The National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) of Moldova has approved the extension and updated conditions of the joint regional project for the transportation of natural gas along the so-called “Route 1” through the Trans-Balkan pipeline, which provides for a 50% tariff reduction for Moldova and Romania for gas supplies to Ukraine.
According to the agency, the decision was taken at the ANRE Council meeting on October 24, 2025 at the initiative of operators of gas transportation systems from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. The project is aimed at strengthening regional energy security and ensuring stable gas supplies to Ukraine.
“The Council approved the extension of the Route 1 product for six months – from November 2025 to April 2026 – as well as a 50 percent reduction in gas transportation tariffs for Vestmoldtransgaz (Moldova) and Transgaz SA (Romania) on key interconnectors,” the regulator said in its decision.
The Route 1 project envisages the use of the existing infrastructure of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline, which connects Greece-Bulgaria-Romania-Moldova-Ukraine.
Through this route Ukraine can receive gas coming from the southern direction – from LNG terminals in Greece (Revitusa, Alexandroupolis) and from Turkish storage facilities.
The reduction of the Romanian and Moldovan tariff makes supplies through this line economically more favorable and increases the flexibility of gas purchases from alternative sources.
Germany in 2025 significantly increased the number of deportations, reports Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, citing the federal government’s reply to a request from the Left Party’s parliamentary group.
From January to September 2025, 17,651 people were expelled from the Federal Republic of Germany, which is almost 3,000 more than in the same period of 2024 (14,706).
A significant share of those deported are citizens of Turkey (1,614) and Georgia (1,379). In total, 18% (3,095 people) are children and minors, and among those expelled there are also 275 people aged 60 to 70 and 54 people older than 70. By the end of 2024, the total number of deportations amounted to just over 20,000 people.
Representatives of the Left Party condemned the actions of the authorities, calling the policy “inhumane,” and noted that among those deported are students, elderly people, and the sick. According to German media, those expelled also include citizens of Eastern European countries, including Ukraine, but the exact number is not disclosed.
The procedure for deportation in Germany is regulated by the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) and is carried out by the federal states on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior. Grounds for expulsion include loss of asylum status, refusal to extend a residence permit, or recognition of a person as a threat to public security.
ALVIVA GROUP, a leading player in Ukraine’s food industry, presented its first export brand, Alviva, at the Anuga 2025 international exhibition. The exhibition, which is the largest and most influential global platform for food and beverage manufacturers, took place from October 4 to 8, 2025, in Cologne, Germany.
The launch of the Alviva brand is a logical and consistent step in the implementation of the group’s strategy aimed at systematically expanding volumes, export geography, and diversifying the export range.
Today, the new multi-category brand’s product range includes 33 products in seven categories: wafers, long-life and sugar cookies, croissants, gingerbread, sandwich and toast bread, and snacks. The brand’s assortment focuses on formats, packaging, and flavors that are in stable demand in Europe and worldwide. The brand’s portfolio will be constantly replenished with new products that meet current consumer trends and will be expanded to 100 items in 9 categories.
The brand’s products are manufactured at nine of the group’s production sites in Kyiv, Kyiv, and Poltava regions. All enterprises comply with international ISO and HACCP standards.
“Our key goal is to increase exports of finished products. Over the next five years, we plan to bring the share of exports to 25% of total production. After all, exporting finished products not only diversifies the business, but also generates foreign currency revenue, which allows us to invest in modernization, automation, and innovation. This is the key to the sustainable development of ALVIVA GROUP,” said Oleksandr Varavka, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ALVIVA GROUP. “The creation of a single export brand, Alviva, will allow us to more effectively represent our diverse range of products on international markets, strengthening the group’s position as a reliable supplier of high-quality finished products from Ukraine.”
For two years, ALVIVA GROUP has demonstrated positive export dynamics, confirming the high competitiveness of Ukrainian products. In 2024, the group exported over 3,000 tons of products. In just seven months of this year, exports of KYIVHLIB brand products amounted to over 2,000 tons, which is 33% more than in the same period last year.
The group’s products are already well known to consumers in more than 30 countries around the world and are represented both in ethnic stores and in leading European retail chains: Lidl, Maxima, RIMI, Kaufland, Globus, NORFA, Żabka, Linella, №1, Bonus, etc.
About ALVIVA GROUP:
ALVIVA GROUP is an international group of companies in the food technology and services sector, united by common management, strategy, and mission: “To promote the health and well-being of consumers by producing high-quality and delicious food products.” The group’s product portfolio includes brands that have already won the favor of consumers: KYIVHLIB, Tarta, Tendi, Norden Brod, British Sandwich, KYIVMLYN. The group’s annual cash turnover exceeds UAH 9 billion*, and its payments to the state budget in taxes and fees amount to over UAH 1.2 billion. With a staff of over 6,000 employees, ALVIVA GROUP is among the TOP 100 best employers in Ukraine and TOP business investors in education in 2022-2025, and is one of the leading players in the food industry in Ukraine. The group’s export geography covers 30 countries around the world. The group’s land bank totals over 4,000 hectares in the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. Group website: alvivagroup.com
*financial indicators for 2024
Invitation by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Group on combating bribery in Ukraine to join the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and become a full member of the relevant Working Group is recognition of the fact that Ukraine is clearly choosing a course of action to raise standards of transparency, accountability, and integrity in the interaction between business, civil society, and government.
This opinion was expressed to the Interfax-Ukraine agency by Oleksiy Shevchuk, chairman of the board of the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine.
“For us, as a professional community of lobbyists, the request from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is an important signal: the state is clearly choosing a course of action to raise standards of transparency, accountability, and integrity in the interaction between business, civil society, and government,” he said.
Shevchuk noted that “in this context, the Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine believes that business, lobbyists, and state institutions should use this combination of two reforms—anti-corruption and lobbying—as an opportunity.”
According to Shevchuk, this refers, in particular, to the opportunity to create standards of professional ethics and conduct in the field of lobbying that will meet both the requirements of the law and the expectations of international partners, as well as the opportunity to review the internal policies of companies, “especially those operating abroad or in an international context, for compliance with the requirements of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding the bribery of foreign officials.”
In addition, according to Shevchuk, such accession will “contribute to the new lobbying system becoming not only a platform for interests, but also a guarantor of good faith participation in state-building processes, creating trust in Ukraine among investors and international partners.”
“We believe that these changes should transform from a formal approach into an effective practical tool, and the Association is ready to facilitate training, code development, consultation, and monitoring. For Ukraine, this is a chance to increase competitiveness and demonstrate that we are capable of acting in accordance with the best international practices,” he said.
As reported, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery invited Ukraine to join the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and become a full member of the relevant Working Group. The basis for this process was draft law No. 11443, prepared by the parliamentary committee on law enforcement, on improving mechanisms for holding legal entities accountable for bribing foreign officials. In particular, the draft law provides for the possibility of applying special confiscation on the basis of a court decision to apply criminal law measures to a legal entity. According to the draft law, additional (non-financial) criminal law measures may be applied to a legal entity in the form of a temporary restriction on the activities of the legal entity or a temporary restriction on the acquisition of rights and/or benefits. The draft law also provides for an increase in the amount of fines imposed on legal entities as the main criminal law measure.
The volume of construction work completed in Ukraine in January-August 2025 increased by 19.5% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching UAH 140.2 billion, according to data from the State Statistics Service (Gosstat).
According to the statistics agency, over the eight months of 2025, the volume of building construction increased by 30.9%, of which residential buildings increased by 16.4%, non-residential buildings by 38.7%, and engineering structures by 11.5%.
The share of new construction in the total volume of construction work performed in January-August was 42.8%, repairs – 30.1%, reconstruction and other work – 27.1%.
According to the State Statistics Service, in January-August this year, the construction output index reached 113.1% compared to the same period last year, with the indicator standing at 109.1% in residential construction, 130.7% in non-residential construction, and 105.7% in engineering construction.
In August, the construction output index reached 124.4% compared to last year’s figure, and 87.2% compared to July 2025.
According to seasonally adjusted data from the agency, the construction output indices in August 2025 in residential construction were 61.4%, in non-residential construction – 130.4%, in engineering construction – 125.5%, and taking into account the effect of calendar days, the figures are 62.1%, 131.4%, and 128.3%, respectively.
The State Statistics Service notes that the publication of the data was delayed due to martial law.
A person’s religious or other beliefs are not grounds for exempting them from criminal liability for evading mobilization, according to the Supreme Court.
“Ukrainian legislation does not provide for exemption from the obligation to perform military service upon mobilization based on religious or other beliefs,” the Supreme Court said in a statement on its website on Monday.
The statement notes: “Such beliefs cannot be grounds for exempting a person from criminal liability in the event of evading mobilization within the meaning of Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.”
This conclusion was reached by the Joint Chamber of the Cassation Criminal Court within the Supreme Court following the consideration of case No. 573/838/24.
The Court informs that, based on the circumstances of the criminal proceedings, the courts of previous instances found the defendant guilty and convicted him under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for the fact that, being fit for military service due to his state of health, he failed to appear at the Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support (TCSPS) for referral to a military unit for the purpose of performing military service.
“In the cassation appeal, the defense attorney noted that the defendant had grounds for conscientious objection to military service, since such refusal was based on his sincere religious beliefs, incompatible with the performance of any military service, including non-armed service, as well as on his membership in the religious organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose doctrine categorically excludes the possibility of such service,” the statement said.
According to the Supreme Court, in assessing the cassation claims, the Joint Chamber noted that conscription may entail the performance of non-combat military duties that do not require the carrying and use of weapons (repair of equipment, evacuation of the wounded, construction of fortifications, etc.).
“The Joint Chamber recognized that the impossibility of refusing military service on the basis of conscience, as established by law, means that such a restriction must be applied in proportion to the objective pursued, even when defending the Fatherland from aggression,” the Court explained.
Thus, as noted in the statement, “conscription into military service does not automatically cancel the right to conscientious objection to carrying or using weapons.”
evasion, mobilization, Religious beliefs, responsibility, Ukrainian citizen
