Pharmacy sales in Ukraine for January-February 2025 rose by 8.3% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2025—to more than 39.014 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 7.2%—to nearly 176,866 thousand packages, according to data from a study conducted by Business Credit and reported to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine.”
According to the data, the weighted average price of the pharmacy basket in January-February 2026 was 220.58 UAH per package, which is 16.67% higher than during the same period a year earlier.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicines during this period increased by 10.8% in monetary terms—to more than 31.396 billion UAH—and by 2.25% in volume terms compared to the same period in 2025, reaching 138 million packages.
The weighted average retail price of medicines for the first two months of 2026 was 227.5 UAH per package, which is 8.5% higher than in January–February 2025.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of dietary supplements in the first two months of 2026 increased by 12.46% in monetary terms, to nearly 4.6 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 17.3%, to 14.717 million packages. The weighted average price in this segment rose by 35.9% to 309.64 UAH per unit.
As reported, pharmacy sales in Ukraine for 2025 increased by 14.23% in monetary terms compared to 2024—to more than 220.287 billion UAH, while in volume terms they decreased by 2.25%—to nearly 1.135 million packages. The weighted average price of items in the pharmacy basket at the end of 2025 was 194.68 UAH per package, which is 16.86% higher than a year earlier.
At the same time, pharmacy sales of medicines during this period increased by 12.79% in monetary terms—to nearly 170.318 billion UAH—while in volume terms, they decreased by 0.2% compared to 2024, to 808.546 million packages.
The weighted average retail price of medicines at the end of 2025 was 210.65 UAH per package, which is 13% higher than at the end of 2024.
The pharmaceutical company “Farmak” remains the leader in retail sales in 2025 among domestic companies, with sales of nearly 10.978 billion UAH. The top 5 also included the pharmaceutical company “Darnitsa” (7.473 billion UAH), “Kyiv Vitamin Plant” (KVZ, nearly 6.842 billion UAH), ‘Arterium’ (5.975 billion UAH), and “Pharma Star/Acino” (2.9 billion UAH).
The introduction of a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed will reduce the profitability of these crops, leading to a 30% reduction in soybean acreage in 2026, experts from the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC) reported during a press briefing in Kyiv.
“Our forecasts indicate a possible 30% reduction in soybean acreage compared to the previous season. The export duty acts as an economic barrier, making the cultivation of this crop less attractive to producers. Farmers won’t take losses every year—if the financial result is negative, they’ll simply change their crop mix,” the experts explained.
The business association noted that under normal conditions, corn could be an alternative, but currently its investment appeal is also in question due to rising production costs.
“Prices for fuel and fertilizers have risen significantly, particularly due to the escalation of the situation surrounding Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. This significantly increases farmers’ costs for growing corn, which, combined with the low profitability of oilseeds due to tariffs (on soybeans and rapeseed – IF-U), puts farmers in a difficult position ahead of the spring planting season,” the briefing participants emphasized.
Experts expressed confidence that if regulatory policy does not change, there is a risk that farmers will abandon rapeseed and soybean cultivation in the long term. This will lead to domestic processors, who lobbied for the introduction of tariffs to obtain cheap raw materials, eventually facing a physical shortage of those materials due to reduced production.
As reported, pursuant to Law No. 4536-IX of July 16, 2025, a 10% export duty on rapeseed and soybeans was introduced in Ukraine effective September 4, 2025. The document provides for a gradual reduction of the rate by 1% annually, starting January 1, 2030, to 5% by 2035. At the same time, the law includes a preferential regime for direct producers and cooperatives, who are exempt from paying the duty when exporting their own-grown products.
At the end of 2025, Ukraine ranked 95th out of 143 countries and territories in the global air pollution ranking published by the Swiss company IQAir. According to IQAir’s global press release, in 2025 only 14% of the world’s cities met the World Health Organization’s recommendation for an annual average PM2.5 concentration of no more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter, while 130 out of 143 countries and territories exceeded this benchmark.
The IQAir global release also notes that the five most polluted countries in the world in 2025 were Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The most polluted city in the world was Lonhi in India, while the cleanest was New Woodville in South Africa.
“Kyivstar,” Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator, which acquired a 12.947 MW solar power plant operator in the Zhytomyr region for $3 million late last year, plans to acquire six more solar power plant operators in the Lviv region: EnergoPostach-Plus LLC, Lightful, Sunlight Generation, Ternovitsa Solar, Energy Space, and Ternovitsa Solar Plus.
According to a statement from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, it granted Kyivstar PJSC the relevant approval on Thursday.
As previously reported by the Interfax-Ukraine agency, the AMCU had already granted permission to purchase these solar power plants in July 2021, but at that time the potential buyer was the French company Total Eren S.A. (a subsidiary of Total).
At that time, the project involved more than 100 MW of installed capacity: “Energy Space” (5.94 GW and 5.797 GW), “Ternovitsa Solar” (13.023 GW and 15.537 GW), “Ternovitsa Solar Plus” (12.382 GW and 15.537 GW), “Sunlight Generation” (5.94 GWp and 5.797 GWp), “EnergoPostach-Plus” (5.94 GWp and 5.797 GWp), and “Lightful” (5.94 GWp and 5.79 GWp).
According to data from YouControl, the main beneficiary of “Energy Space” and “Ternovitsa Solar Plus” is Vsevolod Trofimenko, a member of the family that owns the Multiplex cinema chain, “Ternovitsa Solar,” “Sunlight Generation,” “Energopostach-Plus,” and ‘Lightful’—Ivan Torsky, who was the CEO of the development holding “TKS.”
On March 13, during the presentation of the group’s annual report, Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov noted that the first solar power plant acquired at the end of last year generates electricity equivalent to 4% of Kyivstar’s annual electricity consumption.
According to him, such investments serve as a hedge against energy costs, which represent one of the company’s largest recurring expenses. They align with the strategy to support Ukraine’s recovery and energy independence, while also meeting the needs of digital services.
“Expanding our presence in the energy sector is a natural hedge against rising prices in the coming periods,” CFO Boris Dolgushin added at the time.
In 2025, Kyivstar Group increased its EBITDA by 30% to UAH 27 billion, with revenue growing by 30.3% to UAH 48.2 billion; including a 23.1% increase in EBITDA to UAH 7.2 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, with revenue growing by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.
Swedish company H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB has published its 2025 annual sustainability report, in which it reported a further reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, an increase in the share of recycled and more sustainable materials, as well as investments in decarbonization and innovation.
As noted in the report, in 2025, 91% of the materials used by the company were recycled or more sustainable alternatives, with the share of recycled materials reaching 32%, exceeding the target of 30%.
According to the report, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 41% compared to 2019, and Scope 3 emissions by 34.6%. Total investments in decarbonization and innovation amounted to 2.8 billion Swedish kronor.
H&M also reported that since 2022, the number of Category 1, 2, and 3 clothing suppliers using coal-fired boilers has decreased by 108. The company confirmed its goal of completely phasing out such equipment by 2026.
Freshwater use in 2025 was reduced by 22.8%, more than doubling the target. Meanwhile, the resale service via Sellpy and the group’s brands is already operating in 26 markets and accounts for 0.8% of revenue, having increased by 31% year-over-year.
H&M Group CEO Daniel Erver noted that the company continues to strengthen its customer offering while demonstrating that growth, profitability, and emissions reduction can go hand in hand. Leila Ertur, Director of Sustainability, in turn, stated that the group intends to continue decoupling business growth from resource consumption while supporting people and communities.
In addition, the H&M Group announced the 10th anniversary of its global framework agreement with IndustriALL and IF Metall, which, according to the company, protects the rights of over 1 million workers.
The full 2025 Annual and Sustainability Report is available on the H&M Group website.
According to The Serbian Economist, Serbia has aligned itself with two European Union resolutions that extend existing restrictive measures related to the war in Ukraine.
The first EU resolution concerns measures against Russia’s actions regarding the occupied regions of Ukraine that are not under Kyiv’s control. Essentially, this is an extension of the special sanctions regime for another year—until February 24, 2027. Serbia supported this extension along with a number of other EU candidate countries and partners.
The second decision concerns sanctions against specific individuals, companies, and organizations in connection with the situation in Ukraine. These are not “general sanctions against Russia as a whole,” but rather an extension of the list of targeted restrictions on specific individuals until March 6, 2027.
The wording stating that Serbia “will ensure the alignment of its national policy” with this decision means the following: Belgrade has declared that it will act in line with EU policy on these two specific issues. The European Union separately noted and welcomed Serbia’s alignment in official statements.
This does not mean that Serbia has fully aligned itself with the entire EU sanctions package against Moscow. It concerns specifically these two separate decisions, not full alignment with Brussels on sanctions.
For Serbia, this is yet another example of partial foreign policy alignment with Brussels on issues related to Ukraine and Russia.
Serbia is a candidate country for EU membership and is regularly under close scrutiny by Brussels regarding the alignment of its foreign and sanctions policies with European decisions. Against this backdrop, such steps by Belgrade are usually seen as a signal of its willingness to maintain working-level coordination with the EU on specific international issues, primarily those related to the Ukrainian agenda.
