As of July 7, Ukrainian farmers had harvested 1.022 million metric tons of early-season grains and legumes from the new crop, according to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
“This year, due to weather conditions, the harvest began somewhat later. But farmers are working as hard as they can, and we’ve already reached the first million metric tons of grain—that’s a good result for this time of year. It was made possible by the coordinated efforts of producers and the efficient organization of fieldwork, even amid security and logistical challenges,” the press service quoted Deputy Minister Taras Vysotsky as saying.
According to the ministry, the harvest of early grain and legume crops is underway in 15 regions. Grain has already been threshed on an area of 251,400 hectares, which accounts for 3% of the projected area, with an average yield of 40.7 centners per hectare.
Farmers have already harvested 719.4 thousand metric tons of barley, 264.6 thousand metric tons of wheat, and 35.1 thousand metric tons of peas.
In the Kherson and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, the rapeseed harvest has begun, with 2.68 thousand metric tons harvested so far.
The largest volumes of grain from the new harvest were harvested by farmers in the Odesa (389 thousand metric tons) and Mykolaiv (347.2 thousand metric tons) regions.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Ukrainian farmers planted over 20 million hectares with winter and spring grains and oilseeds in 2026. Specifically, 5.88 million hectares were planted with spring grains and legumes, and 7 million hectares with industrial crops.
In June 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine imposed sanctions on “I Lombard” LLC for violations of financial monitoring and foreign exchange laws, the regulator announced on July 7. The total amount of the fines was 4.196 million UAH.
The company received the main fine—4.096 million UAH—for improper organization and conduct of initial financial monitoring.
According to the NBU, the violations concerned the development and implementation of internal documents, customer verification, the application of a risk-based approach, additional measures regarding politically exposed persons, as well as the provision of information and documents upon request by the National Bank.
“I Lombard” was fined an additional 100,000 UAH for violating the procedures for conducting currency exchange transactions. In particular, the NBU noted the absence in internal documents of procedures for coordination between separate divisions when conducting currency exchange transactions, as well as the failure to collect remaining foreign currency balances from the cash register of a structural division.
In addition, the company received written warnings for improper maintenance of customer records and for conducting foreign exchange transactions with non-resident individuals involving the granting and repayment of loans, as well as the payment of interest in hryvnia, without the appropriate license from the NBU.
“I Lombard” LLC is a non-bank financial institution registered in Ukraine. The NBU included the company in the State Register of Financial Institutions and issued it a license to provide financial services in October 2023.
The 16th All-Ukrainian Annual Architectural Competition “Interior of the Year” 2026 will take place on July 30 in Kyiv at the “Parkovy” Exhibition and Convention Center.
“Interior of the Year” is one of Ukraine’s largest professional events in the fields of architecture and interior design. The event is expected to attract over 6,000 guests, 250 speakers, 60 partner and participant booths, as well as approximately 600 competition entries from designers and architects.
The competition is open to Ukrainian designers, architects, and studios. Entries must have been completed within the last six years—from 2020 to 2026. Projects may have been implemented in any country worldwide, provided they were created by Ukrainian architects, designers, or architectural and design studios.
Submissions will be accepted until July 24, 2026, via the competition website www.interioroftheyear.info. The preliminary selection by the qualification committee is scheduled for July 27, and the final selection by the jury is scheduled for July 29. The awards ceremony will take place on July 30
The event will be held in person.
For additional information on submitting entries, participants may contact the contest editor, Kateryna Pakhomova: tel.
+380 50 550 31 28, e-mail: kpahomova66@gmail.com.
The contest is organized by the DMNTR Media Group. Organizer’s contact numbers: 044 461 91 28, 077 777 25 47.
The news agency “Interfax-Ukraine” is the event’s media partner.
The period of low natural gas prices at the Henry Hub in the U.S. is coming to an end, analysts at Wood Mackenzie warn.
Experts forecast prices will rise to $5 per MMBtu (1 million British thermal units) by 2035, whereas for most of the past decade they have hovered between $2 and $4 per MMBtu.
“Sustained growth in electricity demand from the artificial intelligence sector and a slowdown in U.S. natural gas supply growth point to a structural shift in the factors driving Henry Hub prices,” according to a Wood Mackenzie report.
Stable gas prices have facilitated the development of LNG export infrastructure in the U.S., as well as natural gas-fired power generation, which currently meets the growing energy needs of data centers for AI development. Experts note that the continuation of these conditions is no longer guaranteed, as demand for gas continues to grow steadily, while increasing supply is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive.
“The conditions that allowed Henry Hub prices to remain at $2–4 per MMBtu for most of the past decade are no longer fully in effect,” notes Kristi Kramer, head of LNG market strategy and development at Wood Mackenzie. “Rapid field development, virtually free associated gas, and annual productivity gains kept prices consistently low. However, the impact of these favorable factors has largely run its course.”
“The power sector alone will require an additional 17 billion cubic feet of gas per day by the mid-2030s, even though the most productive parts of gas fields are already being developed. For supply to increase further, prices will have to rise,” says Kramer.
In 2025, the number of investment decisions to build new LNG export capacity in the U.S. reached a record high, and final decisions on a number of other projects are expected to be made in 2026. LNG production capacity is expected to more than double compared to current levels. In the early 2030s, the U.S. will account for more than a third of global LNG supply, and demand will continue to grow into the 2040s, experts predict.
At the same time, as the highest-quality gas fields—including those in the Permian Basin—are developed, production will become less productive and more geologically challenging, Wood Mackenzie warns.
Ukraine exported 35,000 metric tons of sunflower seeds in the 2025/2026 marketing year, according to the Ukrainian Grain Association.
The association noted that sunflower seeds have traditionally been processed primarily within the country.
Total exports of oilseeds in the 2025/2026 marketing year declined: Ukraine exported 2.7 million metric tons of soybeans, 1.82 million metric tons of rapeseed, and 35,000 metric tons of sunflower seeds.
In June 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine fined JSC “PUMB” 10 million hryvnia for violating financial monitoring regulations, the regulator announced on July 7.
According to the NBU, the violations involved inadequate verification of new and existing customers, as well as a failure to apply enhanced due diligence measures to customers with high-risk business relationships.
The regulator also pointed out the bank’s improper application of a risk-based approach. In particular, the NBU noted that the bank failed to identify a high level of risk in business relationships with clients whose ultimate beneficial owners are citizens of a state engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.
Furthermore, according to the NBU, the bank failed to promptly notify the specially authorized body of threshold financial transactions and violated requirements regarding the termination of business relationships with clients who did not provide documents or information necessary for proper verification.
In addition to the fine, PUMB received a written warning for deficiencies in its internal financial monitoring documents. The NBU noted that these documents lacked procedures sufficient for effective risk management and for preventing the use of banking services for money laundering, terrorist financing, or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
FUIB—First Ukrainian International Bank—is one of the largest private banks with Ukrainian capital. The bank has been operating since 1991 and provides services to private clients, entrepreneurs, and businesses. FUIB is classified as a systemically important bank by the NBU and serves approximately 147,000 corporate clients and 1.9 million retail clients.
