The Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced its readiness to review and, if necessary, tighten procedures for issuing temporary residence permits to citizens of Russia and Belarus. This was announced by Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro in response to a parliamentary question about how individuals with an “unclear past” could obtain temporary residence in the country.
According to the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of January 9, 2026, there were 7,797 Russian citizens and 1,476 Belarusian citizens with temporary residence permits living in the country (a total of 9,273 people).
Taro stressed that temporary residence permits are issued “in strict accordance with the law” and include verification of compliance with the conditions and the absence of grounds for refusal, but the process remains subject to assessment “in each specific case.” The minister added that the ministry will conduct an additional assessment of the criteria and practice of issuing temporary residence permits to citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus and, if necessary, will tighten them.
At the same time, at the end of January, the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that it was preparing a bill that would prohibit Russian and Belarusian citizens without permanent/long-term resident status from purchasing real estate in Estonia, as well as restrict transactions through companies acting on their behalf, citing security concerns. The minister said he expects the law to be passed by the summer.
Spain for the first time came out on the first place in Europe on the investment attractiveness of real estate investment, according to CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026.
According to CBRE materials, in the survey (cross-boarder responses, without taking into account the choice of “home” market) Spain became the leader of expectations for total real estate returns in 2026 – “just under 50%” of respondents named it as the market with the highest expectations.
The top 10 countries in terms of expectations for aggregate returns in 2026 included Spain, the UK, Poland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Sweden.
In the ranking of the most attractive cities for cross-border investment, London retained the first place.
Next in the top five were Madrid (2nd), Warsaw (3rd), Barcelona (4th) and Milan (5th).
CBRE notes an improvement in investor sentiment: 89% of respondents expect their buying activity in 2026 to increase or remain at the same level as in 2025. Living (residential real estate) remains the most preferred segment for the second year in a row, with logistics maintaining a strong position and interest in retail and offices growing year on year.
CBRE is a global commercial real estate and consulting firm; the European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 is based on responses from nearly 700 investors and outlines expectations for Europe’s real estate markets and sectors over the next year.
The CBRE European Investor Intentions Survey 2026 report does not mention Ukraine.
Against the backdrop of the energy crisis in the capital, demand on the secondary housing market in the winter of 2026 fell by 40%, with potential price adjustments in affected buildings likely to be around 5-15% depending on the duration of problems with heating and engineering systems, realtors told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Demand in the secondary market has fallen by about 40% compared to last winter. But the problem is not only the number of buyers, but also a certain shortage of properties that meet the new realities,” said Alexei Govorun, co-owner of the FLATPRIME real estate agency.
According to Roman Savchenko, owner of Profi Realt, in early 2026, shelling, power outages, and heating outages had a greater impact on the internal state of all segments of the population than on the real estate market alone.
“In January, many Kyiv residents left the city and postponed the purchase or sale of real estate indefinitely. As a result, both the number of purchase requests and the number of offers fell. But in the first two weeks of February, we are seeing a revival of the real estate market,” he said.
According to Yaroslav Orshak, CEO of the La Vida real estate agency, the impact of accidents and the lack of heating is already being felt, with the market becoming slower and more selective on the part of buyers.
“Locally, demand, especially for rentals in problem areas, has fallen by about 10-35%. In the home purchase segment, the decline in demand is not widespread, but rather a pause and more active bidding,” he says.
Currently, realtors do not have formalized lists of buildings affected by the energy crisis — this is not public information from the Kyiv City State Administration or service organizations. However, professional market participants are well versed in the situation in specific neighborhoods, streets, and residential complexes thanks to their daily work with clients and monitoring of the condition of properties.
The most affected segments of housing are in areas with historically weak engineering infrastructure: Troieshchyna, Teremky, and partly Pechersk. According to Govorun, even elite real estate in the center loses its competitiveness if the building is without heat. But in practice, realtors are not seeing a massive drop in prices for lots in affected buildings.
“There will be no sharp drop in prices for apartments in affected buildings in the short term. The reason is simple: an apartment without heat will not be in demand even at a significant discount — it is not a home, but a problem. Most owners are choosing to wait and see which buildings will be restored and which will remain problematic,” explained Govorun.
According to Yaroslav Orshak, CEO of the La Vida real estate agency, isolated sales at a discount are possible, especially in buildings without autonomous solutions, but this is not a systemic trend; the market has rather shifted to a mode of lower activity and spot trading.
According to Savchenko, owners are simply removing properties in such buildings from sale until “the ice melts.” The same situation is observed in buildings that have been damaged by direct hits or falling debris.
“But buyers are unlikely to consider such buildings at the moment. Although, if there is a large discount, there will be those willing to buy such property in order to sell it at a profit in the future,” he believes.
According to Orshak’s forecast, the potential price correction in the affected buildings may be approximately 5-15%, depending on the duration of the problems with heating and engineering systems.
Govorun said that at the same time, a new category of properties has emerged: apartments whose owners have decided to quickly move to more stable areas, but even here, pricing remains cautious.
The most likely scenario in the short term is a “freeze” on the market in problem buildings until the start of the next heating season in 2026-2027. Then it will be possible to really check whether the heat supply has been restored or whether this is a temporary solution.
In general, according to realtors, today’s typical request looks like this: energy security (backup power supply for the building, availability of an autonomous boiler room or heating devices in the apartment itself), safety (availability of shelter, distance from potentially dangerous objects), readiness for quick occupancy (adequate repairs, communications), for the segment up to $100,000 – the possibility of payment under state programs. There are few properties on the market that meet all these criteria at once.
“These criteria are not yet clearly reflected in the price – the market is in a stage of adaptation. But already now, apartments in buildings with autonomous energy supply and proven reliability of systems have a competitive advantage and sell faster, even without a price discount,” Govorun noted.
According to Savchenko’s observations, prices in the mid-range segment are not falling, and in buildings with autonomous heating, generators, and other elements of alternative power supply for elevators and pumps, they have even risen.
At the same time, buildings with condominium associations are already perceived by the market as more liquid, so the discount on them is usually smaller than on buildings managed by housing and communal services.
“The main factor in price formation is the level of energy independence and manageability of the building. As a result, the market is not showing a massive decline, but rather is stratifying into more stable and more risky properties,” Orshak explained.
The organizers CREATOR CITY, Kreator-Bud, and the DMNTR media group invite you to a prestigious evening event dedicated to the key values of the modern real estate market—trust and reputation.
Date and time: March 5, 2026, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Format: closed VIP event (panel discussions, networking, buffet)
Venue: Kyiv (details will be sent to registered participants)
The event will focus on how to build and monetize reputation in the context of high competition, a crisis of trust, and the transformation of the Ukrainian real estate market in 2026.
Experts will discuss:
Reputation as a strategic asset for developers
Tools for restoring and strengthening customer trust
The role of transparency, quality, and communication in attracting investment
Real-life cases of market leaders who turn reputation into a competitive advantage
Moderator:
Dmytro Struk — Development Director, Creator-Bud
Speakers:
Vitaliy Borul — CEO of Credo Development
Yaroslav Korniyachenko — Founder and CEO of Vlasne Misto
Eduard Suprunov — Head of B2B Department, LG Electronics Ukraine
Yevgen Bokiy — Commercial Director of UDP
Olga Arbuzova — Sales Director of Sigma
Anna Iskierdo — Architect, public figure, co-founder and CEO of the architectural and design company AIMM
Serhiy Datsiv — General Director of MIROPLAST LLC (WDS TM)
The event will bring together top managers of development companies, architects, builders, suppliers of materials and equipment, investors, and industry experts.
Participation is by prior registration and invitation only.
About the organizers:
CREATOR CITY — a platform for creative developers and architects.
Creator-Bud — a leading Ukrainian developer that creates modern business-class residential complexes.
DMNTR (Dom i Interier) is an authoritative media brand in the field of architecture, design, real estate, and construction.
Contacts for media and registration:
DMNTR Media Group
Tel.: +38 (044) 461 91 28
Join the discussion that is shaping the future of the Ukrainian real estate market!
Registration:
Interfax-Ukraine – information partner
Grain exports by rail to seaports remain stable and account for 91% of total rail shipments of agricultural products, according to analysts at Spike Brokers.
According to monitoring data for February, 1.368 million tons of grain were transported to ports, which is 0.8% more than in the same period last year. The TIS terminal in the port of Chornomorsk showed the most positive dynamics (+54%), while the Danube ports, in particular Izmail, recorded a significant drop in volumes (-60%). Currently, more than 11,000 railcars with grain are moving towards the ports of Greater Odessa, and the average daily load on the network in this direction has increased to 1,172 railcars per day.
“The western corridor actually became the main channel for oil exports by rail in February, and the share of the border in this segment increased to 66%,” analysts noted.
At the same time, road exports of agricultural products in February amounted to 185,000 tons. Geographically, the Polish direction dominates (about 50% of the flow), where 4,000-5,300 tons of cargo are processed daily.
Structurally, the road channel is focused on value-added products: in the first 19 days of the month, 15,600 tons of poultry meat were exported, as well as significant volumes of bakery products (6,400 tons) and confectionery (4,500 tons).
In the oil rail transport segment, there has been a radical shift towards land crossings: cross-border exports increased by 112% to 56.9 thousand tons. The largest increase was recorded at the Chop (+410%) and Mostyska II (+310%) crossings. In contrast, sea exports of oil by rail fell by 36% (to 29.1 thousand tons), and the share of ports in this segment fell to 34%.
A similar trend is observed for meal, where 75% of the volume (113.6 thousand tons) is shipped across land borders, Spike Brokers concluded.
Moderate rain and wet snow are expected in Ukraine over the next two days, with black ice in some places on the country’s roads, except in the south. Nighttime and daytime temperatures will range from 2° below zero to 3° above zero, according to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
On Wednesday, February 25, there will be light wet snow and rain, with moderate precipitation in the far south, at night, and in the east of the country. At night and in the morning, there will be fog in most northern, central, and southern regions. There will be icy conditions on the country’s roads, except in the south. The wind will be mainly northwesterly, 5-10 m/s.
Temperatures at night and during the day will range from 2° below zero to 3° above zero (during the day in Zakarpattia and in the south, 1-6° above zero).
In Kyiv on February 25, there will be light wet snow and rain, with icy roads in some places, northwesterly winds of 5-10 m/s. Temperatures at night and during the day will range from 0 to 2°C.
According to data from the Boris Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory in Kyiv, on February 25, the highest daytime temperature was 15.5°C in 1990, and the lowest nighttime temperature was -20.7°C in 1917.
On Thursday, February 26, moderate rain and wet snow in the southeastern part, no precipitation in the rest of the territory. On the roads of the country, except for the south, there will be icy patches in some places. The wind will be mainly northern, 5-10 m/s.
Temperatures at night and during the day will range from 2° below zero to 3° above zero (at night in the western, northern, and most central regions, 1-6°, in the Carpathians, up to 9° below zero; during the day in Transcarpathia and Crimea, 1-6° above zero).
No precipitation is expected in Kyiv on February 26, with icy patches on the roads in some places. The wind will be from the north, 5-10 m/s. The temperature at night will be 2-4° below zero; during the day, around 0°.
