Andrea Maldera, who previously worked for Italian soccer club AC Milan and, since 2016, has been part of the coaching staff for the Ukrainian national soccer team, has been named the new head coach of the Ukrainian national team.
As reported on the website of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) on Monday, this marks the first time a foreign coach has led the Ukrainian national team.
“The Italian specialist’s candidacy was approved by the UAF Executive Committee upon the recommendation of the National Teams Committee. The contract with Andrea Maldera is for two years with an option to extend,” the statement reads.
Maldini was born on May 18, 1971. Throughout his career, he has served as an assistant head coach at AC Milan (Italy), Brighton (England), and Marseille (France). From 2016 to 2021, he served as Andriy Shevchenko’s assistant on the coaching staff of the Ukrainian national team.
As reported, Serhiy Rebrov has stepped down as head coach of the Ukrainian national team but will remain vice president and a member of the UAF Executive Committee. UAF President Andriy Shevchenko announced this on April 21.
Rebrov led the national team from 2023 to 2026; under his leadership, the team participated in the 2024 European Championship but failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Oschadbank has provided Elektrika Ukraine LLC with EUR 23.6 million in long-term project financing for the construction of a 50 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 131.2 MWh, the bank announced.
As noted in its press release on Monday, a key feature of the deal is the inclusion of international insurance coverage involving Lloyd’s syndicates.
“For Oschadbank, this project marks the first experience in structuring energy financing with international insurance coverage, specifically involving Lloyd’s syndicates. The fact that international insurance companies are willing to participate in the implementation of energy projects in Ukraine amid the war creates potential for a significant expansion of the energy sector’s development and the implementation of complex infrastructure projects,” commented Serhiy Chernikov, Director of Oschadbank’s Corporate Business Department.
He noted that during the full-scale war, the bank has already concluded deals worth more than UAH 7.4 billion in the corporate business segment to finance the energy sector and remains a leader in this area.
“We are sincerely grateful to Oschadbank for its trust, professionalism, and willingness to support Ukraine’s energy sector even during the most challenging times. Energy storage systems are not just an infrastructure asset, but the foundation of Ukraine’s energy security and the basis of the energy system of the future,” noted Maksym Pyshny, Director of Elektrika Ukraine LLC.
According to him, the company plans to implement a number of additional projects in Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and looks forward to further cooperation with Oschadbank.
As for the BESS project itself, according to the bank, the financing covers approximately 70% of its cost and is aimed at increasing the flexibility and resilience of Ukraine’s energy system amid limited generation and high loads caused by the consequences of the war.
It is specified that the project is being implemented under a long-term contract with NPC “Ukrenergo” and involves the provision of automatic frequency restoration reserve services—one of the main mechanisms for balancing the power system.
In April 2026, foreign buyers accounted for 649 real estate transactions in Cyprus, or 40.3% of the total number of registered sales, according to the Cyprus Mail, citing data from the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys. A year earlier, foreigners accounted for 552 transactions, or 39.3% of the market.
A total of 1,611 real estate sales were registered in Cyprus in April, which is 15% more than in April 2025. From January to April 2026, total sales rose by 14% to 6,320 transactions, compared to 5,541 during the same period last year. Sales to foreigners over the four-month period increased to 2,693 transactions from 2,223 a year earlier.
According to data from the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys, among the registered sales contracts involving foreigners in April, 197 properties were purchased by buyers from EU countries and 452 by buyers from non-EU countries. For January–April, the figure stood at 872 properties for EU citizens and 1,821 properties for buyers from third countries.
Paphos remains the most active region in terms of foreign demand. In April, 84 properties were registered there with contracts from EU buyers and 141 properties from non-EU buyers. In Limassol, the figures were 33 and 151 properties, respectively; in Larnaca, 37 and 98; in Nicosia, 29 and 40; and in Famagusta, 14 and 22.
In long-term statistics, the British, Russians, Greeks, and Israelis lead among the largest foreign buyers of real estate in Cyprus. According to data submitted by the Cypriot Ministry of Interior to parliament and published by Open4Business, foreign buyers purchased more than 37,000 properties between 2021 and 2024. The United Kingdom ranked first with approximately 11,800 properties, Russia second with about 4,900, Greece third with about 4,700, Israel fourth with 3,900, and Lebanon fifth with 2,100 properties.
Ukrainians are also among the notable buyers of Cypriot real estate. In the 2021–2024 ranking, Ukraine is listed in 9th place among buyer countries, with Ukrainian buyers being particularly prominent in Limassol and Paphos. Exact quantitative data on Ukrainians is not disclosed in the published summary.
Recent data by nationality for the period from September 2024 to September 2025 confirms the dominance of British, Russian, Israeli, and Greek buyers. In Larnaca, Israelis were the largest group with 850 transactions, followed by Lebanese with 723 and British with 302. In Limassol, Russians led with 846 transactions, followed by Israelis with 571 and Greeks with 261. In Paphos, the British took first place with 890 transactions, followed by Israelis with 683 and Russians with 327.
The growth in foreign demand is intensifying the debate in Cyprus over housing affordability and the rules governing property purchases by third-country nationals.
According to Open4business, Budapest’s residential real estate market began showing signs of cooling off following Hungary’s parliamentary elections: in April 2026, the capital’s housing price index fell by 0.1% after rising by 1.1% in March. This marked the first monthly price decline in Budapest in about a year and a half, according to Hungarian real estate market data.
The decline appears moderate so far, but it has sent an important signal to the market, which in recent years has remained one of the most expensive and overheated in Central Europe. Annual price growth in Budapest slowed from 13.7% to 10.9% and, according to market participants, could fall below 10% for the first time since November 2024.
The market cooling comes amid a sharp political shift in Hungary. In April, Péter Mádár’s Tisza party defeated Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, ending his 16-year rule. The new government was sworn in on May 12, and Tisza secured two-thirds of the seats in parliament—141 out of 199. Fidesz holds 52 seats following the election.
A direct link between Orbán’s defeat and the decline in housing prices has not been proven, but political uncertainty and expectations of a shift in economic policy may have increased caution among buyers and investors. The new government has stated its intention to restore predictability in economic policy, reduce the budget deficit, step up the fight against corruption, and secure the release of frozen EU funds.
An additional factor weighing on investment sentiment may be the situation surrounding the assets of business groups linked to the former government. The Guardian reported that following Orbán’s defeat, some influential figures close to Fidesz began transferring assets abroad, particularly to countries in the Middle East, the U.S., Australia, and Singapore. Péter Magyar also publicly stated that businesspeople linked to Orbán are attempting to move tens of billions of forints out of the country.
For the real estate market, this could mean a decline in activity in the high-end price segment, where wealthy investors and buyers linked to domestic capital have played a significant role. If some of these players are indeed withdrawing funds from Hungary or adopting a wait-and-see approach, this could reduce demand for expensive apartments and houses in Budapest.
At the same time, the fundamental reasons for high housing costs in the Hungarian capital remain. Supply remains limited, and new housing construction is proceeding slowly.
Ukrainian companies reduced their consumption of rolled metal products by 0.96% in January–April of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 1,187,400 tons.
According to a press release from the Ukrmetallurgprom association, 506,400 tons were imported during this period, accounting for 42.65% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January–April 2026, Ukrainian steel companies produced 1.802 million tons of rolled steel (90.9% of the figure for the same period in 2025), of which, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, approximately 1.121 million tons, or 62.2%, were exported. In January–April 2025, the export share was 62.3% (1.234 million tons out of a total rolled steel production of 1.982 million tons).
The share of semi-finished products in export shipments in January–April 2026 was 39.25%, which is higher than the figure for the same period in 2025 (32.06%). The share of flat products in export shipments in January–April 2026 significantly exceeds the figure for January–April 2025 (51.29% and 44.89%, respectively). The share of long products, however, is significantly lower than in January–March 2025 (9.46% in 2026 versus 19.04% in 2025).
The import structure in January–April 2026 is characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (61.99% and 25.38%, respectively), however, in January–April 2025, the dominance of flat products over long products was significantly greater (78.86% and 19.12%, respectively).
“In January–April 2026, the domestic market capacity was 1,187,400 tons of rolled steel, of which 506,400 tons, or 42.65%, were imports. In January–April 2025, the domestic market capacity was 1,198,900 tons, of which 450,900 tons, or 37.61%, were imported. Thus, in January–April 2026, there was a 0.96% decrease in domestic market capacity compared to January–April 2025, accompanied by a 4.95% increase in the share of imports,” the press release states.
According to the State Customs Service, the main export markets for Ukrainian rolled metal in January–April were European Union countries (80.2%), other European countries (10.9%), and the CIS (6.3%).
Among metallurgical importers, other European countries rank first (50.4%), followed by Asian countries (20.4%), and EU-27 countries (17.5%).
As reported, Ukraine’s rolled metal market in 2025 increased by 21.73% compared to 2024—to 4.016 million tons. A total of 1.6036 million tons were imported, accounting for 40.07% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market.
Ukraine’s rolled metal market in 2024 shrank by 6.26% compared to the previous year—to 3.2884 million tons, while in 2023 it increased 2.19-fold compared to 2022—to 3.5056 million tons.
In January–April of this year, Ukraine’s exports of carbon steel semi-finished products fell by 0.4% in volume terms compared to the same period last year, to 438,370 metric tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), 116,550 thousand tons of semi-finished products were exported in April, 138,203 thousand tons in March, 61,629 thousand tons in February, and 121,988 thousand tons in January.
In monetary terms, exports of carbon steel semi-finished products during this period decreased by 1.3% to $212.512 million.
The main export destinations were Bulgaria (44.73% of shipments in monetary terms), Turkey (15.42%), and Poland (13.55%).
In the first four months of 2026, Ukraine imported 40,501 thousand tons of semi-finished products worth $26.704 million from Oman (81.57%), the Czech Republic (13.17%), and Germany (4.98%), (there were no imports in March), whereas in January–April 2025, it imported 3,303 thousand tons worth $2.687 million.
As reported, in 2025 Ukraine reduced exports of steel semi-finished products by 26.4% in volume terms compared to the previous year—to 1,388,183 thousand tons, while revenue fell by 28.9%—to $659.625 million. The main exports went primarily to Bulgaria (32.73% of shipments in monetary terms), Poland (22.13%), and Turkey (14.88%).
Last year, Ukraine imported 88,923 thousand tons of semi-finished products worth $65.989 million, mainly from Oman (37.42%), Germany (22.21%), and the Czech Republic (16.71%), whereas in 2024, it imported 306 tons of semi-finished steel products worth $278,000.
