Comfy (Comfy Trade LLC), a retailer of home appliances and electronics, generated 14 billion hryvnias in revenue from January to March 2026, a 28% increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to the company’s press service.
The amount of taxes and fees paid totaled 643 million hryvnias, which is 14% more than in the first quarter of 2025.
“The retail market and customer behavior are changing. The line between offline and online stores has practically disappeared—and customers want the best experience regardless of their chosen path to purchase. That is why we are developing Comfy as a single seamless experience; in 2026, we will invest in the digitalization and convenience of every step of the customer journey. One of the key steps is that this year we are beginning to test marketplace functionality. One in three purchases today is made online. Tomorrow, it will be every second one. We are preparing for this,” said Comfy CEO Gennadiy Verbylenko.
The growth driver for the reporting period remains the development of e-commerce; Comfy’s share of online sales reached 36.6% (+6.6 percentage points compared to Q1 2025). The Comfy mobile app now generates over a third of the company’s total online sales. The number of downloads in January–March 2026 increased by 8%, and the share of monthly active users (MAU) grew by 38% over the year.
Data from the first quarter of 2026 indicates a shift in Ukrainian consumer behavior toward rationality and functionality. The strongest growth was seen in: robot vacuums (up 380%), gaming keyboards (up 374%), refurbished tablets (up 205%), epilators—up 191%, and hair stylers—up 73.3%, indicating Ukrainians’ investment in home comfort and self-sufficiency. Sales of cameras (+65.3%), multi-cookers (+46.4%), dryers (+23.8%), and laptops (+23.7%) are also growing steadily. Building on these trends, COMFY is expanding categories with high practical value and the refurbished electronics segment in response to demand for smart savings and environmental sustainability.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company opened two new stores: one in Lviv (Victoria Gardens shopping center) and a large two-story facility in Dnipro (1-M Heroiv Avenue). The store in Zaporizhzhia has also resumed operations: following a Russian drone strike and a fire at the Amstor shopping center on January 2, some of the equipment and the premises were destroyed, but the store was restored by the end of February.
As of the end of March, the Comfy chain comprises 115 stores in 56 cities across Ukraine. Two more openings are planned by the end of the year. According to the company, revenue for 2025 totaled 55.8 billion UAH, which is 17% more than in 2024. Over the course of the year, the company paid 2.3 billion UAH in taxes and fees to the state budget.
Elementum Energy, a subsidiary of VR Capital Group, has chosen to integrate its energy storage system (ESS) with the Dnister Wind Farm, which has a total installed capacity of 100 MW, as part of its pilot ESS project in Ukraine to optimize power generation, as it considers this approach the most effective for renewable energy players, said the company’s commercial director, Roman Volosheniuk.
“We have adopted a scenario that is rarely considered in Ukraine—ES as a tool for optimizing our existing assets. Our pilot ES project, with a capacity of 10 MW and a storage capacity of 20 MWh, is designed to interact with our 100 MW wind farm. We view energy storage not as a separate, independent business, but as a tool for our own generation,” Volosheniuk said during Energy Storage Day-2026, organized by the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association.
He explained that the company decided not to pursue the first two scenarios—operating the ESS with state support based on the results of Ukrenergo’s auctions for ancillary services and price arbitrage—for a number of reasons.
“We have had negative experiences with state support—debts under the ‘green’ tariff, unilateral cuts to its rates, changes in liability conditions for imbalances—the list goes on. The next dominant scenario is price arbitrage. There we see large spreads, but there is a downside—high volatility and frequent changes in the regulatory environment,” Volosheniuk explained.
At the same time, he noted that the third scenario, which the company chose, appears to be the most effective, as it allows for combining several areas at once.
First, this makes it possible to apply classic arbitrage by shifting the timing of electricity production and sales, which allows for optimizing generation. Second, it creates an opportunity to balance the system and avoid unnecessary costs for paying for imbalances, which, according to Volosheniuk, account for every third MW*h of wind power generated.
Third, the UZE plus WPP scenario allows for optimizing the extent of electricity generation curtailments imposed by the system operator Ukrenergo during surplus hours.
“Accordingly, we have a combination of three scenarios and will switch to the one that is more profitable and effective. Our operating model shows that the optimal distribution of RES usage will look like this: arbitrage and working with curtailments account for 70% of RES usage, while another 30% is for managing imbalances. All that remains is to confirm the assumption—we expect to test the pilot in the near future,” explained the commercial director of Elementum Energy.
He emphasized that “the heart of our concept” is the development of our own software solution, which will combine all these scenarios in real time and automatically select and switch to the most productive one.
“All of this enables a stable business model for utilizing renewable energy sources: a combination of different areas of its operation and proprietary software tools for system management,” Volosheniuk concluded.
Elementum Energy, a subsidiary of VR Capital Group, is an international investor in Ukraine’s renewable energy sector. The company manages a portfolio of solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 636 MW and continues to develop new projects in the field of wind energy and energy storage systems.
In early December 2024, Elementum Energy announced that it had acquired a 200 MW wind power project in western Ukraine and intends to prepare it for construction by the end of 2025.
The company also announced plans to commission the 60 MW “Danube” wind farm in southern Odesa Oblast by the end of 2026.
Elementum Energy reported on the development of a 10 MW small hydropower pilot project in late 2025.
For the next two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, May 12–13, forecasters predict mostly pleasant weather in Ukraine, with nighttime temperatures of 8–13°C and daytime highs of up to 23°C, along with spring rains and thunderstorms.
“In Zakarpattia and the Carpathians on May 12, heavy rain is expected; during the day on the Right Bank, moderate rain, thunderstorms, and in some places squalls of 15–20 m/s; the rest of the country will be dry. The wind will be predominantly southerly, 7–12 m/s,” according to a report from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
Temperatures at night will be 8-13°; during the day 18-23°, and in the far west of the country 12-17°.
In Kyiv on Tuesday, May 12, no precipitation at night; rain and thunderstorms during the day. Winds will be southerly, 7-12 m/s. Temperatures at night will be 10–12°C, and during the day 20–22°C.
According to data from the Boris Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory in Kyiv, on May 12, the highest daytime temperature was 28.9°C in 2013, and the lowest nighttime temperature was –2.4°C in 1900.
On Wednesday, May 13, across Ukraine—except for the west and northeast—there will be moderate rain and thunderstorms, with heavy rain in some areas during the day. The wind will be northwesterly, southerly on the Left Bank, 7–12 m/s.
Nighttime temperatures will range from 8–13°C, and 4–9°C in the western regions; daytime temperatures will range from 12–17°C in the western, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, and Odesa regions, and 18–23°C in the rest of the country.
In Kyiv on May 13, rain, with thunderstorms during the day. Winds from the northwest, 7-12 m/s. Nighttime temperatures 10-12°, daytime temperatures 15-17°.
According to preliminary data, Ukrainian steelmakers reduced pig iron production by 0.3% in January–April of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 2.356 million tons.
According to information from the Ukrmetallurgprom association on Monday, 554,000 tons of pig iron were produced in April, 690,200 tons in March, 561,900 tons in February, and 549,900 tons in January.
As reported, Ukraine’s metallurgical enterprises increased pig iron production by 11.2% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 7.884 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased pig iron production by 18.1% compared to 2023, reaching 7.090 million tons.
In 2023, Ukraine reduced pig iron production by 6.1% compared to 2022, reaching 6.003 million tons.
In 2022, the country reduced pig iron production by 69.8% compared to 2021, down to 6.391 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.165 million tons of pig iron were produced (103.6%).
The “Silpo” supermarket chain is launching Ukraine’s first traveling food festival, Bragary’s Chicken Circus, according to the company’s press service.
Bragarya’s Chicken Circus will feature performances by acrobats, clowns, and ring performers, street performances, and new culinary offerings from Silpo. The tour across Ukrainian cities is scheduled to run through the end of 2026. The first stop will be Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, where the festival will run from May 22 to June 7 near the Rosava Palace of Culture. The festival grounds will feature several zones where food and entertainment will intertwine in Silpo’s signature style. The venue will feature food courts highlighting chicken and signature dishes, relaxation areas, and over 10 attractions inspired by a chicken theme: from “Chicken Race” to a rodeo on a giant chicken. In addition, visitors will be able to play “aerocoke,” throw a puck in “curling,” wander through a maze, and take photos near special zones and art installations.
Tickets for “Bragarya’s Chicken Circus” in Bila Tserkva are now available on the website and in the “Silpo” app. Admission is free for combat veterans, individuals with war-related disabilities, and children under 4 years of age. The rest of the itinerary will be announced later.
Silpo-Food LLC, which operates the Silpo chain, was established in early August 2016. According to information on the website, the chain operates 310 supermarkets in 60 cities across Ukraine and four Le Silpo delicatessen markets: in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
According to YouControl, the founder of the LLC is PJSC “Retail Capital” (100%, Kyiv), a closed-end, non-diversified venture corporate investment fund. The ultimate beneficiary is Volodymyr Kostelman.
Silpo-Food’s revenue for the first nine months of 2025 increased by 13.8% compared to the same period in 2024—to UAH 75.87 billion; net profit amounted to UAH 956.6 million, compared to a net loss of UAH 767.1 million for the same period the previous year.
It is part of the Fozzy Group, a retail and industrial group with more than 825 retail outlets across the country. The company operates retail chains of various formats: Silpo supermarkets, Fozzy wholesale hypermarkets, Fora neighborhood stores, Thrash! discounters, Bila Romashka pharmacy supermarkets, and E-ZOO pet stores.
According to preliminary data, Ukrainian steelmakers reduced their production of rolled steel by 9.1% in January–April of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 1.802 million tons.
According to information from the Ukrmetallurgprom association on Monday, 460,800 tons of rolled steel were produced in April, 544,500 tons in March, 390,300 tons in February, and 406,400 tons in January.
As reported, Ukraine’s steel companies increased total rolled steel production by 4.8% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 6.521 million tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased total rolled steel production by 15.8% compared to 2023—to 6.222 million tons from 5.372 million tons.
In 2023, Ukraine increased total rolled steel production by 0.4% compared to 2022—to 5.372 million tons.
In 2022, the country reduced total rolled steel production by 72% compared to 2021—to 5.350 million tons.
In 2021, before the war, 19.079 million tons of rolled steel were produced (103.5%).
