Former owner of English football club Chelsea Roman Abramovich has blocked the transfer of money to Ukraine from the sale of the club in 2022, despite an ultimatum from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, The Times reports.
The funds, amounting to approximately £2.3-2.5 billion, received from the sale of Chelsea to a consortium of investors, remain frozen in UK accounts due to sanctions imposed on Abramovich after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Starmer is officially demanding that the businessman transfer the entire amount to humanitarian causes to help Ukraine. He said the government had issued a special license to transfer the funds and was prepared to go to court to enforce the obligations.
However, Abramovich has refused to comply with this demand. According to The Times, he rejected the ultimatum and initiated preparations for legal defense, engaging high-profile lawyers, including a former White House adviser, to defend his position.
According to Abramovich’s representatives, he believes he has legal grounds to challenge the transfer of funds on the terms proposed by London. In particular, he insists that the money should be distributed not only to Ukraine, but also to “potentially other victims of the war,” which is met with objections from the British government and the EU.
The UK government insists that the funds should be used exclusively to help Ukraine and continues to put pressure on Abramovich through political and legal mechanisms.
The Cabinet of Ministers has authorized the sale of over-the-counter drugs at gas stations, provided that the appropriate license is obtained, according to Health Minister Viktor Lyashko.
“We have authorized the sale of over-the-counter drugs at gas stations, provided that the appropriate license is obtained. This applies to situations where there are no pharmacies nearby: in villages, in frontline communities, or late at night outside of large cities. We are only talking about safe, over-the-counter drugs that people use on their own. In wartime, this is especially important, as gas station chains often remain operational even during power outages. The requirements for sales at gas stations ensure the quality and safety of medicines. This will help lower prices and make medicines more affordable,” he wrote on Facebook.
According to him, the government has also made a number of decisions, in particular, pharmacies in state and municipal hospitals are required to sell only the three lowest-priced drugs from the National Catalog among drugs with the same composition and effect.
In addition, specialists with a broader range of qualifications, as defined by law, can now be employed in pharmacies and pharmacy outlets.
“In rural areas and frontline communities, medicines can be dispensed in pharmacies (without manufacturing) by specialists with at least a junior bachelor’s degree in nursing and a certificate in pharmacy (retail sale of medicines). This allows pharmacies to build more effective teams, especially in communities with staff shortages, while ensuring the quality and safety of pharmaceutical care for patients,” Lyashko wrote.
In addition, the government has regulated the rules for providing marketing services in the pharmaceutical sector.
“This refers to transparent tools for promoting drugs at points of sale: providing information, placing materials, or participating in loyalty programs. The launch of the National Price Catalog makes it impossible to use marketing as a tool for covertly increasing the cost of drugs—the declared prices are fixed, and promotion becomes a mechanism for informing and increasing accessibility for patients,” the minister noted.
Important repair work has begun on power lines near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP following another local ceasefire brokered by the IAEA, the agency said in a post on social media on Sunday.
“Grossi thanks both sides for agreeing to this new temporary ‘window of silence’ to restore power transmission between the ZNPP and Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant distribution stations, which will help strengthen nuclear safety,” the agency wrote.
It is noted that the IAEA team is monitoring the repair work, which is expected to take several days.
Since the start of the Russian occupation on March 4, 2022, the ZNPP has repeatedly experienced complete and partial blackouts due to the loss of all power lines (it receives electricity from the Ukrainian power grid), with the launch of emergency diesel generators and safety systems, the failure of which could lead to an emergency situation.
According to the IAEA, before the war, the ZNPP had 10 power lines — six at 750 kV and four at 330 kV. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has six 1 GW units, has not been producing electricity since September 11, 2022, following the occupation.
The issue of the ZNPP is one of the problematic ones in the negotiations on the possibility of a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by the US. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Washington is proposing that the plant in the currently occupied city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region be jointly managed by the US, Ukraine, and Russia in a 33%:33%:33% split, while Ukraine is proposing that the plant be operated by a joint venture consisting of 50:50%
IAEA, POWER LINE, REPAIR, truce, ZNPP
Poltava Regional Municipal Heating Utility Poltavateploenergo has announced a tender for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance for 88 vehicles, according to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system.
The expected purchase price is UAH 501,533 thousand.
The deadline for submitting tender documents is January 2.
compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, INSURANCE, Полтаватеплоенерго
Weather conditions may complicate the work of energy, construction, and utility companies, as well as transportation on Monday, December 29, according to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
“On December 29, there will be icy roads, on the right bank, except for Zakarpattia, wind gusts of 15-20 m/s, blizzard (level I danger, yellow),” the report says.
blizzard, FORECAST, icy roads, Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center
According to Serbian Economist, China’s CCSC Technology International Holdings Limited has announced that construction of a cable factory and logistics center in the Serbian municipality of Merosina is scheduled to begin in January 2026.
The company had previously expected work to start in November 2025, but has postponed the deadline. The new schedule was announced during the presentation of financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2026, which ended on September 30, 2025.
As noted in the announcement, the project in Merosina is scheduled for completion at the end of 2026. Once completed, the facility is expected to become the company’s logistics and manufacturing hub for its European operations.
The investment has been discussed with local authorities before: it was reported that the Chinese partners’ enterprise in Merosina could provide about 200 jobs.
CCSC specializes in the production of cables, connectors, and cable harnesses, which are used, in particular, in the automotive industry, robotics, and medical equipment.
