Ukrzaliznytsia has launched a new flagship train, the “Sakura,” which connects Kyiv and Uzhhorod and features new cars manufactured in Ukraine in 2026, according to a statement from the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development.
According to the Ministry’s press release on Tuesday, the new cars are equipped with security systems featuring surveillance cameras and include a number of passenger-friendly improvements: rechargeable batteries, additional amenities for traveling with children, inclusive design elements, and functional comfort features in the compartments.
The new flagship train departs on its maiden voyage from Kyiv to Uzhhorod today, April 28.
“In total, Japan has already provided Ukraine with over $15 billion in financial, humanitarian, and technical aid. “Within the framework of grant programs, we are coordinating four phases of emergency recovery totaling approximately $700 million and expect to sign the next phase for an additional $40 million,” Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba is quoted as saying in the release.
It is noted that with JICA’s assistance, Ukraine received approximately 28,000 tons of rails manufactured by Nippon Steel and dozens of units of specialized equipment, which allowed for the renewal of about 200 km of tracks on key routes.
The Ministry of Development added that 12 train cars feature cherry blossom petal branding.
In addition, passengers on the train will have access to an online portal about Japanese culture, architecture, and art, and will also be able to explore elements of Japanese cuisine, board games, and joint Ukrainian-Japanese cultural projects.
As previously reported, Ukrzaliznytsia received the first six of 100 new passenger cars ordered in 2025 from PJSC Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works (KVBZ).
The total contract value is approximately 6.5 billion UAH, and funding is provided from the state budget.
Deliveries are expected to continue in phases until May 2028, and 60 such cars will be ready by the end of 2026.
According to Fixygen, Kyivspetstrans PJSC plans to hold a general meeting of shareholders on April 30.
The company operates in the waste management sector in Kyiv and specializes in the collection, processing, and disposal of household waste. On its corporate website, the company describes itself as one of the market leaders in this sector in the capital and notes that it disposes of Kyiv’s waste at Solid Waste Landfill No. 5 in the village of Podgortsy and at Construction Waste Landfill No. 6 in Kyiv.
Kyivspetstrans PJSC was registered on May 21, 1997. The company’s registered address is 85 European Union Avenue, Kyiv. Its primary activity is the collection of non-hazardous waste. Andriy Hruschynskyi is listed as the company’s director.
According to SMIDA data as of March 31, 2026, the company’s largest shareholder is Igor Tynny, who owns 46.8349% of the shares.
According to Opendatabot, Kyivspetstrans’ revenue in 2025 amounted to UAH 521.857 million, with a net profit of UAH 44.991 million.
Kyivspetstrans is one of the key operators in the capital’s waste management system. The company has been operating in the market since 1971 and provides services for the collection, processing, and disposal of waste, remaining an important element of Kyiv’s municipal infrastructure.
In Latvia, the so-called “golden visa” program has once again found itself at the center of a scandal after the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit identified more than 20 companies that, according to its assessment, were used for fictitious investments with the aim of obtaining residence permits. This was reported by the Latvian public media outlet LSM, citing the investigative program De Facto.
According to the investigation, approximately 200 foreigners invested more than 10 million euros in the authorized capital of such companies. At the same time, it is noted that the funds were often not used for actual economic activity but were redirected to the scheme’s organizers or circulated among related parties, providing no tangible benefit to Latvia’s economy but formally justifying applications for residence permits.
The program provides for the possibility of obtaining a temporary residence permit in Latvia upon investing 50,000 or 100,000 euros in a company’s capital. In 2025, this procedure brought the country nearly 6 million euros, and a total of 341 people received residence permits through it, including investors and their family members. At the same time, as LSM emphasizes, the state does not systematically assess how significant the actual contribution of these companies is—in terms of turnover, number of employees, or actual activities.
Interest in the program has grown in recent years. According to the Latvian Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, 109 applications were submitted last year—more than five times as many as in 2021, when there were 20. However, only about one-third of the applications received a positive decision, as applicants undergo security and reliability checks.
The investigation also cites the example of L Hotels, a company established about a year and a half ago. Nine of its investors applied for residence permits last year, and the company’s list of shareholders includes 30 people from India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Chile, Malawi, Syria, Vanuatu, and other countries. Most of them invested 100,000 euros each but received Class B shares, which, according to the articles of association, do not carry voting rights.
Toms Platacis, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, stated that in some cases, the 50,000 euros required by law were in fact the same funds, recycled multiple times in a loop. LSM emphasizes that the story has once again intensified criticism of the program, which was originally intended to stimulate investment and attract wealthy foreigners but has been plagued by allegations of abuse from the very beginning.
One in five business leaders in Ukraine earns over 10 million UAH
There are currently 74,000 business leaders in Ukraine who earn over 10 million UAH annually and file their financial reports on time. The vast majority of them—72%—are men. Rinat Akhmetov, Vitaliy Antonov, and Andriy Verevskyi made it into the top three richest businessmen in Ukraine. Nearly a quarter of the businessmen are registered in Kyiv.
There are currently 74,000 businesspeople in Ukraine whose companies generate between 10 million UAH and 100 million UAH in revenue. This represents one-fifth of all company owners who submitted annual reports—360,000 businesspeople. Only 28% of the businesspeople on the list are women.
Follow the leaders on the Ukrainian Businessmen Ranking page. If you are a company owner and your business submits financial reports on time and regularly—look for yourself on the list.
Over the year, the ranking grew: 9,122 participants dropped out, while 15,450 were added. The net increase in the ranking was 6,328 businesspeople. Positions have also changed; only 21 participants retained their spots. Meanwhile, 37% of businesspeople rose in the ranking, while 42% lost ground.
Nearly a quarter of all businesspeople are registered in Kyiv—16,230. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast follows (7,204 businesspeople) and Lviv Oblast (5,878). Together, these three regions account for about 40% of the top tier.
Most operate in the “mid-tier” segment of big business: 79% have revenues ranging from 10 to 100 million UAH. Another 19% generate between 100 million and 1 billion UAH, and only 2% are true giants with a turnover exceeding 1 billion UAH.
The “entry threshold” for the country’s 100 richest businesspeople rose to 9.96 billion UAH in 2025. This is 11% higher than in 2024. To make it into the top 1,000, a company must have at least 1.5 billion UAH in revenue.
Since the publication of the 2025 Businessmen Ranking, changes have occurred in the list—in particular, due to updated financial statements. Consequently, the top ten has been updated.
As of now, taking into account the updated financial statements, the top 10 businessmen of 2026 look like this:
Rinat Akhmetov remains the undisputed leader with corporate revenue exceeding 843 billion UAH. Second and third places are held by Vitaliy Antonov (164 billion UAH) and Andriy Verevskyi (149.7 billion UAH). The top ten also includes Yuriy Kosyuk, Volodymyr Kostelman, Oleksiy Poroshenko, and Dmytro Firtash. The only woman in the top 10 is Svitlana Ivakhiv, who rounds out the top 10 with revenue of approximately 46.9 billion UAH.
69 of the top 100 business owners are registered in Ukraine. The list also includes representatives from Cyprus (7%), the U.S. and the U.K. (5% each), Switzerland (4%), and other countries, including the UAE, Germany, and Monaco.
An income of 10+ million UAH was chosen as the threshold for the ranking. This is precisely the threshold above which the single tax no longer applies and the line beyond which a venture begins to qualify as a business—with corporate structuring, reporting, and all applicable taxes. The list may change as financial reports are updated.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/businessmen-2026
Reports have been confirmed in Romania of joint action by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) against the government of Ilie Bolojan. Following announcements on April 27 regarding the start of technical preparations, the parties submitted a joint no-confidence resolution against the cabinet to parliament as early as April 28.
Reuters and AP report that the motion aims to topple the pro-European government of Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan after the PSD withdrew from the coalition, thereby depriving the cabinet of its parliamentary majority.
Parliamentary leadership has determined that the document will be read on April 29, while the debate and vote are scheduled for May 5. It was also reported that the text has gathered 251 signatures, while 233 votes are required to pass the resolution.
The political significance of this move extends far beyond parliamentary procedure. The fall of the Bolojan government could trigger prolonged political instability, put pressure on Romania’s credit rating, increase the cost of government borrowing, and complicate access to more than €10 billion in European funds that Bucharest must manage to absorb within the timeframe of the EU recovery program.
At the same time, although the PSD is working with AUR to topple the government, it has not declared its readiness to form a joint cabinet with the far-right. Both AP and Reuters emphasize that the Social Democrats are more likely trying to reshape the government on terms more favorable to themselves rather than create a full-fledged alliance with AUR.
According to Serbian Economist, the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies reports that global instability is intensifying amid the war in Ukraine and strategic uncertainty
The International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES, Ljubljana, Slovenia) has published an analysis addressing the growing global disorder and the collapse of former strategic benchmarks against the backdrop of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and general geopolitical turbulence.
The author of the study, IFIMES Advisory Board member and President-Commissioner of Glendale Partners, Dr. J. Scott Yanger, notes that as the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the international system is increasingly characterized by instability, rising conflict, and a decline in the predictability of decisions by key global players.
The article emphasizes that the protracted war in Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, tensions surrounding Iran, as well as increasing impulsiveness and lack of coordination in global politics are creating a new environment of strategic uncertainty. According to the author, traditional mechanisms of international deterrence and coordination are increasingly failing, and leading states are acting in an increasingly unsystematic manner.
The analysis pays particular attention to the impact of these processes on the global economy and energy security. In particular, potential disruptions in strategic transport corridors—including in the Strait of Hormuz—are cited as key risks, which could put pressure on global markets and heighten nervousness in the global economy.
IFIMES believes that the further course of events will depend on the ability of international actors to prevent the escalation of existing conflicts and to move from reactive measures to a more sustainable system of political and economic crisis management.
As noted in the publication, the current phase of global politics increasingly demands not only rapid diplomatic solutions but also a rethinking of the entire architecture of international security, which in recent years has shown signs of systemic weakening.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2722
