The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the agricultural holding company Astarta-Kyiv have agreed to cooperate in the development of distance learning for Ukrainian farmers. Astarta experts will share their knowledge and practical expertise in the form of short interactive online courses, which will be available on the AgriAcademy platform, writes SEEDS.
As part of the cooperation, 25 courses are planned to be developed with a focus on the cultivation, storage, and processing of field crops.
The first two courses, “Sunflower. Biological Characteristics” and “Sunflower. Cultivation Technology”, are already available on the platform.
Andriy Balashov, Head of Professional Development at Astarta: “Staff recruitment is a challenge for all Ukrainian businesses today, and we are no exception. People remain a key source of knowledge, but modern conditions require new approaches to the preservation and transfer of information. That is why we have implemented an internal online training system for mandatory training and professional development of employees. We are now ready to share these developments to support the development of the Ukrainian agricultural sector.”
In recent years, Ukrainian agricultural enterprises have faced an acute shortage of specialists, which significantly affects the competitiveness of the entire sector. The issue of high-quality and accessible professional education is currently extremely relevant, and the AgriAcademy platform was created specifically to provide free access to knowledge in the agricultural sector.
Vasyl Govhera, Lead Corporate Advisory Expert at the EBRD: “We are grateful to our partners, Astarta-Kyiv, for their openness and for allowing us to draw on the experience of professionals with years of practical experience in developing training materials. We are confident that our joint educational initiative will help more people improve their knowledge in the agricultural sector.”
AgriAcademy is a free online training platform for agricultural workers and students of agricultural educational institutions, which was launched by the EBRD in December 2022 as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. The platform aims to increase the competitiveness and sustainability of a critically important sector of the Ukrainian economy, which has been significantly affected by the Russian invasion.
All lectures, training materials, and online courses from leading experts and foreign universities on AgriAcademy are available in Ukrainian. Currently, 23 courses are published on the platform. This is almost 300 hours of training covering a wide range of knowledge for both beginners and professionals. Each course includes a knowledge test, and based on the test results, students receive certificates of successful completion.
The creation and management of the platform (including course development, training tours, etc.) is supported and funded by the EBRD, as well as:
Almost a third (31%) of Ukrainians use tobacco or nicotine products, including 27% daily and 4% non-daily, according to the results of a nationwide survey “Use of tobacco and nicotine products” conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from February 14 to March 4, 2025.
Compared to October 2024, the share of those who use tobacco or nicotine products increased from 27% to 31%, including from 23% to 27% of those who use them daily.
Among men, 45% of respondents use tobacco or nicotine products, among women – 19%. Younger and middle-aged people use tobacco or nicotine products more, both among men and women. Among 18-29 year olds, 45% use such products, and then the rate decreases to 11% among those aged 70+. At the same time, the increase in use was primarily among 18-39 year olds.
Among consumers of tobacco or nicotine products, the vast majority (73%) smoke manufactured cigarettes. This is followed by tobacco products for electric heating (19%), electronic cigarettes (17%), hookahs (9%), and tobacco (8%). The fewest respondents mentioned nicotine patches (3%).
For all these products, except for plain tobacco, the current figures are the same as in 2024 (i.e., all differences are within the statistical margin of error). In the case of plain tobacco, the figure rose from 4% to 8% (primarily due to older respondents).
The use of HTPs, e-cigarettes, and hookahs is more prevalent among predominantly young respondents. The use of such products is most prevalent among respondents aged 18-29. Thus, among 18-29 year old respondents who currently use tobacco or nicotine products, 37% use tobacco products for electric heating, 39% use electronic cigarettes, and 24% use hookahs.
In regional terms, tobacco is most commonly used in eastern Ukraine (35.7%), less in the south (33.7%) and in the center (31.7%), and least in the west (25.6%).
Tobacco use is highest in large cities with a population of 100,000 or more (34.5%) and lowest in villages (24.8%).
Tobacco use is also more common among people with average incomes (32.8%) than among those with low and high incomes, but lowest among people with very low incomes (25.1%).
The survey was conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). A total of 2,029 adult respondents from all regions of Ukraine under government control were interviewed. Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical sampling error (with a probability of 0.95 and a design effect of 1.1) does not exceed 2.4% for indicators close to 50% and 0.5% for indicators close to 1 or 99%.
Geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade (imports) in January-December 2024, million USD
Denmark occupies an honorable place among the countries that Ukrainians perceive with the greatest sympathy and trust. This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club analytical center in April 2025.
According to the results, 69.7% of respondents have a positive attitude toward Denmark: 35.0% are mostly positive, and another 34.8% are completely positive. Only 1.5% of Ukrainians have a negative attitude (0.9% are mostly negative, and 0.6% are completely negative). At the same time, 26.4% of respondents expressed a neutral position, and 2.4% were undecided.
“These figures confirm Denmark’s strong image as a country that adheres to the principles of solidarity, human rights, and justice. Its assistance to Ukraine, in particular the numerous grants from the Danish Refugee Council, although less covered by the media, is nevertheless of great importance,” emphasized Maksim Urakin, founder of Experts Club.
Thus, Denmark is consolidating its image as a stable ally that enjoys broad public support in Ukraine.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
In January-March 2025, Ukrposhta increased its net revenue by 9% to UAH 3.349 billion, after posting a net loss of UAH 203.65 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to the company’s disclosure in the SMIDA information disclosure system, net losses in January-March 2025 increased by 6% compared to the first quarter of 2024, when they amounted to UAH 190.27 million.
EBITDA was positive and amounted to UAH 41.4 million in the first quarter, compared to UAH 31.7 million in the same period last year.
Ukrposhta’s net income was 5% less than expected, according to the report. The main reasons, in particular, despite the overfulfillment of the number of international shipments, were the loss of net income in hryvnia due to the fact that the actual dollar exchange rate in the first quarter of 2025 was lower than the rate set in the state budget for 2025, on the basis of which the company’s planned revenues for this year were formed. The continued aggression of Russia also had an impact, resulting in the loss of markets and property, a slowdown in income growth against a backdrop of inflation (103.5% in January-March), which in turn affected the volume of all services.
Ukrposhta’s revenues from almost all services, except for pensions and cash assistance, money transfers, periodicals, and other commercial and financial services, increased in the first quarter of 2025. Revenue from parcel and small package delivery increased by 10% to UAH 1.071 billion, and from international postal exchange by 15% to UAH 317.21 million. On the other hand, payments and deliveries of pensions and other social benefits decreased by 8.7% to UAH 669.12 million. The volume of payments accepted increased by 20.6% to UAH 364.98 million, while the volume of postal transfers decreased by 14% to UAH 74.25 million. The volume of trade in own goods and commission goods increased by 19% to UAH 240.68 million.
In total, in January-March this year, Ukrposhta accepted 20.9 million items of domestic and international mail, including 11.1 million parcels, and made 22.4 million payments.
Among the reasons for the losses in the first quarter of 2025, Ukrposhta noted the actual exchange rate of the dollar, which was lower than the exchange rate set in the state budget for 2025, according to which the company’s planned revenues were formed, a decline in consumer spending, and lower-than-expected income from the planned sale of property (35.1 million hryvnia). Ukrposhta also noted that it had completed a business transformation through the launch of automated parcel sorting and the optimization of personnel and business processes.
In the first quarter, the foundation was also laid for the renewal of the logistics network of JSC Ukrposhta and its IT infrastructure, according to the report.
“Overall, we are confidently looking ahead to 2025—a year of radical renewal for the company, a return to positive financial results, and the expansion of the company’s activities in new directions to provide Ukrainians with basic services under any circumstances across 100% of our country’s territory,” it said.
As of March 31, 2025, Ukrposhta had 5,177 stationary points and 2,058 mobile points, serving 11,145 and 20,320 service points, respectively. The average number of full-time employees in the first quarter was 28,859, including 6,038 postal operators and 5,808 postmen. The average salary of a full-time employee was UAH 18,189 thousand.
Earlier it was reported that Ukrposhta increased its revenue in 2024 by 12.1% compared to 2023, to UAH 12.9 billion, and reduced its loss by 1.9 times, to UAH 413.2 million.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the company increased its net income by 11.5% compared to 2023, to UAH 3.59 billion, and for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, it received a net profit of UAH 97.7 million.
Against the backdrop of pan-European support for Ukraine, Ukrainians’ attitude towards Slovakia remains controversial. These data were published in April 2025 based on the results of a study conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center.
According to the survey, only 19.8% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude toward Slovakia (16.4% — mostly positive, 3.4% — completely positive). At the same time, 34.6% of respondents expressed a negative attitude (27.3% — mostly negative, 7.3% — completely negative). The majority of respondents (41.5%) chose a neutral position, while another 4.1% were undecided.
“Despite geographical proximity and some humanitarian support, public opinion on Slovakia has been shaped by political fluctuations and weak communication on issues related to aid to Ukraine,” said Maxim Urakin, founder of Experts Club.
The survey emphasizes that even neutral or allied countries can lose trust if they do not support it with active actions and a public position.
The presentation of the study is available at the link.
ACTIVE GROUP, DIPLOMACY, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, URAKIN
