers and over 1.1 million Home Internet subscribers. The company provides services using a wide range of mobile and fixed technologies, including 4G, Big Data, Cloud solutions, cyber security services, digital TV, etc., and has announced investments in new telecom technologies of $1 billion during 2023-2027.
