The international law firm Baker McKenzie has appointed two co-heads of its Kyiv office.
As the law firm announced in a press release, Sergey Cherny and Gennady Voitsitsky have been elected co-heads of the Kyiv office. Voitsitsky succeeds Vyacheslav Yakimchuk, who had served as co-managing partner since 2023 and will continue to lead the corporate and M&A practice at Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office.
Sergey Cherny has been a co-managing partner of Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office since 2010 and heads the banking and finance practice, as well as the capital markets practice. He advises clients on cross-border lending, structured finance, securitization, debt capital markets, and debt restructuring. He is ranked among Ukraine’s leading lawyers by authoritative international and Ukrainian legal rankings, including Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 EMEA, and IFLR1000.
Gennadiy Voitsitsky has led the tax law practice at Baker McKenzie’s Kyiv office since 2007. He advises multinational corporations, investors, and private clients on international tax planning and structuring, inbound and outbound investments, tax disputes and litigation, as well as private wealth management. He is recognized as one of the leading experts in tax law by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, and ITR World Tax.
Baker McKenzie has been operating in Ukraine for 34 years. Despite the challenges posed by the war, the Kyiv office continues to advise Ukrainian and international clients on a wide range of legal and business matters, thereby promoting investment, recovery, and business development in Ukraine.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages in Ukraine fell by 0.2% in July 2026 compared to June, but remained 6.5% more expensive than a year earlier. Food alone, excluding non-alcoholic beverages, rose in price by 6.4% over the year.
The most significant year-over-year increases among major food categories were recorded for fish and fish products (22.4%), sunflower oil (21.8%), and bread and bakery products (18.6%).
Bread prices rose by 15.4%, pasta by 9.9%, milk by 8%, vegetables by 7.8%, cheese by 4.6%, and meat and meat products by 2.4%.
At the same time, a number of products became significantly cheaper over the course of the year. Eggs cost 25.4% less than in July of last year, fruit—9.5% less, and sugar—8.1% less.
In July alone, eggs became 6% cheaper, vegetables 5.9% cheaper, and meat and meat products 0.6% cheaper. At the same time, fruit prices rose by 1.5%, fish by 1.3%, and sunflower oil by 1.2%.
Seasonal trends are particularly noticeable: since the beginning of the year, eggs have become 43.1% cheaper, while fruit has become 26.2% more expensive and vegetables 18.7% more expensive.
In January–June 2026, PJSC “Carlsberg Ukraine” increased its revenue by 2.7% compared to the same period in 2025—to 6.286 billion UAH, the company reported in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
The company’s net profit for the first half of the year fell by 10.5% to 893.1 million UAH, while operating profit decreased by 12.8% to 921.0 million UAH; gross profit, however, rose by 0.6% to 2.935 billion UAH.
As of June 30, 2026, the assets of PJSC “Carlsberg Ukraine” amounted to 17.524 billion UAH, compared to 15.115 billion UAH at the beginning of the year.
The company’s equity rose to 11.278 billion UAH from 10.537 billion UAH, while total liabilities increased to 6.246 billion UAH from 4.578 billion UAH.
It is noted that during the second quarter of 2026, the company produced 1.57 million hl of products worth UAH 5.933 billion (all amounts are stated inclusive of excise tax and exclusive of VAT), of which: beer – 1.217 million hl worth UAH 4.899 billion (83% of total production); cider—0.052 million hl worth 0.279 billion UAH (5%); and non-alcoholic beverages—0.301 million hl worth 0.754 billion UAH (13% of total production). In the second quarter of 2026, production volumes decreased by 0.7% compared to the same period last year
According to the results of the second quarter of 2026, the company spent 0.84 million UAH on innovation, and these expenses were related to the implementation of a new marketing concept and strategy for new and existing products: the development of a new brand, the creation of new flavors, and changes to product design and packaging, which give the products a unique look and help attract a new group of customers, the document states.
According to the document, cash and cash equivalents for the first half of the year decreased by 26.1% to 6.348 billion UAH, while current financial investments rose to 3.338 billion UAH from zero at the beginning of the year, as the company received 6.515 billion UAH from the sale of debt instruments last year.
Investments in fixed assets rose in the first half of this year to 469.8 million UAH, compared to 282.1 million UAH in the first half of last year.
According to the report, Carlsberg Ukraine’s total market share in the alcoholic beer category, based on production data from the Ukrpivo association for the second quarter of 2026, was 29.8%. Products under the Lvivske, S&R’s Garage, and Kronenbourg brands remain the sales leaders in the group’s portfolio, while Somersby cider and “Kvas Taras” continue to hold leading positions in their respective product categories.
As noted in the management’s interim report, in the first half of 2026, the company exported products to 25 countries, with exports accounting for 6% of total sales. The main export markets were Germany, Poland, and the United States, with the “Lvivske,” “Arsenal,” and “Kvas Taras” brands seeing the highest demand abroad.
PJSC “Carlsberg Ukraine” is part of the Carlsberg Group and owns three breweries in Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Lviv. Its brand portfolio includes “Lvivske,” Carlsberg, Kronenbourg 1664, “Kvas Taras,” Somersby, Battery, and others.
The company’s net profit in 2025 amounted to 1 billion 807.64 million UAH, in 2024 – 2 billion 181.69 million UAH, and in 2023—1.8275 billion UAH, while revenue was 12.16757 billion UAH, 12.4882 billion UAH, and 10.8121 billion UAH, respectively. Retained earnings as of the end of 2025 totaled 9.3067 billion UAH.
Pharmacy sales of drugs in Ukraine from January through June 2026 increased by 19.52% in monetary terms compared to the same period last year, reaching nearly 97.918 billion UAH.
According to a report by Business Credit to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing research findings, sales of medicines in volume terms also rose—by 4.9%, to nearly 418.711 million packages.
The weighted average retail price of pharmaceuticals for the first half of the year was 233.85 UAH per package, which is 13.96% higher than the figure for January–June 2025.
Thus, the pharmaceutical segment demonstrated growth not only due to higher prices but also thanks to an increase in the number of packages sold. This distinguishes it from the pharmacy market as a whole, where sales in physical terms declined by 5.8% over the six-month period.
In the first quarter of 2026, pharmaceutical sales rose by 13.9% in monetary terms—to over 48.426 billion UAH—and by 4.85% in volume terms—to nearly 211.947 million packages.
In 2025, Ukrainian pharmacies sold medicines worth 170.318 billion UAH, which is 12.79% more than the previous year. The volume of sales then decreased by 0.2% to 808.546 million packages.
The cost of water supply in Ukraine in July 2026 rose by 31.9% compared to June, while the cost of sewer services rose by 29.8%, according to data from the State Statistics Service. On a year-over-year basis, water supply prices rose by 52.1%, and sewerage services by 48.8%. A similar increase was recorded compared to December 2025.
As a result, the entire “housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels” group rose in price by 1.6% month-over-month in July and by 4.5% compared to July of last year.
The cost of garbage collection rose by 5.1% month-over-month and by 16.2% year-over-year. Maintenance of buildings and surrounding areas rose by 5.8% year-over-year.
At the same time, the statistical cost of electricity, natural gas, hot water, and heating in July remained unchanged both compared to June and year-over-year.
Thus, the July spike in the utility component was primarily due to a sharp increase in the cost of water supply and sewer services.
sewer services, State Statistics Service, TARIFF, utilities, WATER SUPPLY
China’s total overseas direct investment (ODI) in the first half of the year increased by 3.8% compared to the same period last year, reaching 596.42 billion yuan ($86.5 billion), according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Chinese investors made non-financial ODI totaling 453.06 billion yuan in approximately 6,870 companies across 144 countries and regions, China Daily reported, citing data from the agencies. Of this total, investments in countries along the “Belt and Road” amounted to 120.77 billion yuan, down 11.1% from the January–June 2025 period.
The value of overseas contracting work completed by Chinese companies in the first half of the year increased by 8% to 606.26 billion yuan. In Belt and Road participating countries, this figure rose by 11.8% to 520.71 billion yuan.
