The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in cooperation with Ukraine, is working to improve corporate governance in all state-owned enterprises, not just selected ones. This work includes transparency in the formation of supervisory boards, improving the efficiency of the decision-making process, and transparency, as reflected in the new four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, said Suchanan Tambunleurtchai, Deputy Head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine.
“One of the commitments made by the authorities is to start publishing the financial statements of key state-owned enterprises in order to make these key performance indicators available to the public so that the public and other stakeholders can also assess the performance of these state-owned enterprises,” she said at a briefing on Friday.
At the same time, Tambunleurtchai clarified that the IMF does not have specific quantitative targets for state-owned enterprises under the program.
According to Ukraine’s economic and financial policy memorandum published by the Fund on Friday, the publication of financial statements of leading state-owned enterprises in accordance with IFRS standards will resume by the end of June 2026, with appropriate edits to protect critical infrastructure and an extended publication period of up to one year.
“We will introduce mandatory annual financial audits for leading state-owned enterprises, for which adequate funding will be provided, by making appropriate legislative changes if necessary. We will ensure the publication of audit reports, starting with the 2025 financial audits, by the end of August 2026,” the memorandum also states.
By the end of June 2026, the development of an annual report for state-owned enterprises will also begin in accordance with the requirements of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which will be appropriately expanded to include information on the financial performance of leading state-owned enterprises using a common set of indicators, payments to the state budget and fiscal support, specific PSO obligations, and quasi-fiscal activities of each enterprise. Such a report will be published annually, starting at the end of September 2026 for 2025, and will be gradually expanded to cover more state-owned enterprises.
In addition, Ukraine has committed to ensuring the publication of financial statements reflecting the separation of PSO-related and non-PSO-related activities for all state-owned enterprises subject to PSOs by the end of June 2027.
“We will amend the State Property Policy and the Law ”On Joint Stock Companies” (2465-IX) to provide that all charters of state-owned enterprises require a simple majority of votes for supervisory board decisions, except for the approval of the strategic development plan, and we will avoid provisions allowing veto or dominant majority requirements by the end of June 2026,” the memorandum also states.
According to the memorandum, all nominations and dismissals of CEOs of state-owned enterprises will be decided by a simple majority vote of the supervisory boards, with corresponding amendments to the charter, if necessary.
“We will ensure that a comprehensive financial audit, compliance audit, and performance audit for all non-defense state-owned enterprises by reputable independent auditors is initiated by the end of June 2026,” the document states.
Another commitment is to publish a revised State Ownership Policy by the end of May 2026, which will more closely align with the OECD Guidelines for Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, as recommended in the 2025 OECD Review.
The government also noted that, in close consultation with international partners, it is exploring options for improving the management of state-owned enterprises, which also includes the potential introduction of a centralized model. This involves, in particular, defining the roles and mandates of key state institutions involved in the management of state-owned enterprises, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, the Cabinet of Ministers, other relevant sectoral ministries, and the State Property Fund (SPF).
“We will ensure a strong role for the Ministry of Finance as the body responsible for financial oversight of state-owned enterprises, limit quasi-fiscal risks, and help protect debt sustainability. It is important that any new system of state-owned enterprise management should not erode the government’s authority over dividend policy, ensuring that dividends from state-owned enterprises are directed to the state budget and reported transparently to ensure accountability and oversight,” the memorandum also notes.
Overall, the ultimate goal of centralizing state-owned enterprise ownership should be to professionalize the state’s ownership function, and any centralized management system should operate with caution, the memorandum says.
“This should be based on a clear legal mandate, ensure proper oversight by the Ministry of Finance and fiscal transparency, include reliable safeguards against political interference to ensure professional merit-based management, and require strict, internationally agreed reporting and accountability,” the memorandum emphasizes.
The gap in defense spending is extremely large: in 2024, the US spent about $997 billion, Israel about $46.5 billion, and Iran about $7.9 billion (SIPRI estimate).
The picture is different when it comes to human resources: the US has an active armed forces strength of around 1.32 million (estimate for 2025), Israel has regular forces of around 169,000 with extensive reliance on reserves, and Iran has around 610,000 active personnel (estimates citing IISS).
The key difference lies in “projection of force” and technological structure. The US remains the only country with a comparable set of tools for a long-term campaign far from its own territory, including a fleet of 11 nuclear aircraft carriers and supply, intelligence, and refueling infrastructure.
Israel, with significantly fewer resources, compensates for this with the quality of its air force and layered air defense and missile defense systems. In particular, Israel operates and is expanding its fleet of F-35Is (Adir), and its defense architecture includes Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the upper echelon Arrow (Arrow-3).
Iran, in turn, is betting on asymmetric responses: missile and drone capabilities, distributed infrastructure, IRGC forces, and pressure through a network of allied non-state actors. According to US estimates, Iran has the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles in the Middle East; some reports also note long-term plans to develop long-range systems.
Finally, the “nuclear factor” works differently for the participants. SIPRI lists Israel as one of nine states possessing nuclear weapons (in the absence of official confirmation from Tel Aviv), while Iran does not officially possess nuclear weapons, and there is controversy over the scope and control regime of its nuclear program.
Personnel
Iran: approximately 610,000 active personnel, approximately 350,000 reservists (IISS estimate, Military Balance 2025).
Israel: 169,500 active personnel and 465,000 reservists (IISS, Military Balance 2023, according to Al Jazeera).
United States: total “authorized strength” for FY2026 – over 1.3 million (Army 454,000, Navy 334,600, Air Force 320,000, Marine Corps 172,300, Space Force 10,400, Coast Guard 50,000).
Conclusion based on “simple arithmetic”: the US has approximately 2.2 times more active personnel than Iran, and the US plus Israel have approximately 2.5 times more (but it is important to note that the US “theatrically available” force in the region is usually significantly smaller than the total number).
Land forces: tanks and artillery
Tanks: Iran – more than 1,500 main battle tanks; Israel – 2,200+ tanks.
The ratio of Israel to Iran is about 1.5:1 in terms of numbers.
Artillery systems: Iran – nearly 7,000 artillery systems (from towed guns to MLRS); Israel – 530 artillery systems (including self-propelled, towed, MLRS, and mortars in one summary).
In terms of the number of artillery systems, Iran appears to be significantly “heavier” (about 13:1), but this does not equate to an advantage in accuracy, reconnaissance, and counter-battery warfare.
In public reports, the US often cites not “all tanks in storage” but the structure of combat brigades: the US Army has 11 armored brigades (ABCT) in active service and 5 in the National Guard; each ABCT has 87 Abrams tanks. This gives a total of 1,392 Abrams tanks in the ABCT (not counting other places of service and reserves).
Aviation: a key advantage for the US
Iran: about 250 combat-ready aircraft (IISS).
Israel: 339 combat-ready aircraft, including 309 fighters/attack aircraft (the summary also provides the structure of the F-16, F-15, and F-35 fleet).
US: US Air Force alone (excluding Navy carrier-based aircraft and Marine Corps aircraft) – 2,027 fighter/attack aircraft in Total Force and 1,430 in Active Force; total Air Force fleet (Total Force) – 5,003 aircraft as of the end of FY2024.
In terms of combat aircraft, this means that the US Air Force’s fighter/attack class is approximately eight times greater than Iran’s estimated combat-capable aircraft, and Israel’s is approximately 35-40% greater than Iran’s in the same combat-capable category.
Navy: US – ocean power, Iran – betting on asymmetry
According to IISS estimates, Iran is building its maritime strategy around asymmetry – mines, anti-ship missiles, speedboats, and small submarines. It is separately noted that the Iranian Navy has more than 100 small high-speed attack boats.
The US has a different “base”: the size of its battle force is 293 ships as of October 1, 2025, and the minimum number of “at least 11 active aircraft carriers” is enshrined in law.
The US submarine component (official Navy fact files): approximately 24 Los Angeles-class submarines in service, 3 Seawolf-class and 24 Virginia-class, plus 14 Ohio-class strategic SSBNs; it is separately noted that 4 SSBNs have been converted to SSGNs.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry urges citizens to refrain from traveling to Israel and Iran due to the escalating security situation in the Middle East and the threat of missile attacks.
This was reported by the Consular Service Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Facebook on Saturday.
Due to the escalating security situation in the Middle East and the threat of missile attacks, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recommends that Ukrainian citizens refrain from traveling to Israel until the situation stabilizes. It also reminds citizens of the current recommendation to leave Iran, which was announced in early January.
Citizens who are already in countries in the region are advised to remain vigilant, closely follow official reports, and always carry identification documents with them.
The top of the ITCI-2025 ranking is once again dominated by countries with the most “neutral” tax structures: Estonia is in first place, Latvia is in second, and Lithuania is in fifth (plus Hungary in ninth and the Czech Republic in tenth).
The Tax Foundation notes that Estonia’s leadership is supported by four elements: a 20% corporate tax levied only on distributed profits; a flat income tax of 20% (without taxation of personal dividends in the same format); a property tax focused on land value; the territorial principle of taxation of foreign income applies.
Latvia has “caught up” thanks to the introduction of a corporate income tax model similar to Estonia’s and relatively effective labor taxation. Lithuania stands out with its low corporate tax rate (17%) and strong capital cost recovery rules.
More than 15% of Ukrainians noticed that the cost of medicines increased by more than 50% during 2024-2025, while 52% of Ukrainians noted a 20%-50% increase in the cost of medicines.
According to Alexander Pozniy, director of the research company Active Group, this is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Active Group and the Experts Club analytical center in early February and presented to Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.
Pozniy noted that a third of those surveyed said that medicine prices had remained almost unchanged, while 2.6% said that they had even decreased.
“In general, it can be noted that the cost of medicines has risen quite significantly, and this is noted by almost the absolute majority (of respondents),” he said, explaining that medicines account for about 10-20% of the household budget, which is why the price increase is so noticeable.
Pozniy noted that, according to the survey, when buying medicines, 25% of Ukrainians pay attention to price, while 24.5% pay attention to effectiveness.
“That is, slightly more than half pay attention to the combination of price and effectiveness of the selected medicines. Therefore, people try to find the optimal combination that would provide the best effect and the least financial burden in terms of treatment,” he said.
In addition, Pozniy said that 28.4% of respondents prefer Ukrainian medicines, while 33.4% prefer imported ones. For 38% of respondents, the country of origin of the drugs does not matter.
According to the results, 31.4% of respondents believe that using electronic prescriptions is very convenient, 44% believe it is somewhat convenient, 18.7% believe it is somewhat inconvenient, and only 5.9% believe it is very inconvenient.
For his part, Maksim Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center, noted that the price of medicines is a key factor for Ukrainian citizens.
“Against this backdrop, it is particularly important how state mechanisms for reimbursement and compensation for the cost of medicines work. There is a state reimbursement program, but only 13% of Ukrainians use it. Therefore, reimbursement needs to be promoted among citizens,” he said.
The survey was conducted on the SunFlowerSociology online panel using a representative sample on February 11-12, 2026. The survey involved 1,000 respondents from a representative sample in all regions of Ukraine, except for the temporarily occupied territories.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, MEDICINE, Pozniy, REFORM, URAKIN
Home appliances and electronics retailer Comfy (Comfy Trade LLC) reported an increase in revenue to UAH 55.8 billion at the end of 2025, which is 17% more than in 2024.
According to the company’s press release, the total number of customers in the chain grew by 8% to over 12.4 million. Online sales accounted for 33% of total revenue, while online sales made through the retailer’s app grew to 25%.
It is noted that last year the company continued to invest in an omnichannel customer experience, service personalization, and digital product development. At the end of the year, the NPS customer loyalty index was 65%, and the SCI service satisfaction index reached 95%.
The Black Friday period last year is mentioned separately, as it was one of the most successful in the company’s history. Revenue for the week during which the promotion was running increased by 12% year-on-year, the number of orders grew by 15%, and the average check increased by 5%. At the same time, during Black Friday week, Comfy ranked first in Google search results for home appliances and electronics, the retailer notes.
In 2025, Comfy opened six new stores in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Chernivtsi, and Mukachevo, as well as renovated and reformatted three stores, focusing on barrier-free retail spaces and providing areas for online order pickup. By the end of the year, the chain had 115 stores in 56 cities across Ukraine.
It is noted that the company created more than 500 new jobs throughout Ukraine, expanding its staff to 4,640 employees.
During the year, the company paid UAH 2.3 billion in taxes and fees to the state budget.
According to YouControl, Comfy Holdings Limited (100%, Cyprus) is the owner of Comfy Trade LLC, and Stanislav Ronis and Svitlana Hutsul are the ultimate beneficiaries.
