According to Serbian Economist, Montenegro’s state-owned energy company Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) has announced the installation of Europe’s largest wind turbine at the Gvozd wind farm, which is currently under construction, marking the project’s transition to its final phase, Montenegrin media reported, citing a statement from the company.
According to EPCG, the first 7 MW wind turbine with a tower height of about 120 m and blades 85 m long has been successfully installed at the Gvozd wind farm site. The company specified that upon completion of pre-installation work and equipment delivery in the coming weeks, the accelerated installation of the remaining units will begin, followed by trial operation and final technical testing of the entire complex.
EPCG notes that the Gvoz wind farm should significantly improve the stability and reliability of Montenegro’s energy system, increase the share of renewable sources in the generation structure and further strengthen the country’s position as one of the regional leaders in green energy transformation. The project is being implemented in accordance with European technical, environmental and safety standards.
EPCG Chairman of the Board Milutin Djukanovic said that the installation of the largest wind turbine in Europe confirms Montenegro’s ability to implement projects comparable in scale and technology to the most advanced energy systems in the EU.
EPCG previously reported that upon completion, the Gvozde wind farm will generate approximately 150 GWh of electricity per year, which will cover the consumption of about 25,000 households without the use of subsidies from the state budget.
Rudomain LLC (Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region), which is engaged in the extraction of iron ore, increased its net loss to UAH 223.561 million in 2024, up from UAH 76.229 million in 2023.
According to the company’s annual report, which is available to Interfax-Ukraine, the financial result from operating activities decreased by UAH 154.65 million, mainly due to an increase in the cost of sales and selling expenses.
Revenue for the year increased by 18.1% to UAH 2 billion 707.986 million.
Retained earnings at the end of 2024 amounted to UAH 1 billion 796.098 million.
According to the report, the company’s total sales of all types of ore in 2024 amounted to 1 million 280.27 thousand tons, which is 174.88 thousand tons more than in 2023. In particular, 757.54 thousand tons of iron ore were sold. In 2024, the structure of sales by country did not change significantly: buyers from Austria accounted for more than 80% of sales, while the share of sales in Ukraine was 6.48%.
Rudomain LLC was registered in May 2010. Its main activity is the extraction of iron ore. As of the end of 2020, two enrichment plants were launched and operating here. The production capacity of the enterprise was up to 4 million tons of raw materials. The production of finished products with an Fe content of 50-59% (fraction 0-10 mm) amounted to about 1.5 million tons per year. The company produces the following types of iron ore: sinter ore, blast furnace ore, raw ore, and iron ore.
Since 2010, Rudomain has processed more than 20 million tons of substandard ore from the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin. Between 2020 and 2024, it increased its fleet of excavators by 21 units, drilling rigs by 2 units, crawler bulldozers by 6 units, wheeled bulldozers by 1 unit, and 3 motor graders, and 13 wheel loaders. In addition, it carried out major repairs of locomotives and purchased modern manipulators and dispensers for forming cargo in railway cars.
The number of full-time employees at the end of 2024 was 1,105.
The company has special permits for iron ore mining No. 6236 dated December 8, 2017, issued for plot No. 2 of the Pivdenny quarry with an area of 24.2 hectares, and No. 6511 dated May 25, 2021, issued for the expansion of plot No. 2 of the Pivdenny quarry with an area of 35.2 hectares. The special permits are valid until December 2037.
As of December 31, 2024, the sole participant in Rudomain LLC is ARDK Mining Asset Management Holding Ltd (Cyprus). The ultimate beneficial owner is Kostyantyn Karamanits. Type of beneficial ownership: indirect decisive influence, percentage of share capital in the legal entity 70%.
As of December 31, 2024, Rudomain LLC owns a 33.9% share in the authorized capital of Football Club Hirnyk LLC and 100% in the authorized capital of its subsidiary, Dolinsky Mining and Processing Plant LLC.
The authorized capital of Rudomain LLC is UAH 21.907 million, and the value of one share is UAH 0.01.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science has announced competitions to fill rector positions at three more universities in Sumy and Zhytomyr.
According to the ministry, competitions have been announced for the positions of rector of the A. S. Makarenko Sumy State Pedagogical University, Sumy State University, and Polissya National University.
It is noted that Ukrainian citizens who are proficient in the state language in accordance with the level determined by the National Commission for State Language Standards (fluent command of the state language of the first or second degree), have an academic title and degree, and at least ten years of experience in scientific and pedagogical positions are eligible to participate in the competitions.
The deadline for submitting applications is two months from the date of publication of the announcement on the official website of the Ministry of Education.
As reported, on 3 September, the Ministry of Education cancelled the competition for the position of rector of the Kyiv National University of Technology and Design (KNUTD) due to a lack of candidates.
In October-November, the Ministry of Education announced competitions to fill the positions of rectors at 11 universities in Odesa, Vinnytsia, Kropyvnytskyi, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv, in particular: Odessa State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kharkiv National Economic University named after Semen Kuznets, National Technical University ‘Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute’, Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after G. S. Skovoroda, National University of Food Technologies, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Vinnytsia National Technical University, Vinnitsa State Pedagogical University named after Mikhail Kotsyubinsky, Kharkiv National Automobile and Road University, Central Ukrainian National Technical University, and Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.
The cryptocurrency market is starting December on a downward note: Bitcoin and leading altcoins are showing a sharp decline amid global market volatility and local shocks in the DeFi sector.
What is happening on December 1
According to CoinMarketCap and other analytical platforms, the total capitalization of the crypto market fell to approximately $2.9–3.0 trillion on December 1, losing about 5% over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin (BTC): trading in the $86,000–87,000 range, with a daily decline of about 4–5%; during the day, the price fell to a low of about $85,500, while the day before it fluctuated around $90,000.
Ethereum (ETH):
remains in the $2,800–2,850 range, with a daily decline of 5–6%, while the coin has already retreated by almost a quarter from its recent local highs in November.
Among the major altcoins, the following are suffering the most:
BNB – around $825–830 (down ~5%),
Solana (SOL) – around $126–127 (down ~7%),
XRP – around $2.0–2.05 (down ~7%).
Speculative memecoins (SHIB, PEPE, BONK, WIF, etc.) are losing 6% to 10–13% per day, which fits the traditional scenario: the riskiest assets fall faster than the market in phases of sharp risk aversion.
Analytical reports from the largest crypto exchanges and specialized media highlight several key factors behind today’s pullback.
1. Liquidation of leveraged positions in a thin weekend market
Decreased liquidity over the weekend and at the beginning of the week allowed relatively small orders to push the price of Bitcoin down by several thousand dollars in a matter of minutes.
This triggered a cascade of liquidations of overleveraged long positions on futures platforms — estimates suggest that the volume of forced long closures exceeded $600–700 million in a few hours.
2. Exploit in DeFi and growing nervousness about security
In the decentralized finance sector, there was an incident with the Yearn Finance protocol’s yETH pool: the leak was relatively small by market standards, but it came at a “delicate” time and reinforced mistrust of complex income-generating products.
Some participants used this as an excuse to reduce their positions in riskier tokens and DeFi assets.
3. Macrofon: Japan, the Fed, and a general reassessment of risk
At the same time, investors are awaiting the US Fed meeting on December 9–10: futures markets are pricing in a high probability of a rate cut, but uncertainty surrounding the pace of policy easing is keeping nerves on edge.
4. ETF fund flows and profit-taking by large players
After months of active inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, November saw a wave of net outflows worth billions of dollars, which spurred sales.
On-chain data and derivatives show that large holders (whales) are gradually hedging their risks or reducing their longs, while retail investors entered the market late in the bullish momentum.
Additionally, new regulatory initiatives are weighing on sentiment, in particular Japan’s plan to impose a flat 20% tax on cryptocurrency income, which makes the market more “similar” to the traditional one, but at the same time reduces its attractiveness for some speculators.
A separate technical signal: according to CoinDesk, on the monthly Bitcoin chart, the MACD indicator has turned red for the first time in a long time, which in previous cycles was accompanied by either protracted corrections or the formation of a medium-term bearish trend.
What does this mean for the market now?
According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin’s dominance in market capitalization remains at around 58-59%, and the “altcoin season” index remains in the “Bitcoin season” zone, meaning that altcoins have been lagging behind BTC on average in recent months.
PrJSC “Food Company ‘Podillya’”, which is part of the “Ukrprominvest-Agro” (UPI AGRO) group of companies, will allocate part of its undistributed profit in the amount of UAH 600 million to pay dividends based on its performance for the first three quarters of 2025.
According to a report in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the sole shareholder of Ukrprominvest-Agro has decided to carry out a partial distribution and payment of dividends from the company’s undistributed net profit for the first three quarters of 2025 in the amount of UAH 600 million, calculated at UAH 60,000 per ordinary share.
The shareholder ordered to compile a list of persons entitled to receive dividends by October 28, 2025, and to pay dividends directly to them within 6 months from the date of the decision, i.e., by April 30, 2026.
The NSSMC also announced that, by decision of the sole shareholder for 2023, shareholders of PJSC “Food Company ”Podillya” will be paid UAH 600 million in dividends based on the calculation for 2023.
PrJSC “Food Company ‘Podillya’ is part of the agricultural holding ”Ukrprominvest-Agro.” The company owns a land bank of 51,000 hectares. It specializes in growing sugar beets, wheat, corn, barley, as well as pig breeding (21,000 heads) and keeps 3,000 head of cattle. It has a grain storage facility with a capacity of about 60,000 tons. The company employs 5,500 people.
Ukrprominvest-Agro is engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops, the production of sugar, flour, meat, and dairy farming. The group’s land bank exceeds 116,500 hectares. The agricultural holding is located mainly in regions that have not been invaded by Russian occupiers.
The group’s sugar business is represented by two sugar factories in the Vinnytsia region. The total elevator capacity for storing agricultural crops is 120,000 tons.
Ukrprominvest-Agro includes Agroprodinvest Group LLC, PK Podillya PJSC, PK Zorya Podillya LLC, Vinnytsia Bread Products Plant No. 2 LLC, Dniproagrolan AF, Ivankivtsi AF, Mas-Agro LLC, Pravoberezhne LLC, and Progress-NT LLC.
Since December 2019, the owner of the agricultural holding has been Oleksiy Poroshenko, the son of the former president of Ukraine.
PrJSC Podillya will pay UAH 600 million in dividends for the first three quarters of 2025
The plastic and reconstructive surgery sector is becoming one of the notable drivers of private medicine and the regional economy in Ukraine, despite the war. This is evidenced by global industry data and infrastructure projects being implemented in the country, according to plastic surgeon and founder of the Lita Plus clinic, Sergey Derbak.
According to the ISAPS Global Survey 2023, more than 33 million aesthetic procedures are performed worldwide each year, and the global market for plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine in 2024 is estimated at approximately $67 billion, with growth rates of 28-30% per year. Turkey’s industry revenue from medical tourism in the plastic surgery segment alone reaches $2-3 billion annually, and the industry as a whole creates more than 1 million jobs in related sectors, from transportation and hotels to pharmaceuticals and logistics.
“Plastic surgery is no longer a narrow medical specialization. It is now a full-fledged industry that creates jobs, generates tax revenues, develops regions, and returns money to the country’s economy,” Derbak noted.
According to him, Ukrainian plastic surgeons maintain a high level of trust among patients and the professional community, speak at international conferences, and work according to international protocols, while the cost of operations in Ukraine is 2–4 times lower than in the Czech Republic, Austria, or Germany. This contributes to the gradual return of patients who had surgery abroad in the early years of the war.
The expert also pointed out the potential of Transcarpathia as a future medical hub. The construction of the high-tech Lita Plus plastic surgery center, designed according to the logic of leading European medical centers, is nearing completion in Uzhhorod.
“Transcarpathia has the potential to become a powerful medical hub thanks to its logistics, proximity to the EU, and environment for recovery. We are building a clinic that will be able to accept patients from all over Ukraine and abroad. This means new jobs, satellite businesses, and a sustainable economic effect for the region,” said Derbak.
According to his estimates, a large specialized plastic surgery clinic can create 80-120 jobs in the first stage — from doctors, anesthesiologists, and medical staff to administrators, logisticians, and service providers — and ensure stable tax revenues by operating in the “white” sector. Additional economic benefits come from patients and their companions spending money on hotels, transportation, restaurants, rehabilitation, beauty services, and pharmaceuticals.
“After moving the clinic to Uzhhorod, we have already created dozens of jobs, including for local residents. Some of the specialists are doctors whom we have trained at our own facility. We are investing not only in buildings and equipment, but also in the development of human resources in the region,” emphasized the founder of Lita Plus.
The expert considers it realistic that Ukraine will be able to occupy the niche of a medical hub in Eastern Europe between Turkey and the EU countries in the medium term, provided that a network of high-tech private clinics is developed, price competitiveness is maintained, investments are made in logistics, and medical tourism is systematically promoted.
According to him, new projects in private medicine are not only the opening of another clinic, but also a signal of the beginning of a new stage in the development of Ukraine’s “medical economy,” where plastic and aesthetic surgery is becoming a separate economic resource—a source of jobs, taxes, investments, and the return of patients and funds that previously went abroad.
