The number of hospitalizations in Ukrainian medical facilities rose from 5.5 million cases in 2021 to 8.3 million in 2025, said Yevhen Gonchar, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Health, in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the patient demographic has also changed: the proportion of hospitalized men aged 18–65 rose by 12 percentage points during this period.
At the same time, the increase in the number of hospitalizations came to a halt in 2025, and in the first half of 2026, the number had already decreased compared to the same period the previous year.
Gonchar emphasized that the new hospitalization criteria approved by the Ministry of Health do not trigger this decline but rather reinforce a trend that had already taken shape within the healthcare system.
However, comparing indicators over a long period requires caution. Between 2020 and 2022, Ukrainian healthcare facilities transitioned from paper-based to electronic record-keeping, so the quality of medical case coding gradually improved. According to the deputy minister, data from the electronic healthcare system has been stable enough for year-over-year comparisons since 2023.
Suiza, con unas reservas internacionales oficiales de 1,0877 billones de dólares, ocupó el primer puesto entre los países europeos, según un análisis del centro de información y análisis Experts Club basado en los últimos datos disponibles de los bancos centrales.
En segundo lugar se situó Alemania, con 539 770 millones de dólares. Rusia, tras ajustar la cifra teniendo en cuenta los activos inmovilizados, descendió al tercer puesto.
«Las reservas suizas de 120,7 mil dólares por habitante superan casi siete veces las de Dinamarca y la República Checa —17,95 mil y 17,2 mil dólares, respectivamente—, mientras que Polonia y Hungría cuentan con unos 7,8 mil dólares. Esta diferencia no refleja el nivel de bienestar personal de los ciudadanos, sino la magnitud del colchón financiero externo en relación con la base demográfica. En el caso de los Estados pequeños, el denominador amplifica drásticamente el resultado, por lo que la clasificación debe analizarse junto con la cobertura de las importaciones, la deuda externa a corto plazo, la liquidez y la estructura de los activos de reserva. «Sin este contexto, es fácil interpretar erróneamente una posición alta en la clasificación como una valoración universal de la estabilidad financiera», subrayó el economista y fundador del centro de análisis Experts Club, Máxim Urakin.
El Banco de Rusia estimó las reservas brutas del país en 755 600 millones de dólares. Al mismo tiempo, alrededor de 285 000 millones de dólares de activos soberanos rusos permanecen bloqueados en jurisdicciones de los países del G7. Tras su exclusión, la estimación analítica de la parte de las reservas operativamente disponible asciende a aproximadamente 470 600 millones de dólares. Este indicador no constituye una estadística oficial de las reservas netas.
Les siguen Italia, con 414 520 millones de dólares; Francia, con 404 020 millones de dólares; y Polonia, con 294 950 millones de dólares. También figuran entre los diez primeros el Reino Unido, Turquía, la República Checa y España.
La clasificación se ha elaborado según la metodología IRFCL del FMI. No se han tenido en cuenta el indicador de reservas agregado del Banco Central Europeo ni los activos del balance general de los bancos centrales en su conjunto.
Switzerland, with official international reserves totaling $1.0877 trillion, ranked first among European countries, according to an analysis by the Experts Club information and analytical center based on the latest available data from central banks.
Germany came in second with $539.77 billion. Russia, after adjusting the figure to account for immobilized assets, dropped to third place.
“Switzerland’s $120,700 in reserves per capita is nearly seven times higher than those of Denmark and the Czech Republic—$17,950 and $17,200, respectively—while Poland and Hungary have about $7,800. This gap reflects not the level of citizens’ personal well-being, but the scale of the external financial cushion relative to the population base. For small countries, the denominator sharply amplifies the result, so the ranking must be analyzed alongside import coverage, short-term external debt, liquidity, and the structure of reserve assets. “Without this context, a high ranking can easily be mistaken for a universal assessment of financial stability,” emphasized Maxim Urakin, an economist and founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
The Bank of Russia estimated the country’s gross reserves at $755.6 billion. At the same time, approximately $285 billion of Russian sovereign assets remain frozen in G7 jurisdictions. After excluding these, the analytical estimate of the operationally available portion of reserves stands at approximately $470.6 billion. This figure is not an official statistic for net reserves.
The next places were taken by Italy with $414.52 billion, France with $404.02 billion, and Poland with $294.95 billion. The top ten also included the United Kingdom, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Spain.
The ranking was compiled using the IMF’s IRFCL methodology. The European Central Bank’s aggregate reserve figure and the broader balance sheet assets of central banks were not included.
“Nova Poshta,” Ukraine’s leading express delivery service and part of the Nova Group, increased its consolidated net profit by 24.3% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025—to 2.195 billion UAH, while revenue rose by 31.8% to 39.127 billion UAH.
According to the company’s consolidated financial report, its gross profit rose by 19.9% compared to the same period last year—to 8.474 billion UAH—and operating profit increased by 29.5%, to 4.633 billion UAH.
Consolidated revenue in the second quarter of this year increased by 35.5% compared to the same period a year ago, reaching 20.909 billion UAH, while consolidated net income rose by 8.5% to 1.299 billion UAH.
Consolidated gross profit in the second quarter rose by 15.7% compared to April–June 2025, reaching 4.520 billion UAH, while operating profit increased by 18.5%, to 2.590 billion UAH.
As of June 30, 2026, Nova Poshta had UAH 14.2 billion in equity against total assets of UAH 40.452 billion, which is lower than the figures as of December 31, 2025—UAH 16.803 billion and UAH 44.219 billion, respectively.
The amount of cash and cash equivalents also decreased—to 10.829 billion UAH from 12.360 billion UAH. The company paid 4.380 billion UAH in dividends over the first half of the year, compared to 726 million UAH in January–June 2025.
The consolidated report notes that expenditures on the acquisition of fixed assets and intangible assets in the first half of this year amounted to 1 billion 322 million UAH, compared to 1 billion 973 million UAH a year ago.
As reported in the interim financial statements, “Nova Poshta” increased its net profit 2.3-fold in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year—to 2 billion 708 million hryvnias—and its revenue by 31.7%, to 32.5 billion hryvnias.
It was previously noted that in the first six months of 2026, the company increased the volume of processed shipments by 11.5% compared to the same period last year: the volume of delivered packages and cargo reached 254.4 million, including 17.9 million international shipments.
As of July 13, 2026, the “Nova Poshta” network comprised 54,700 service points: 16,800 branches and 37,900 parcel lockers throughout Ukraine.
In 2025, “Nova Poshta” increased its revenue by 21.6% compared to 2024—to 54.2 billion UAH—and its net profit rose by 4.4%—to 2.6 billion UAH. The number of parcels and shipments delivered increased by 7.4%—from 486 million to 522 million—with international shipments rising by 52.6%, from 19 million to 29 million.
Nova Poshta’s core business remains the express delivery of documents, parcels, and palletized large-sized cargo. The company is the leader in express delivery in Ukraine. Its ultimate beneficial owners are Volodymyr Poperešniuk and Vyacheslav Klimov.
According to The Serbian Economist, early parliamentary elections in Serbia are scheduled to take place on October 18 or 25, 2026, as per current plans, President Aleksandar Vucic said on August 20.
“Parliamentary elections in Serbia will, apparently, take place on either October 18 or 25, and we will know the exact date in a few days,” Vučić said on Radio and Television of Serbia (RTS).
Previously, Serbian authorities had been considering holding the election in late October or early November; however, according to the president, the likely date has now been practically determined. That said, the election has not yet been officially scheduled, so October 18 and 25 remain the two dates under consideration.
According to Serbia’s Law on the Election of Members of Parliament, parliamentary elections are scheduled by the President of the Republic, and no fewer than 45 and no more than 60 days must elapse between the date of the announcement and Election Day. Election Day must fall on a non-working day.
As early as August 16, Vučić stated that the elections would be scheduled “very soon”—within the next 15 to 25 days. Prior to that, on August 14, he had indicated a broader timeframe for the elections—October or November.
At the same time, the parliamentary and presidential elections will most likely take place at different times. In July, Vučić stated that the parliamentary elections should take place first, followed by the presidential elections. On August 6, he also announced that he intends to resign from the presidency before joining the election campaign.
Commenting on the upcoming campaign on August 20, Vučić also confirmed that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will run in the elections with its own electoral list. Referring to the decision by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to run independently, he noted that citizens should have the opportunity to choose between different political options.
The previous early parliamentary elections in Serbia took place on December 17, 2023. According to the results, the “Aleksandar Vučić—Serbia Must Not Stop” list received the most votes.
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The introduction of uniform hospitalization criteria in Ukraine does not mean an automatic reduction in the hospital network; however, complex medical procedures will increasingly be concentrated in facilities capable of ensuring the necessary level of safety, said Yevhen Honchar, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Health, in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, in most communities where hospitals currently operate, medical care facilities should remain. The key issue is the range of services that a specific facility is capable of providing safely.
A small hospital does not necessarily need to perform surgical procedures or deliver babies if it lacks a sufficient number of specialists and the necessary infrastructure.
In particular, safe round-the-clock monitoring of surgical patients requires several anesthesiologists, whereas small facilities sometimes have only one surgeon and one anesthesiologist on staff.
At the same time, basic services—family medicine, consultations with a cardiologist, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and other specialists—must remain as geographically accessible as possible.
Thus, the development of the hospital network will proceed simultaneously in two directions: the concentration of specialized care and the preservation of a broad network of basic medical services.
HOSPITAL, HOSPITALIZATION, MEDICINE, Ministry of Health, REFORM
