The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to provide a loan of up to EUR 50 million to Nova Poshta LLC of the Nova Group of Companies (GC) to finance part of its capital investment program for 2025-2026, with a focus on improving operational efficiency and supporting the company’s development strategy in Ukraine during the war.
“… includes improving physical infrastructure, optimizing and expanding the network, modernizing IT systems, improving energy management, and restoring human capital,” the bank lists the elements of Nova Poshta’s development strategy on its website.
It is noted that the loan will be multi-currency with the possibility of selecting funds in hryvnia and euros and will consist of two tranches: tranche 1 in the amount of EUR 35 million will be reserved from the moment of signing, tranche 2 in the amount of EUR 15 million will be reserved by the bank solely at its discretion.
The total cost of the project, according to the report, is EUR 69.1 million.
The EBRD reminds that Nova Poshta is the leading private postal and courier operator in Ukraine, with a network of more than 12,000 branches and 27,000 post offices and about 34,000 employees. Every month, the company provides services to more than 11 million customers in Ukraine.
This project, which has passed the final review stage and is awaiting approval, possibly in June, is the fifth in the history of relations between Nova Group and the EBRD.
It is noted that under the existing loan, in May 2025, the company informed the bank of a planned reduction of about 2,900 employees, which is less than 10% of the total number. The EBRD emphasizes that the analysis of this reduction process confirmed that the client complies with the terms of such collective dismissals stipulated in the loan agreement, provided a detailed description of the reduction process, has an effective grievance system and responds appropriately to them without any litigation, and has an effective process of interaction with the trade union, which is informed about the large-scale restructuring plan that will affect employees throughout 2025.
As reported, last August, the EBRD provided a EUR 70 million loan to Nova Group to finance its investment program for 2024.
According to Nova Poshta’s financial report for the first quarter of 2025, its net consolidated revenue increased by 20.7% compared to the first quarter of last year to UAH 14 billion 333.2 million, while net profit decreased by 21.4% to UAH 567.7 million. The ultimate beneficial owners of the company are Volodymyr Popereshnyuk and Viacheslav Klymov.
As noted by the Standard Rating agency, as of the beginning of April this year, with total accounts payable of UAH 13.51 billion, Nova Poshta used, in addition to long-term bank loans, resources raised from the issue of two series of bonds – E and F series of UAH 1 billion each.
The barley market in Ukraine shows the potential for growth, and there is tension in the market due to limited supply, according to the analytical cooperative “Pusk”, created within the framework of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (AAC).
The analysts noted that as of June 23, 2025, barley exports amounted to more than 6 thsd tonnes.
“This is the expected consequence of the low level of stocks at the end of the season. The volume for export is currently limited, which restrains the activity on the foreign markets,” the experts said.
They reminded that the harvesting campaign started in the south of Ukraine, where the yields on the first fields were low and ranged from 1.15-2.5 t/ha.
“Taking into account the weather challenges that have accompanied winter crops since February, the current yields look quite predictable. The average yield of barley in Ukraine is likely to be around 3 t/ha,” the analysts predict.
They stated that the activity on the domestic market is growing, in particular due to the approach of the first shipments in ports. However, supply from producers remains restrained, which creates a shortage in the spot market. This leads to an expected increase in crop prices.
“As of the end of June, the seasonal model shows conditional barley prices in the range of $196-200 per ton, while producers are focused on $200-205. Given the limited supply, this is a very realistic prospect for the coming weeks,” Pusk summarized.
Revenues from the tourist tax to local budgets in January-May 2025 reached UAH 132 million, while in the same period in 2024 it amounted to UAH 98.6 million, the State Tax Service (STS) reports.
“Kyiv is the most attractive city for tourists. 25% of the paid tourist tax falls on the capital (UAH 33 million),” the service said in a statement on its website on Thursday.
Lviv (UAH 24.7 million), Ivano-Frankivsk (UAH 21.2 million) and Zakarpattia region (UAH 10.5 million) also became leaders in the period under review.
The State Tax Service reminded that the tourist tax is paid to tax agents by citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons in advance before temporary accommodation in places of residence. In turn, tax agents (i.e., business entities that provide temporary accommodation services in places of residence/overnight stay: hotels, hostels, rest homes, etc.) transfer it to the local budget.
It is emphasized that the list of tax agents collecting the tourist tax is published on the websites of local councils.
The Service also emphasized that the tax rate is set by local councils independently for each day of stay. It is up to 0.5% of the minimum wage for Ukrainian citizens and up to 5% for foreigners.
Source: https://tax.gov.ua/media-tsentr/novini/909659.html
Norway will allocate 6.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($644 million) to purchase drones and drone equipment from Ukrainian and other European manufacturers for Ukraine’s needs, the government’s website reported on Wednesday.
“Drones play an important role in Ukraine’s struggle for its defense. They are important both for the protection of critical infrastructure and for use on the front line. Norway’s assistance will significantly improve Ukraine’s ability to carry out the necessary surveillance and operations with the help of drones,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was quoted as saying on the website.
According to the information, Norway officially joined the Coalition for the Development of Unmanned Technologies in April and previously announced its intention to increase support for the Ukrainian defense industry and purchase drones for Ukraine.
This is reportedly the first large-scale purchase of drones directly from foreign manufacturers. This is in line with one of the goals underlying the decision made in March of this year by the Storting (Norwegian National Assembly – IF-U) to increase support for Ukraine by 50 billion Norwegian kroner (about $5 billion) by 2025.
The Norwegian government prioritizes meeting military needs based on what Ukraine itself identifies as the most important.
“Funding for the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles will help to create an independent Ukrainian deterrence system, which will also be important after a potential peace agreement… We will continue to focus our support on maritime security, air defense, unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous systems. We will also prioritize support for the procurement of defense equipment from Ukrainian manufacturers and cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries to equip and train new Ukrainian military units,” said Defense Minister Thorbjørn Sandvik.
It is noted that the support provided and “lessons learned from the war in Ukraine will also help strengthen the Armed Forces and defense capabilities of Norway.”
Source: https://www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/norway-to-provide-nok-6.5-billion-for-procurement-of-drones-for-ukraine/id3111763/
Dnipro Metallurgical Plant (DMZ), a part of DCH Steel of businessman Aleksandr Yaroslavsky’s DCH Group, is upgrading equipment at Sukha Balka mine.
According to information in DCH Steel’s corporate newspaper on Thursday, the mine has updated the cage for the Yubileynaya mine. It is specified that the cage is ready for lowering and operation.
“Sukha Balka is the only enterprise in Ukraine that uses three-storey mine cages. Currently, Yubileynaya is preparing to replace the unique hoisting unit, the post says.
“The surfaces of the cage had to be well prepared, cleaned, blown out, and then primed and painted. We painted in two layers. We used special coatings – primer and enamel, which are used for surfaces exposed to aggressive environments. The coating, according to the manufacturer, should reliably protect the surface for about 10 years,” explained Maxim Kopeyka, chief mechanic of the mine.
The mine cage is currently in a disassembled state at the warehouse and is ready for transportation to the mine. The new cage is scheduled to be installed in July.
The Yubileynaya mine cage has a capacity of 15 tons and can accommodate 126 people. It has a service life of 5 years.
In addition, the rolling campaign is scheduled to start next week at Rolling Shop No. 2 at DMZ. The shop has prepared equipment for intensive work during the off-peak period.
DMZ specializes in the production of steel, cast iron, rolled products and rolled products, such as channels and angles, and special profiles for the machine building and mining industries.
On March 1, 2018, DCH Group signed an agreement to buy Dnipro Metallurgical Plant.
Source: https://www.dmz-petrovka.dp.ua
For the protesters waving Palestinian flags outside EU buildings in Brussels, it was the moment that everything might change.
An EU report presented to foreign ministers had found there were indications Israel had breached human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, ahead of Thursday’s European Union leaders’ summit.
The European Union is Israel’s biggest trading partner, and the protesters were demanding that the EU suspend its 25-year-old trade accord over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
But their hopes that EU leaders would agree to suspend the agreement with Israel were soon dashed, because despite the report deep divisions remain over the war in Gaza.
The protesters have been backed by more than 100 NGOs and charities.
In 20 months of Israeli military operations more than 55,000 Gazans have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Another 1.9 million people have been displaced.
Israel also imposed a total blockade on humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of March, which it partially eased after 11 weeks following pressure from US allies and warnings from global experts that half a million people were facing starvation.
Since then, the UN says more than 400 Palestinians are reported to have been killed by Israeli gunfire or shelling while trying to reach food distribution centres run by a US and Israeli-backed organisation. Another 90 have also reportedly been killed by Israeli forces while attempting to approach convoys of the UN and other aid groups.
“Every red line has been crossed in Gaza” Agnes Bertrand-Sanz from Oxfam told the BBC.
“Every rule has been breached. It really is high time that the European Union acts.”
As the report was made public, it fell to foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to explain what the European Union would do next.
The EU’s first goal would be to “change the situation” on the ground in Gaza, she said. If that did not happen, “further measures” would be discussed next month on how to suspend the association agreement.
“We will contact Israel to, you know, present our finding,” she stumbled in an uncharacteristically faltering manner. “Because that is the focus of the member states, to really, you know… be very, very sure about the feelings that we have here.”
NGOs said the EU had missed an opportunity to take action and that the response was feeble.
The Israeli foreign ministry called the review “a complete moral and methodological failure.”
For some of the EU’s critics, the episode was a vivid example of how the EU can talk a good game about being the biggest global humanitarian aid donor to Gaza, but badly struggles to present any coherent or powerful voice to match it.
As the world’s biggest market of 450 million people, the EU carries great economic weight but it is not translating into political clout.
“The fact that European countries and the UK are not doing more to put pressure on Israel and to enforce international humanitarian law, it makes it very difficult for these countries to be credible,” said Olivier De Schutter, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on human rights.
“War crimes are being committed at a very large scale In Gaza, there is debate about whether this amounts to genocide, but even if there’s no genocide there is a duty to act.”
De Schutter fears the EU’s soft power is being lost and its inaction makes it much harder for it to persuade to countries in Africa, Asia in Latin America to back Europe on condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine, for example.
Israel maintains it acts within international law and that its mission is to destroy Hamas and bring home the remaining hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in the attack, which triggered Israel’s offensive on Gaza.
As a union of 27 countries, the domestic political reality in Europe makes it unlikely that EU leaders will back the views of the majority of member states on Gaza.
Eleven EU countries have recognised Palestine as a state, and among them Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and Sweden had pushed for the European Union’s agreement with Israel to be suspended.
At the heart of the EU’s foreign policy decision-making in Brussels is the fact that decisions have to be unanimous, and so just one dissenting voice can block the EU from taking action.
In this case Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are all opposed.
Austria hopes the EU’s review will spark action, but not necessarily a suspension of the treaty with Israel.
“Everything I’ve heard in this regard will not help the people in Gaza,” said Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger. “What it would however cause is a deterioration, if not a complete breakdown of the dialogue we currently have with Israel.”
Germany’s position on Israel has often been shaped by its role in the Holocaust and World War Two.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the “current level of attacks on Gaza can no longer be justified by the fight against Hamas”, but he has refused to consider suspending or terminating the agreement.
Slovakia and Hungary are considered more closely aligned politically to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu than many other EU countries.
Among the key players advocating tougher measures against Netanyahu’s government is Ireland.
Its foreign affairs minister, Simon Harris, condemned the EU’s handling of the review.
“Our response in relation to Gaza has been much too slow and far too many people have been left to die as genocide has been carried out,” he said.
Israel rejects the charge of genocide and when it closed its embassy in Dublin last December it accused Ireland of antisemitism.
Europe has recently found itself sidelined by Washington on big global issues, notably Ukraine and Iran – with President Donald Trump in favour of direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US may not be in listening mood, but on Gaza the EU has struggled to muster a unified voice on Gaza, let alone make it heard.
