In August 2026, Express Insurance settled 252 claims under mandatory civil liability insurance for vehicle owners (OSAGO), including direct settlements, totaling over 16.4 million UAH.
According to the insurer’s website, compared to August of last year, the volume of insurance compensation doubled (+100.6%), while the number of settled claims increased by 57.5%.
According to the company, compared to August of last year, the volume of payments for property damage more than doubled (+108.4%), and the number of related insurance claims increased by 78.5%. At the same time, the number of claims involving injury or death decreased by a factor of 5.5.
The breakdown of how insurance claims were processed also changed. Compared to August 2025, the share of traffic accidents processed with police involvement decreased, while the share of Europrotocol claims rose from 41.9% to 57.1%. At the same time, the volume of payouts for insurance claims processed with police involvement increased by 69.3%, while payouts for claims processed via the Europrotocol procedure rose by 124.6%.
“The August results show an increase in the volume of MTPL settlements compared to the same period last year. The rise in the share of Europrotocol claims confirms growing driver awareness of the simplified mechanism for reporting traffic accidents,” the statement notes.
Express Insurance was founded in 2008 with the participation of Ukravto Group, a leader in the Ukrainian automotive market. It specializes in auto insurance. The company has more than 300 insurance agents throughout Ukraine and is actively expanding its network of partner auto service centers.
Compulsory Auto Liability Insurance (OSAGO), EXPRESS INSURANCE
The Ukrainian Kobzarenko Group, a manufacturer of trailed agricultural equipment, has launched a new production facility in Kovel, Volyn Oblast, and plans to increase its capacity to approximately 350 machines per year by 2028.
The facility will produce equipment for handling liquid fertilizers and other liquids, including precision fertilizer applicators, mixing and filling stations, and tanks for transporting water and liquid fertilizers. The first units of equipment at the new facility have already been manufactured.
The company intends to invest approximately 40 million UAH annually in production development. As the facility reaches its planned capacity, it is expected to create about 100 new jobs.
The launch of the plant is also significant from the perspective of the geographical expansion of the Ukrainian machine-building industry. The group’s main production facilities have historically been located in the Sumy region. The company also has sites in Lipova Dolyna and Romny, and outside Ukraine, its Polish plant, Kobzarenko Sp. z o.o., manufactures equipment and simultaneously serves as a service center for the European market.
At the same time, the company continues to expand its presence in the EU. In 2026, Kobzarenko participated in industry trade shows in Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland. Following the AGRA 2026 exhibition in Slovenia, the manufacturer announced negotiations to expand its dealer network in Austria and the search for a new partner in Slovenia.
Thus, the company is simultaneously developing its European sales network and increasing its production capacity in Ukraine.
The Kobzarenko Group has been operating since 1993 and specializes in the manufacture of agricultural machinery, specifically tractor trailers, grain transfer devices, tankers, fertilizer application equipment, and other machinery.
Source: Kobzarenko’s official website.
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY, INVESTMENTS, MANUFACTURING, mechanical engineering, Кобзаренко
Ukrainian gas station chains are not yet fully passing on the increased costs resulting from Russian attacks to consumers, instead offsetting them by reducing their own profitability; however, the ability to keep prices in check in this way is limited, according to Serhiy Kuyun, director of the A-95 Consulting Group.
As the expert reported on his Facebook page, “A-95” specialists compared retail prices for gasoline and diesel fuel with their customs value over the past three years.
The resulting difference includes gas stations’ logistics and operating costs, as well as operators’ profits. According to “A-95” calculations, in 2026 this markup did not increase but actually decreased slightly compared to the previous year, despite a significant rise in fuel companies’ expenses.
Among the additional costs, Kuyun cites the restoration of damaged gas stations and the strengthening of their security. According to him, installing an anti-drone protective structure over a single gas station can cost about €100,000, while building a temporary shelter can cost 1–1.2 million UAH.
At the same time, personnel costs are rising. According to data from the State Tax Service cited by the expert, the official salaries of employees at the 40 largest gas station chains have increased by 20% over the past year. Additional expenses arise from the need to organize work schedules and staff rotations in frontline regions.
“In other words, the stability of the markup was achieved by reducing profits,” Kuyun noted.
According to his assessment, the most difficult economic situation has developed in the left-bank region of Ukraine. The cost of delivering fuel there is higher than in the western and southern border regions, while there is virtually no significant regional variation in retail prices.
National chains can partially offset the low profitability of such gas stations through more efficient stations in other regions. For small local operators in the east of the country, this option is often unavailable.
According to Kuyun, some local gas stations are currently operating with zero or negative profitability. The expert attributes this to why some gas stations damaged by Russian drones are not being rebuilt: investments in repairs may not pay off given the current economic situation.
A further negative factor is the decline in fuel sales. Kuyun attributes this both to the impact of attacks on Ukrainian industry and the resulting drop in consumption, as well as to the high cost of petroleum products on the global market.
According to the expert, for now, fuel retailers are effectively absorbing part of the rising costs using their own revenues, rather than passing them on entirely to the final price of gasoline and diesel fuel.
However, this situation cannot last indefinitely.
“It’s hard to say how much longer fuel retailers will be able to absorb these price increases using their own revenues. I think it won’t be long,” Kuyun noted.
Thus, future price trends at Ukrainian gas stations will depend not only on global oil and petroleum product prices and the exchange rate, but also on operators’ ability to offset rising costs related to logistics, security, infrastructure restoration, and personnel.
Source: Serhiy Kuyun — Facebook post.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may provide EUR600 million to restore the electricity balancing market, said Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Denys Shmyhal after a meeting with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
“Ukrainian energy companies need EUR600 million in financing to revitalize the balancing market. We greatly appreciate the EBRD’s participation in this process and count on the bank’s support for this reform,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the parties also discussed priorities for further cooperation across all areas. Currently, Ukraine, in partnership with the EBRD, is implementing 13 energy projects that cover virtually the entire energy chain—from gas production and supply to electricity generation and transmission—as well as projects in hydropower and renewable energy. The total value of the portfolio exceeds EUR3 billion.
In addition, Shmyhal and Reno-Basso coordinated further cooperation to attract new contributions for the reconstruction of the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during the Donors’ Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Paris in November.
Finnish industrial company REKA Group is beginning the implementation of the REKA NOVO investment project in Novoselytsia, Chernivtsi region, with a total investment volume of €5 million, the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration reported.
The new enterprise will specialize in the production of silicone hoses for European manufacturers of trucks, special-purpose vehicles, and companies in the shipbuilding industry.
Thus, this is an export-oriented production facility being created by a foreign investor directly in Ukraine and integrated into European industrial chains.
REKA Group representatives Markku Rentto and Mika Kärkkäinen announced the start of the project during a meeting with the leadership of the Chernivtsi region and the Novoselytsia community.
According to the published data, the project has been named REKA NOVO. The total volume of capital investment will amount to €5 million. The first stage of the enterprise is expected to be launched in early 2027.
The products of the new plant will be oriented primarily toward the European market. This makes it possible to view the project not only as a direct foreign investment in Ukrainian industry, but also as a further integration of Ukrainian production sites into the supply chains of European mechanical engineering.
According to specialized investment resources, international manufacturers of heavy machinery, including Volvo and John Deere, are named among the potential consumers of the products. However, the official statement of the Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration does not identify specific customers, so the conclusion of direct contracts with these companies has not yet been publicly confirmed.
For the Chernivtsi region, the project is of particular interest against the background of the comparatively small accumulated volume of foreign direct investment. According to the Regional Military Administration, more than 400 enterprises with foreign capital operate in the region, while the total volume of attracted foreign direct investment amounts to about $19 million.
Against this background, REKA Group’s €5 million investment is a notable new industrial project for the region.
The location of the production facility in Novoselytsia also gives the investor a logistical advantage: the city is located not far from the border with Romania, which facilitates the integration of the enterprise into European production and transport chains.
The project is also indicative of a broader trend toward relocating individual production operations closer to the EU market. Ukraine’s western regions, thanks to their geographical proximity to the European Union, relatively developed industrial base, and access to the Ukrainian workforce, are gradually becoming one of the main locations for new export-oriented production facilities.
Official source: Chernivtsi Regional Military Administration — REKA NOVO investment project.
According to Experts Club, electric vehicles in Ukraine will remain more cost-effective than internal combustion engine vehicles even after full taxation on their import is restored, says Serhiy Kuyun, director of the “A-95” Consulting Group.
According to Enkorr, a 20% VAT is set to be reinstated on electric vehicle imports into Ukraine starting January 1, 2027. Meanwhile, the preferential regime in effect until the end of 2026 exempts electric vehicles from VAT and import duties.
According to Kuyun’s assessment, the elimination of this exemption will make electric vehicles more expensive to purchase, but it will not deprive them of their main advantage—significantly lower operating costs.
“Even with all taxes included, an electric vehicle remains cost-effective. The electricity needed to charge it is significantly cheaper than fuel for a vehicle with an internal combustion engine,” the expert notes.
The savings on operating costs are particularly noticeable with high annual mileage. If an electric vehicle consumes about 15–20 kWh of electricity per 100 km, then when charged at home, the cost of such a trip remains several times lower than the cost of gasoline or diesel fuel for a vehicle of a similar class.
An additional advantage of electric vehicles is the simpler design of their powertrain. They lack a number of components and consumables typical of vehicles with internal combustion engines, which potentially reduces the cost of regular maintenance.
According to Kuyun, the Ukrainian market has already reached a stage of development where tax incentives are no longer the main driver of demand for electric vehicles. In recent years, the model lineup has expanded significantly, the used-car market has grown, and the charging station infrastructure is developing.
At the same time, the reinstatement of the VAT could have a noticeable impact on the market immediately before the end of the tax incentive period. Buyers planning to purchase an electric vehicle may try to import and register it by the end of 2026 to take advantage of the current tax incentives.
As a result, electric vehicle imports may accelerate further in the final months of 2026, after which the market may undergo a correction period in early 2027.
For comparison: with a customs value of 20,000 euros for an electric vehicle, the 20% VAT refund alone potentially increases the tax component by approximately 4,000 euros, without taking into account the specifics of determining the tax base and other payments. However, for an owner with high annual mileage, part of this difference is gradually offset by lower energy and maintenance costs.
Analysts at Experts Club note that the future dynamics of the Ukrainian electric vehicle market will no longer depend solely on tax incentives. The cost of electricity and automotive fuel, the development of charging infrastructure, prices for new and used electric vehicles, the condition of batteries, and the residual value of vehicles on the secondary market will become increasingly important.
Therefore, the reinstatement of full taxation may alter the structure of imports and slow the market’s growth rate; however, it does not, in and of itself, eliminate the economic advantages of electric vehicles for a significant portion of drivers.
Original source: Enkorr – “Electric Vehicles Will Remain Cost-Effective Even With All Taxes — Expert”.
