Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals on two unresolved articles of the draft peace agreement, which means the end of the negotiation process.
“Thus, the peace agreement is ready for signing. The Republic of Armenia is ready to begin consultations with the Republic of Azerbaijan on the time and place of signing the Agreement,” reads the statement published on the official website of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
Yerevan also noted that it had offered to make a joint statement on the agreement, but Baku “preferred a unilateral statement.”
Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that Armenia had agreed to the latest amendments. According to him, the next step should be the removal of clauses from the Constitution of Armenia that Azerbaijan regards as territorial claims, as well as the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group.
In February of this year, Naftogaz Group paid UAH 5.8 billion in taxes, which is 9.4% more than in the same period in 2024, the company said on Thursday.
In particular, the state budget received UAH 5.2 billion, while in February 2024 this amount was UAH 4.8 billion. At the same time, UAH 530 million was paid to local budgets (UAH 506 million, respectively).
“Despite all the challenges of the war and constant attacks on the energy infrastructure, Naftogaz ensures the country’s energy stability and support for the national economy,” said Roman Chumak, the head of the group, as quoted in the report.
As reported, in the first month of 2025, Naftogaz Group companies paid UAH 5.2 billion in taxes to the state budget, which is 7.1% less than in January 2024 (UAH 5.6 billion). At the same time, tax payments to local budgets increased by 14.5% to UAH 591 million in January compared to the same period last year.
According to the results of 2024, Naftogaz Group companies paid UAH 88.6 billion in taxes to the general budget, including UAH 81.8 billion to the state budget and UAH 6.8 billion to local budgets.
In addition, in 2024, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine paid UAH 15.7 billion in dividends to the state.
In the first 2 months of 2025, Ukraine imported nearly $345 million worth of power generating sets, according to the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
This is 706% more than in the same period in 2024. In monetary terms, the difference is $302 million.
At the same time, 93% of all imported units were eligible for customs duty exemptions.
The average salary in Ukraine increased to UAH 23,500 in February 2025, which is UAH 500 or 2.2% more than in January, according to a study of the labor market in Ukraine on the job portal Work.ua.
Work.ua emphasizes that among the regions with the largest number of vacancies, average salaries increased in Kyiv region – up to UAH 26.5 thousand (+ UAH 500 compared to January), Lviv region – UAH 24.9 thousand (+ UAH 900), Odesa region – UAH 22.5 thousand (+ UAH 500), Kharkiv region – up to UAH 21.5 thousand (+ UAH 500).
Salaries for vacancies in the category of “telecommunications and communications” increased the most noticeably – up to UAH 30 thousand (+9% compared to January), “insurance” – UAH 27.75 thousand (+7%), “media, publishing, printing” – UAH 24 thousand (+7%). UAH (+7%), “IT, computers, Internet” – 29.25 thousand UAH (+6%), “construction, architecture” – 30 thousand UAH, “real estate” – 50 thousand UAH, “top management, senior management” – 50 thousand UAH (all three +5%).
It is emphasized that three years after the full-scale invasion, the labor market has recovered by more than 90%. In February 2025, employers posted 98,736 vacancies, which is 4% more than in January.
The most significant increase was in Zhytomyr (+7%), Kirovohrad, Rivne, Chernivtsi, and Mykolaiv (+6%) regions.
However, the list of regions with the most work remained the same. A third (34%) of all vacancies are in Kyiv and the region. Lviv and Dnipropetrovs’k regions account for 9% each, another 6% in Odesa, and 3% in Kharkiv. The number of vacancies increased in all leading regions in February.
In February, almost half (44%) of all vacancies were in five categories out of 28: working specialties (16.7 thousand), service sector (14.5 thousand), sales/purchase (12.45 thousand), retail (11.4 thousand), logistics/warehouse/foreign trade (10.3 thousand).
Work.ua reports that the labor market in February was significantly replenished with vacancies for the positions of veterinarian (+36% compared to January), drone engineer (+30%), dental assistant (+20%), scout (+19%), content specialist (+17%), repairman, restaurant administrator, and medical clinic administrator (+16%).
“Another positive trend is that employers continue to actively mark vacancies with the “Veterans Preference” marking – 4,413 job offers, +18% compared to January,” Work.ua notes.
As for military recruitment, the number of vacancies in the army is growing. In February, the Defense Forces posted 8,652 vacancies (+6%) compared to January. However, the number of units slightly decreased to 755. The most frequently offered vacancies include security/safety, telecommunications and communications, transportation/automotive, medicine/pharmaceuticals, labor specialties, and production.
In February, the number of responses to vacancies in the Defense Forces decreased, as did the competition index. Women sent 43% of responses to vacancies to the army, while men sent 57%.
This year, KSG Agro will build an energy complex in Dnipro region that will include a solar power plant, an energy storage system, and a gas cogeneration unit, the company’s press service reports.
“It is expected that the project of the energy complex will be implemented according to the zero investment concept proposed by EnergyInvest HUB. This means that KSG Agro will not spend significant equity capital on the construction of a solar station: the main investments will be made by external financial partners,” the agricultural holding said.
According to the company, thanks to this model, the agricultural holding will receive cheaper electricity and heat without the need for capital investment in the project.
According to the report, the capacity of the solar station will be 0.5 MW. A 1 MWh energy storage system will ensure the accumulation of excess solar generation during the day, and a 0.8 MW gas plant will generate the necessary energy in the evening and at night or work as a backup. The combined system will be centrally managed through an EMS (Energy Management System).
The construction of the complex is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
The agricultural holding is convinced that the energy complex built according to this scheme will provide the company with the necessary margin of safety and predictability. Increasing the level of energy autonomy will help prevent the negative consequences associated with power outages.
An important aspect of energy independence is the ability to avoid a significant rise in electricity prices, which significantly affects the growth of agricultural production costs, KSG Agro explains. The economic effect of the construction of the energy complex is expected to allow it to reduce the price of electricity consumed by about 20% of the market price.
“The difficult situation in the Ukrainian energy market leads not only to interruptions in electricity supply but also to its rise in price, which significantly affects the growth of agricultural production costs. That is why financing renewable energy sources, in particular solar energy, is very important for farmers,” explained Sergiy Kasyanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the agricultural holding.
He noted that the construction of an energy complex with a solar power plant provides significant benefits in several business dimensions at once: energy autonomy, energy efficiency, increased profitability and greening of agricultural production.
“Add to this the fact that the cost of solar power plants has been decreasing in recent years, and their commissioning leads to minimal interference with the company’s power grid. In addition, such a station allows us to connect more load than the company’s usual load, which actually stabilizes the grid voltage,” Kasyanov said.
KSG Agro started implementing alternative power supply projects in the spring of 2022. So far, about 10 generators with a capacity of 100 to 250 kW each and a total capacity of 1.5 MW have been installed in its farms and headquarters. KSG Agro has also provided the local community with a generator, as its water supply system supplies water to both the community and the agricultural holding’s pig farm.
KSG Agro is a vertically integrated holding company engaged in pig farming, as well as the production, storage, processing and sale of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank in Dnipropetrovska and Khersonska oblasts is about 21 thousand hectares.
According to the agricultural holding, it is one of the top five pork producers in Ukraine. In 2023, it launched a “network-centric” strategy, which will shift from developing a large location to a number of smaller pig farms located in different regions of Ukraine.
In January-September 2023, KSG Agro received $1,336 million in net profit, which is almost 14 times more than in the same period in 2022. Its EBITDA for the three quarters increased by 67% to $4.5 million, and its profit from sales increased by 16% to $11.9 million.
In the first quarter of 2024, it decreased net profit by 37% to $0.96 million on a 2% decrease in revenue to $5.02 million. Its EBITDA decreased by 2% to $1.83 million.
International home furnishing chain JYSK on Thursday opened stores updated to the 3.0 concept in Kyiv and Uman, said Country Director of JYSK Ukraine Yevhen Ivanitsa.
“Updating our stores to the JYSK 3.0 format is not just a change in design, but a qualitatively new level of comfort for our customers. We invest not only in space, but also in impressions – we create an atmosphere that inspires to equip a home with Scandinavian coziness. We are confident that these updates will make shopping in Kyiv and Uman even more convenient and every visit to the store a pleasant event,” commented Ivanitsa.
The JYSK 3.0 format provides for an updated approach to store design, with a modern design, improved navigation, full spotlighting and increased space.
In particular, the store located in the April City shopping center (Kyiv, 19A Lesya Kurbasa Ave.) has increased both the sales and warehouse space, which allowed to expand the range of goods and improve logistics processes. The new retail space is 947 square meters, office space is 36 square meters, and warehouse space is 302 square meters. This JYSK store has been operating in Kyiv since 2014, and in November it celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The JYSK store in Uman (31a Velyka Fontanna St.) has increased its warehouse space at the expense of the sales area. The total area of the store is now 878 square meters, including 254 square meters of warehouse space and 47.83 square meters of office space.
Currently, JYSK Ukraine has 104 stores in 37 cities and the online store jysk.ua. JYSK in Ukraine has more than 800 employees.
JYSK is part of the family-owned Lars Larsen Group with more than 3.4 thousand stores in 48 countries.
JYSK’s revenue in the financial year 2023/24 amounted to EUR 5.6 billion.
