The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed an agreement with PJSC Ukrhydroenergo to provide a €75 million loan to finance the project “Modernization and restoration of hydroelectric power plant generation facilities,” the company said.
“The loan financing is supported by a European Union guarantee under the Ukraine Investment Framework, an instrument for mobilizing financing for Ukraine’s recovery and long-term growth,” the company said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to the statement, the financing package also includes investment grants from international donors amounting to EUR 20 million.
“The estimated total cost of the project, including Ukrhydroenergo’s own contribution, is approximately EUR 120 million,” the company concluded.
According to the chairman of the supervisory board, Valentin Gvozdiy, attracting EBRD financing under the EU guarantee is an important confirmation of the confidence of international partners in Ukrhydroenergo and the quality of the company’s corporate governance.
“The project will strengthen the reliability of hydroelectric power plants and, accordingly, the stability of Ukraine’s energy system,” he said.
As noted in the statement, the project funds are planned to be used, in particular, to purchase critically needed equipment for certain hydroelectric power plants of the company, such as hydraulic power equipment damaged as a result of Russia’s military aggression, hydromechanical equipment for modernization, and equipment for responding to emergencies in conditions of martial law (emergency assistance mechanism).
As noted by Bogdan Sukhetsky, acting director general of Ukrhydroenergo, the funding will enable the timely purchase and implementation of critically needed equipment, as well as the creation of a reserve for rapid response to emergencies.
“The availability of these funds is important for maintaining the continuous operation of the enterprise and fulfilling production tasks in difficult conditions,” he stressed.
The project also includes programs to improve the qualifications of engineering personnel, enhance ESG practices, and prepare an action plan for gender equality. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030.
The National Bank of Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Motor Bank, fining it UAH 3.0 million.
According to the regulator, the bank violated the requirements of the legislation in the field of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing, in particular, in terms of proper customer verification and the application of a risk-based approach.
In December 2025, Ukraine significantly increased its electricity imports – by 54% compared to the previous month, to 639.5 thousand MWh, which was the highest figure since July 2024, the DIXI Group analytical center reported on its website on Wednesday, citing data from Energy Map.
“The increase in imports occurred against the backdrop of a deterioration in the power grid due to massive attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure and seasonal growth in consumption,” the center said.
During December, Russia carried out four massive attacks, targeting electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities. In particular, the attacks on December 6 and 23 led to a forced reduction in the generation of nuclear power plants, which provide more than half of Ukraine’s total electricity production. An additional factor contributing to the increased load on the power system was a significant drop in air temperature throughout the country, which led to an increase in energy consumption.
According to Energy Map, the increase in supply volumes was usually recorded the day after or two days after the shelling, during a period of reduced available generation and growing power shortages. Thus, after the attack on December 6, imports increased to 21.3 thousand MWh on December 7 (+18%) and to 32.6 thousand MWh on December 8 (+81%). A similar trend was observed after other massive strikes that took place on December 13, 23, and 27.
In December, Hungary accounted for the largest share of imports – 41%. Slovakia accounted for 21%, Romania and Poland for 18% each, and Moldova for 2%.
In December, the maximum transmission capacity of inter-state crossings for electricity imports increased from 2.1 GW to 2.3 GW. On average, the available transmission capacity was used at 37.4% during the month.
“Thus, December 2025 was the third consecutive month that Ukraine ended as a net importer of electricity,” DIXI Group emphasized.
On the other hand, Ukraine did not export electricity in December. The last time zero export volumes were recorded was in August 2024.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing OTP Leasing with an unsecured loan in local currency equivalent to up to EUR 20 million to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine.
“The financing will help strengthen the competitiveness, resilience, and inclusiveness of Ukrainian MSMEs by expanding access to leasing products in conditions of liquidity shortages and heightened economic uncertainty,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday following the signing of the necessary documents.
It is noted that 50% of the loan funds are planned to be directed to MSMEs for long-term investments in technologies that meet European Union (EU) standards, in particular “green” technologies, and the financing should enable enterprises to obtain transport, equipment, and machinery without significant initial capital expenditures at a time when liquidity remains limited due to war factors.
Upon completion of the investment projects, borrowers who meet the program criteria will receive EU-funded technical assistance and US-funded investment incentives under the EU4Business initiative.
Additional grants are available for businesses that have suffered destruction, loss of assets, or forced displacement, as well as for companies that promote the reintegration of veterans, persons with disabilities, and IDPs, and for MSMEs that have relocated or operate in affected regions, with support also extending to businesses led by women and young people.
The loan will be supported by an interest rate subsidy of up to 10% from the US through the EBRD’s SME Special Fund.
According to the EBRD, the company is its current client and a leading leasing company in Ukraine, providing financial leasing and fleet management services to corporate clients and MSMEs throughout the country.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the EBRD has raised more than EUR 9.1 billion for Ukraine, including EUR 3.3 billion through partner financial institutions.
OTP Leasing is a non-bank financial institution subsidiary of Hungary’s OTP Bank, which has been working with the EBRD for many years.
In the third quarter of 2025, the company’s revenue increased by 7.3% compared to the third quarter of 2024, to UAH 1 billion 242.3 million, while net profit almost doubled, to UAH 808.0 million.
EBRD, FINANCING, LOAN, OTP LEASING, SMES
In December 2025, the state-owned Oschadbank was fined UAH 5.5 million by the National Bank of Ukraine for violating financial monitoring legislation.
As noted by the regulator, the violations identified concerned the application of a risk-based approach and proper customer verification in the area of AML/CFT. In addition, the NBU issued a written warning to the bank.
Vodafone Ukraine (VFU), Ukraine’s second-largest mobile operator, which repurchased its own Eurobonds worth approximately $18.9 million at the end of May following several offers in connection with the payment of dividends, has announced another similar tender at a price of 98% of the nominal value for a total amount of $1.475 million.
As noted in a statement on the Irish Stock Exchange on Wednesday, on January 2, the company made another monthly dividend payment of UAH 49.315 million, which is equivalent to the monthly ceiling of EUR 1 million set by the National Bank.
Applications for participation in the tender will be accepted until January 21 inclusive, and settlements are planned for January 28.
Bonds maturing in February 2027 with a nominal rate of 9.625% per annum were issued for $300 million. Their redemption is related to the fact that on April 24, 2025, VFU announced the accrual of dividends to its shareholder in the amount of UAH 660.245 million ($15.9 million at the exchange rate specified in the announcement) for 2024. According to the restrictions of the National Bank, they will be paid in separate monthly payments. Each such monthly dividend is expected to amount to UAH 1 million. The company emphasized that under the terms of the bond issue, in this case, it must offer all bondholders to submit an application for their sale for an amount equal to the amount of dividends paid outside Ukraine.
In the first two tenders, mobile operator Vodafone Ukraine repurchased bonds for an amount equivalent to EUR 1 million. The debut repurchase was announced at a price of 99% of the nominal value, the second at 90% of the nominal value. The company did not announce the results of the second buyback on the stock exchange, while the scaling factor for the first buyback was 0.0040355668.
Following the results of the third tender, where the redemption price was reduced to 85% of the nominal value and the offer was limited to $4.67 million, Vodafone Ukraine received bids for $53.395 million and satisfied them in the amount of $5.208 million. The scaling factor was 0.1315451889487317.
The fourth tender was announced on August 13, but was then extended seven times. As a result, the redemption price was increased from 85% to 98%, and the redemption amount to $10.84 million. The company received bids for $127.14 million for this amount. Some of the bonds were returned to their owners due to the impossibility of splitting the nominal value, and the rest were accepted with a scaling factor of 0.1150681.
Finally, at the fifth bond redemption tender in December, where the price was again 98%, Vodafone Ukraine received high demand, which exceeded the offer of $1 million 164.7 thousand by more than 50 times. The scaling factor was set at 0.01901.
In total, according to the results of five tenders, the total nominal value of bonds remaining in circulation is $280 million 614.93 thousand.
As reported, mobile operator VFU increased its net profit by 10.7% to UAH 3 billion 446.80 million and its revenue by 13.3% to UAH 19.03 billion in the first nine months of this year.
The report noted that in order to service and redeem Eurobonds, the company received loans from related parties in 2025. In February, the parent company Telco Investments B.V. provided $49.59 million for partial repayment of the Eurobond debt. In June, an agreement was signed with Telco Investments for a dollar credit line in the amount equivalent to UAH 660 million, at 10% per annum, maturing in 2028.
Finally, in July 2025, a loan agreement was signed with the Dutch company Cemin B.V. for $10 million at 10% per annum, with a repayment date no later than the end of 2027, but not earlier than the maturity of the Eurobonds. The funds are credited in tranches to the company’s bank account in a foreign bank and are to be used to redeem bonds, which Vodafone Ukraine is doing in connection with the resumption of dividend payments this year.
