According to Serbian Economist, North Macedonia plans to build a high-speed railway from the border with Serbia to the border with Greece by 2031, which should integrate the country into the new Athens–Thessaloniki–Skopje–Belgrade–Budapest–Vienna transport corridor. The project is of direct importance to Serbia, as its effectiveness depends on the modernization of the Serbian sections between Belgrade and Niš and the future Niš–Skopje route.
North Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Aleksandar Nikolovski, stated in an interview with MIA that Skopje plans to build a line “from border to border,” that is, from the border with Serbia to the border with Greece.
This involves the development of Railway Corridor 10, which is intended to connect Greek ports and North Macedonia with Serbia, Hungary, Austria, and onward to Central Europe. Nikoloski stated that the goal of the project is to build a high-speed railway from Athens through Thessaloniki and Skopje northward to Belgrade, Budapest, and Vienna, which will “completely transform the structure of the economy and business” in the region.
According to the North Macedonian Ministry of Transport, the project is set to become one of the largest infrastructure projects in Southeast Europe. Nikoloski previously stated that passenger trains on the future line should travel at speeds of up to 250 km/h, and freight trains at up to 140 km/h, with 750-meter-long freight trains compliant with European standards being a key feature.
The cost of the Macedonian section is estimated at approximately EUR2 billion.
The project is currently in the preparatory stage. According to Nikoloski, the most suitable route has been selected from several options, and planning, geotechnical studies, and an environmental impact assessment are currently underway. The new route is expected to be approximately 35 km shorter than the existing one, which is particularly important for freight transit between Greek ports and Central Europe.
The Serbian component is key to the entire scheme. If North Macedonia connects its borders with Greece and Serbia but the Serbian section is not modernized, the project’s impact will be limited.
Therefore, Belgrade–Niš–Skopje is becoming the central missing link in the vertical transport corridor from the Aegean Sea to Central Europe.
Serbia is already modernizing the Belgrade–Niš railway. The EUR 2.2 billion financial package from the EU, EIB, and EBRD provides for the upgrade of the line to allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 200 km/h. The package includes an EU grant of up to EUR 598 million, an EIB loan of EUR 1.1 billion, and an EBRD loan of EUR 550 million.
In the northern part of the route, the Belgrade–Budapest section is already under development. The Serbian section of the Belgrade–Novi Sad line was opened earlier, and the further connection to Hungary is set to become part of the broader Budapest–Belgrade–Skopje–Athens corridor. However, the launch of service along the entire line to Budapest depends on the readiness of the Hungarian section and technical certification.
For Serbia, the new Macedonian project opens up an important economic prospect. If the entire Athens/Piraeus–Thessaloniki–Skopje–Niš–Belgrade–Budapest–Vienna corridor is modernized, Serbia could strengthen its role as a transit and logistics hub between Europe’s southern ports and Central European markets.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2858
According to the Patrol Police Department, over 330 traffic accidents caused by poor road conditions were recorded in Ukraine in 2025. This is nearly a third fewer than in 2024. The highest number of such accidents was recorded in Lviv, Kyiv, and Ternopil regions.
Last year, police in Ukraine recorded 332 traffic accidents caused by poor road conditions. This is a third fewer than in 2024, when a record number of 475 accidents was recorded since the start of the full-scale conflict. For comparison, the previous record was in 2021: at that time, 849 traffic accidents occurred due to poor road conditions.
The highest number of such accidents is traditionally recorded in the Lviv region—72 traffic accidents. At the same time, the situation here has improved: over the year, the number of such cases decreased by 31%, and compared to 2021—by more than half.
Kyiv consistently holds second place—63 traffic accidents due to violations of road and street maintenance regulations. Unlike Lviv Oblast, the situation here has worsened slightly: compared to 2024, the number of such accidents increased by 17%. At the same time, the figure is still significantly lower than before the full-scale invasion.
Rounding out this year’s bottom three is Ternopil Oblast, where police recorded 29 accidents due to poor road conditions. Over the year, the number of accidents here has increased by 16%. In total, these three regions account for half of all such accidents.
What to do in the event of an accident caused by poor road conditions?
If your car is damaged due to a pothole or poor road conditions, the most important thing is to properly document the accident and gather evidence. First, you need to stop, turn on your hazard lights, set up a warning triangle, and call the police.
While the police are on their way, you should document everything yourself as much as possible: take photos and videos of the pothole, the damage to the car, and any road signs or their absence. It is also advisable to find witnesses and record their contact information.
The police must inspect the accident scene, draw up a diagram of the accident, and record all circumstances in the report. It is important that the documents specifically mention the poor condition of the road. Law enforcement officers must also determine which agency is responsible for that section of the road and issue a report against the responsible officials under Article 140 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
After that, the driver needs to assess the damages. To do this, they should contact an independent appraiser, who will prepare an official report on the cost of repairs and the amount of damages incurred.
Next, the collected documents—the police report, photos, videos, and the appraiser’s conclusion—must be sent to the organization responsible for road maintenance, with a demand for compensation for the damages. If compensation is not provided voluntarily, the driver may file a lawsuit.
At the same time, it is important that the driver does not violate traffic rules themselves. If the police determine that the accident occurred due to speeding or inattention, the driver may be issued a citation, and the court may fine them or even temporarily revoke their driver’s license.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/dtp-bad-roads-2026
As of mid-May 2026, nearly 22,000 sole proprietorships owned by foreign nationals were registered in Ukraine, according to the Unified State Register. One in four foreign-owned sole proprietorships operates in Kyiv. Nearly one-third of all sole proprietorships owned by foreign nationals are engaged in retail trade. One in five foreign-owned sole proprietorships is owned by a Russian citizen.
In total, there are currently 21,967 entrepreneurs with foreign citizenship in Ukraine. On average, 1,896 cases involving citizens of other countries are opened annually since the start of the full-scale conflict.
We track small business trends on the OpenDataBot FOPonomics page.
One in four of them is registered in Kyiv: 5,216. The Kharkiv region ranks second with 3,506 entrepreneurs, and the Odesa region ranks third with 3,295 sole proprietors. These three regions account for nearly 55% of all foreigners who have started a business in Ukraine.
The largest group among entrepreneurs consists of citizens of the Russian Federation—one in five foreign entrepreneurs (4,593). They are followed by citizens of Vietnam (1,994), Azerbaijan (1,635), Uzbekistan (1,469), and Moldova (1,118).
In total, nearly half of all foreigners with their own businesses come from these five countries.
Most often, foreigners in Ukraine work in the retail sector—6,346 sole proprietors. Warehousing (2,746), wholesale trade (1,732), HoReCa (1,703), and the IT sector (1,624) also remain popular.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/fops-foreigners-2026
The housing price index in Ukraine for January–March 2026 stands at 117.2%, compared to 111.2% for the same period in 2025, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to its data, in the primary market, prices for housing accelerated their growth to 17.3% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to 14.8% in the first quarter of last year. At the same time, apartments in the primary market rose in price by 17.3%, and single-family homes by 16.4%.
In the secondary market, prices accelerated their growth to 17.1% in January–March 2026, compared to 9.3% during the same period in 2025. Specifically, apartment prices rose by 17.9%, while house prices rose by 15.4%.
According to the statistics agency, compared to the previous quarter, housing prices rose by 6.1%, with a 4.8% increase in the primary market and a 6.6% increase in the secondary market.
In the first quarter, apartment prices in the primary market rose by 4.2% compared to the previous quarter, while house prices rose by 7.5%. In the secondary market, prices rose by 5.9% and 7.8%, respectively, the State Statistics Service noted.
The State Statistics Service also compared current price figures with the annual averages for 2019. Thus, in the first quarter of 2026, prices for housing rose by 132.3%.
According to the State Statistics Service, housing prices rose by 12.8% in 2025 and by 12.7% in 2024.
As reported, an updated methodology for the state statistical survey “Changes in Housing Market Prices” has been in effect since the first quarter of 2026, which the State Statistics Service approved to comply with the requirements of European Commission (EU) Regulation 2025/1182 of June 17, 2025.
A unified telecom identification infrastructure has been implemented in Ukraine, covering the entire mobile subscriber base of the country based on myGaru technology. All three mobile operators in Ukraine—Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, and lifecell—as well as the fixed-line operator Ukrtelecom, have joined the project.
“Identification is the foundation of data processing—without it, neither accurate data collection, nor data sharing, nor the subsequent activation of advertising communications is possible. Cross-Telecom ID establishes a unified identification standard for the data market, creating conditions for the development of a sovereign data economy in Ukraine,” myGaru CEO Vitaliy Morozhenko is quoted as saying in the press release.
myGaru explained that the technology combines telecom identification with the digital advertising ecosystem. This enables more precise ad delivery in mobile apps, on websites, in addressable TV, and on digital platforms, including Google, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram.
“The implementation of myGaru technology is a step toward an innovative advertising space that combines business efficiency, user privacy protection, and a responsible approach to data security,” commented Andriy Zheleznyak, Director of Big Data at Kyivstar.
Following the launch of telecom identification, companies will also be able to more accurately link ad impressions to user actions, limit the frequency of impressions to a single user within a single campaign, and measure ad performance in real time.
In addition, it is stated that the technology will allow businesses to analyze their audience and provide a secure mechanism for joint data analysis between companies through a special secure mechanism—the myGaru data clinic—using aggregated, anonymized data.
As for personal data, it will not be transferred between parties but will be processed in a secure environment.
“The myGaru-based solution works exclusively with anonymized and aggregated data within the operator’s secure infrastructure. This provides the market with a modern tool for developing digital services without compromising user privacy,” added Kateryna Shulga, Head of Big Data Projects and Programs at lifecell.
It is noted that currently in Ukraine, the advertising service based on cross-telecom ID is provided by the GlobalDigital agency, analytical functionality is provided by the Nexinsight platform, and Adtech is the official operator of the myGaru platform on the Ukrainian market.
myGaru is a company founded in 2019 that works with telecom operators, retailers, publishers, and advertisers to ensure secure, anonymized, cohort-based data processing. It is built as a deep-tech infrastructure for sovereign data ecosystems.
PJSC “Central Mining and Processing Plant” (TsGZK, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), a member of the Metinvest Group, reported a 20.9% increase in its net loss for January–March of this year—to UAH 468.466 million from UAH 387.594 million in the same period last year.
According to the company’s interim report, which is available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period decreased by 3%—to UAH 4,406.260 million.
Retained earnings as of the end of March amounted to UAH 2,463.793 million.
According to the annual report, in 2025, the Central GOK increased its net loss by 5.3 times, to 3.428076 billion UAH from 648.004 million UAH in 2024. At the same time, revenue from ordinary activities for the past year grew by 1%—to UAH 15,988.004 million.
As reported, the plant ended 2024 with a net loss of UAH 648.004 million, while in 2023 it amounted to UAH 1,326.661 million. In 2022, the company reduced its net profit by more than four times, to UAH 2.117831 billion from UAH 8.919978 billion in 2021. In 2020, TsGZK increased its net profit by 8.7% compared to the previous year, reaching UAH 1.601 billion.
TsGZK is among the top five largest producers of mining raw materials in Ukraine and specializes in the extraction and production of iron ore raw materials (concentrate and pellets). The average headcount of full-time employees is 3,360.
Metinvest B.V. owns 100% of the shares in TsGZK.
The authorized capital of PrJSC “TsGZK” is UAH 296.635 million, with a par value of UAH 0.25 per share.
TsGZK is part of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are PJSC “System Capital Management” (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and the “Smart-Holding” group of companies (23.76%). The management company of the Metinvest Group is Metinvest Holding LLC.
