The administration of US President Donald Trump is ready to pay $1,000 in compensation to illegal immigrants who decide to leave the country voluntarily, the US Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.
“Self-deportation is the best, safest, and least expensive way to leave the United States without arrest if you are in the country illegally,” the department quoted Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as saying.
“The department is offering to pay for travel and provide a reward through the CBP Home mobile app for returning home. Every illegal immigrant who uses this app for self-deportation will receive a reward of $1,000 after confirming their return to their home country,” the press release also said.
The Associated Press notes that as part of its tougher immigration policy, the Trump administration has radically updated the app developed under former President Joe Biden. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, which provided access to various agency services for entering the country and obtaining asylum, is now called CBP Home and is designed to “help immigrants return to their home countries,” the agency said.
In recent months, the US president has introduced a series of tough measures to combat illegal immigration. In particular, he has approved initiatives to step up the deportation of illegal immigrants from the US. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump announced the introduction of a state of emergency on the border with Mexico.
Due to Russia’s full-scale invasion and its desire to use food as a weapon, transporting grain and oilseeds from Ukraine to other countries has become extremely difficult. Since 2022, logistics issues have had to be significantly revised in order to find safer shipping routes and options. Despite the dire circumstances created by the Russian Federation, Ukrainians are ensuring food security for many countries, particularly in Europe.
In March 2025, Kyiv exported a total of 4.7 million tons of grain and oilseeds and their processed products. This is 7% more than in the previous month.
“How does Ukraine transport grain and oilseeds, as well as products made from them? The lion’s share goes to the seaports of the Odesa region. This figure is 4 million tons. By rail – 300,000 tons, through the river ports of the Danube – 200,000 tons. It is also exported by road. The volume reaches 100,000 tons,” said grain market analyst Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
Exports of grain crops, oilseeds, and processed products, million tons
Let’s look at the prices of the main agricultural crops that Ukraine exports to world markets. In April 2025, the price of wheat (France, FOB) was 244 USD/ton. Note that this is 3 USD more than in March of this year and 29 USD more than in the same period of 2024. The price of wheat (Ukraine, 2nd class, CPT) in April 2025 was USD 211/t (central regions), which is USD 4 more than in March 2025 and USD 75 more expensive than a year ago. In ports, the price was 229 USD/t, which is 7 USD higher than in the previous month and 65 USD more expensive than in April 2024, according to the International Grains Council.
As for corn (USA, FOB), the price as of April 2025 was USD 211/t. This amount is USD 4 higher than in the previous month and USD 19 higher than in April 2024. The price of corn (Ukraine, CPT) in the central regions is 206 USD/t, thus increasing by 11 USD over the month and by 89 USD over the year; ports – 222 USD, which is 12 USD more than in March 2025 and 78 USD higher than in April 2024.
As noted by Oleksandr Korenitsyn, the price of barley (France, FOB) was 229 USD in April 2025, which is 1 USD less than in March of this year and 26 USD more than in the same period last year. The price of barley (Ukraine, CPT) was USD 195 in the central regions, which is USD 8 more than in March 2025 and USD 102 higher than in April 2024; in ports, it was USD 215 (the price rose by USD 5 per month and USD 85 over the year).
“Another important crop for Ukraine and the world that should be mentioned is sunflower. The price of its seeds in the EU (Rotterdam, FOB) in April this year was 730 USD/t. There has been an increase in price over the last month – by 7 dollars, as well as an increase over the year – by 273 dollars. Meanwhile, the cost of sunflower seeds (Ukraine, CPT) for the central regions was 537 USD/t. The price rose by 10 USD per month and 221 USD per year. For ports, the cost is $512 per ton, which is $6 more than last month and $194 more than last year,” said expert Oleksandr Korenitsyn.
We would like to add that the cost of sunflower oil (Ukraine, FOB) in April was $1,140 per ton. It should be noted that among the key factors that could destabilize further pricing on the world market and affect food security in Europe and the world are Russia’s military actions on the territory of Ukraine.
EUROPE, full-scale Russian invasion, grain exports, Korenitsyn, LOGISTICS, Odessa ports, OILSEEDS, PRICES, UKRAINE, VOLUME
On April 30, the state-owned specialized enterprise Lesy Ukrainy announced its intention to sign a contract with NASK Oranta to insure members of fire and rescue units to provide voluntary fire protection.
According to the Prozorro electronic public procurement system, with an expected cost of UAH 1.170 million, the company’s price offer was UAH 296,444 thousand. The tender was also participated in by insurance companies Ultra Alliance with an offer of UAH 300,000, Arsenal Insurance with UAH 498,777, and Kraina with UAH 936,777. NASK Oranta is the successor to Ukrgosstrakh, which was founded on November 25, 1921. The main beneficiary of the company with 99.99% of the voting rights is Alexander Yaroslavsky.
The number of citizens who declared income exceeding one million hryvnia in 2024 increased by 6,600 to 17,000, which is 63.4% higher than in 2023 (10,400), according to Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine.
“In total, more than 17,000 people declared income exceeding one million hryvnia. Overall, millionaires declared income totaling 253.6 billion hryvnia, with 8.7 billion hryvnia in tax liabilities determined for payment. One Kyiv resident declared a record amount of personal income tax and military tax liabilities to be paid to the budget—more than 4.6 billion hryvnia,” he wrote on Telegram on Monday.
Kravchenko added that more than 53,000 citizens exercised their right to a tax rebate and will receive UAH 330 million from the budget. Compared to the same period last year, this is UAH 36 million more.
In total, in 2024, Ukrainians filed 170,000 tax returns and declared UAH 326 billion, which is UAH 107 billion more than in 2023. Based on the tax returns, citizens independently determined that they owed 8.1 billion hryvnia in personal income tax (PIT) and more than 1.5 billion hryvnia in military tax (MT). In regional terms, the largest amounts were declared by residents of Kyiv (UAH 156 billion), Dnipropetrovsk (almost UAH 30 billion), Lviv (UAH 18.2 billion), and Kyiv region (UAH 17.5 billion).
The largest amounts of income declared by citizens last year were income from abroad – UAH 34.2 billion, inheritance and gifts – UAH 13.6 billion, income from the sale of movable and immovable property – UAH 6.8 billion, investment income – UAH 4.9 billion, other taxable income – UAH 4 billion, and income from renting property – UAH 3.4 billion.
“The current tax return campaign has shown an increase in citizens’ tax awareness and their understanding of paying taxes as a social necessity. Thank you to everyone who honestly declared their income,” summarized the head of the State Tax Service.
The Czech Republic has employed 160,000 Ukrainian refugees, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
“The Czech Republic is the country that has accepted the most Ukrainian refugees per capita… Our decision has been successful, and we as a society have managed to overcome obstacles and further integrate refugees. Currently, 160,000 are working in our labor market,” Fiala said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Prague on Monday.
According to him, proposals on the future of Ukrainian refugees “will depend on how the current situation develops.” At the same time, Fiala reminded that the current refugee protection program in the EU is valid until March 2026 and this deadline must be kept in mind.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of February 19, 2025, was estimated at 6.346 million, and worldwide at 6.907 million, which is 43,000 more than on January 16.
According to Eurostat, Germany remains by far the country with the largest number of refugees from Ukraine in the EU and the world, with 1,161,450 at the end of 2024, or 27.3% of the total number of beneficiaries in the EU. The top three also include Poland with 991,630, or 23.3%, and the Czech Republic with 388,630, or 9.1%.
