The net worth of Telegram founder and sole owner Pavel Durov has fallen to $6.6 billion from $17.1 billion a year earlier, according to a new Forbes estimate. Thus, the entrepreneur’s capital has decreased by approximately 61%, or 2.6 times.
The key reason for the revaluation was the deterioration of market conditions. Telegram’s debt obligations were an additional factor putting pressure on the valuation. According to Forbes, on March 22, 2026, the company must redeem the remainder of its first bond issue for approximately $1.1 billion. The Financial Times previously reported that Telegram had already placed a new $1.7 billion bond issue, while IPO plans remain in question amid Durov’s legal problems in France.
Since the beginning of 2026, the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” has registered property rights to 1,600 hectares of natural forests and reserve lands for forestry purposes, the press service of the state-owned enterprise reported on its Telegram channel.
According to the report, these are self-forested areas that previously belonged to communities or local administrations but did not have official status and were not in use.
The largest areas of land were registered by the branches of the Polissya Forest Office (611 hectares in Rivne region) and the Central Forest Office (681 hectares in Cherkasy region).
“In the first two months of the year, the company submitted applications for another 4,700 hectares, of which more than 2,000 hectares have already received positive decisions,” the State Forestry Agency of Ukraine clarified.
The state-owned enterprise reminded that after the approval of land management documentation, the plots are transferred to the enterprise for permanent use with the corresponding registration of rights.
As reported, Ukraine has about 2 million hectares of self-forested areas that have emerged naturally on abandoned agricultural land, but the procedure for transferring them to the Forest Fund remains complicated. According to Law No. 5650, the recognition of a plot as a forest requires the voluntary consent of communities, which often prefer to lease these lands to agricultural producers for plowing in order to obtain quick tax revenues.
The State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” emphasized that without official registration with the state enterprise, self-grown forests remain without proper care and fire protection. The registration of property rights makes it possible to include these areas in the state monitoring system and prevent their destruction through the economic activities of private individuals and communities.
By the end of 2024, communities had transferred 24,600 hectares of such land to state ownership, and in 2025, rights were formalized for another 9,500 hectares, of which 2,500 hectares were self-seeded forests.
In January-February 2026, Ukraine increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 15.8% to $86.371 million (in February – $46.957 million).
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in January-February of this year increased by 14.2% compared to the same period last year, to $22.793 million (in February – $11.063 million).
In 2025, Ukraine increased imports of aluminum and aluminum products by 15.3% to $514.098 million.
Exports of aluminum and aluminum products in 2025 increased by 22.9% compared to 2024, reaching $152.919 million.
Aluminum is widely used as a structural material. The main advantages of aluminum are its lightness, malleability, corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity, and the non-toxicity of its compounds. In particular, these properties have made aluminum extremely popular in the production of kitchen utensils, aluminum foil in the food industry, and for packaging. The first three properties have made aluminum the main raw material in the aviation and aerospace industries (recently, it has been replaced by composite materials, primarily carbon fiber). After construction and packaging production—aluminum cans and foil—the largest consumer of metal is the energy sector.
For a more detailed overview of global aluminum production from 1970 to 2024, see the video on the Experts Club YouTube channel.
Ukrainian Dairy Company (UMK, Kyiv region) will begin construction of the first phase of the world’s largest robotic farm for group milking in 2026, according to a press release from equipment supplier GEA.
According to the report, the project involves the launch of 60 milking robots, 24 of which will be put into operation in the first phase. A special feature of the complex will be the use of batch milking technology (automated group milking – IF-U), which combines loose housing with automated milking.
“This is a unique project not only for Ukraine but also for the global dairy industry in terms of its scale and the number of innovative solutions implemented. Milking will be performed by DairyRobot R9650 robots manufactured by the German company GEA Farm Technologies GmbH,” said Alexey Antonov, product manager at GEA Ukraine.
The company emphasized that the introduction of a robotic system will reduce labor costs, avoid risky interaction between staff and animals, and ensure individual feeding for each cow. Most of the technological equipment will be located in the basement under the robots, which will minimize the impact of maintenance on the milking process.
Ukrainian Dairy Company LLC (UMK) was founded in 2006. It specializes in the production of extra-class milk based on three branches with a total herd of 12,000 head of cattle (including 4,400 cows). The production capacity of the enterprise is 170 tons of milk per day. The company’s land bank is 11,000 hectares. A biogas station for organic waste disposal and energy generation operates on the farm’s territory. The enterprise has the status of a special raw material zone for the production of baby food. The ultimate beneficiary of the company is Vitaliy Haiduk.
GEA Group AG (Germany) is one of the world’s largest suppliers of systems and technological solutions for the food, pharmaceutical, and dairy industries. GEA has been operating in Ukraine for over 25 years. The group has two local offices in Ukraine, a service department, and a spare parts warehouse.
In January-February of this year, Ukrainian metallurgical companies reduced their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 1% compared to the same period last year, from $419.199 million to $415.095 million.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS) on Tuesday, ferrous metals accounted for 6.42% of total export revenues during this period, compared to 6.67% in January-February 2025.
In February 2026, export revenues amounted to $210.235 million, compared to $205.081 million in the previous month.
At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 6.6% in January-February 2026, to $243.314 million. In February, products worth $120.588 million were imported.
In addition, in January-February of this year, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 25.8% to $107.372 million. In February, exports amounted to $58.786 million.
Imports of metal products during this period increased by 13.5% to $156.610 million. In February, $79.882 million worth of these products were imported.
As reported, in 2025, Ukrainian metal companies increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 7.85% compared to the previous year, to $3 billion 339.487 million. Ferrous metals accounted for 8.25% of total export revenues for the year, compared to 7.42% in 2024. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 12.9% in 2025, to $1 billion 669.544 million. In addition, Ukraine reduced exports of metal products by 3% last year, to $916.151 million. Imports of metal products increased by 24.4% over the year, to $1 billion 290.608 million.
In 2024, metal companies increased their revenues from ferrous metal exports by 16.9% compared to 2023, to $3 billion 96.343 million. At the same time, Ukraine increased imports of similar products by 13.1%, to $1 billion 478.814 million.
At the same time, Ukraine reduced imports of lead and lead products by 6.2 times in January-February 2026, to $198,000 (in February – $86,000).
Exports of lead and lead products increased by 23.3% to $1,660 thousand (in February – $607 thousand).
In 2025, the country increased imports of lead and lead products by 3.3 times to $7.801 million.
Exports of lead and lead products decreased by 17.8% to $9.377 million.
Lead is currently mainly used in the production of lead-acid batteries for the automotive industry. In addition, lead is used in the manufacture of bullets and certain alloys.
