Italy is focusing on supplying medical equipment for maternity wards in Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said.
“We promptly provided Ukraine with industrial boilers and electric generators to cope with power outages and supply disruptions caused by Russian attacks. Now we are focusing on sending medical equipment, especially for maternity wards,“ she said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome on Wednesday.
”I believe that we Italians should be proud of this work done to support the civilian population,” she said.
Meloni also emphasized that “Italy is very interested in developing joint production of drones, a sector in which Ukraine has become one of the world leaders over the years.”
According to Serbian Economist, Europol has reported new progress in the investigation against the so-called “Balkan Cartel”: one of the alleged key members of the network, which investigators link to the supply of large shipments of cocaine from South America to the European market, has been detained in Montenegro. According to the agency, the case involves the smuggling of 2.7 tons of drugs.
As Europol clarifies, Montenegrin judicial authorities have filed charges against several suspects, and the investigation is focused on the international logistics of drug trafficking, financial flows, and the coordination of shipments within Europe. This involves a network that, according to investigators, operated across several countries and used the Balkans as part of a broader criminal network.
Earlier, in December 2025, the agency reported on a separate operation in Germany targeting key figures in this network; at that time, three individuals were detained and assets worth approximately 5 million euros were seized.
For Balkan countries, such cases have not only a criminal but also an economic dimension. Intensified international investigations, expanded data sharing between police and financial intelligence agencies, and pressure on illicit cross-border flows are becoming part of a broader agenda to reduce reputational and institutional risks in the region. For Montenegro, Serbia, and neighboring markets, this is also important from the perspective of investment image, as the fight against organized crime remains one of the EU’s key evaluation criteria.
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The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) has registered the issuance of registered corporate bonds (Series “A”) by Viking Park LLC (Lviv) in the amount of 100 million UAH.
According to the prospectus published by the company in the NSSMC’s information disclosure system, the placement of the bonds via a public offering will run from April 16 to April 30, 2026.
The face value of the bonds is UAH 1,000, with a total value of UAH 100 million.
The placement is organized by Univer Capital LLC.
According to the company’s website, Viking Park LLC conducts development activities under the Viking Development brand. Its portfolio includes over 30,000 square meters of completed housing in Lviv. Among its projects are the Viking Park, Viking Hills, Viking Gardens, and Helga residential complexes. According to information on the “LUN” real estate portal, since 2019 the developer has commissioned 13 buildings within two complexes, and another nine buildings in three residential complexes are currently under construction.
According to data from the YouControl analytical system, the owners of Viking Park LLC are listed as Teplokom LLC (88%) and ZNVKIF “Mira-Capital” JSC (12%). The ultimate beneficiary is Ernest Ishchuk.
As of the end of 2025, the company increased its net profit by 4.4% to 4.8 million UAH, while net revenue decreased by 18.4% to 168.7 million UAH. Assets nearly doubled to 1.8 billion UAH.
JSC “Ukrnafta” and JSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya” have jointly completed the drilling of a gas well at one of Ukrnafta’s fields.
The project, implemented as part of the cooperation between the two Naftogaz Group companies, marked the first practical step in developing internal cooperation to increase natural gas production in Ukraine.
As part of the project:
• JSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya” provided drilling services using its own drilling rig;
• JSC “Ukrnafta” is responsible for the further development and operation of the facility.
The actual depth of the well is 5,681 meters.
“Increasing our own gas production is one of our key priorities. Synergy within the Naftogaz Group allows us to use resources more efficiently and accelerate project implementation,” said Serhiy Koretskyi, Head of the Naftogaz Group.
“This is the first joint project between Ukrnafta and Ukrgazvydobuvannya. We have developed a model of cooperation between the companies and achieved a practical result that provides a foundation for scaling up such cooperation in the future,” said Bohdan Kukura, Chairman of the Board of JSC Ukrnafta.
“Ukrgazvydobuvannya’s provision of services for the efficient use of the drilling rig fleet to increase hydrocarbon production for the state is a strategically important area of development. It strengthens Ukraine’s energy security and establishes a new model of successful cooperation within the Naftogaz Group,” emphasized Yuriy Tkachuk, CEO of JSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya.”
The well development phase is currently underway. The drilling rig will be used to drill subsequent wells at Ukrnafta’s fields.
JSC “Ukrnafta” is Ukraine’s largest oil production company and operates the country’s largest national network of gas stations—UKRNAFTA. In 2024, the company entered into an asset management agreement with Glusco. In 2025, it finalized a deal with Shell Overseas Investments BV to purchase the Shell network in Ukraine. In total, it operates nearly 700 gas stations.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to resume operations and modernize the format of gas stations in its network. Since February 2023, it has been issuing its own fuel vouchers and “NAFTACard” cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The largest shareholder of Ukrnafta is Naftogaz of Ukraine with a stake of 50% plus one share.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state the share of corporate rights in the company that belonged to private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company, plans to launch the first phase of its plant for the production of pharmaceutical products and immunobiological preparations—which will provide a full cycle of blood plasma processing—in Uzhhorod in September. According to the Government Portal, the company has already invested EUR 67 million in construction. The total cost of the first phase is EUR 75 million.
Currently, the main building and the raw materials warehouse have been completed, and the equipment has been installed.
As previously reported, Biopharma had planned to launch the first phase of production in the first half of 2026.
According to the plan, the volume of blood plasma-derived drug production in Uzhhorod will be twice that of production in Bila Tserkva (Kyiv Oblast) and will reach up to 1.5 million liters per year.
Construction of the “Biopharma Plasma” plant in Uzhhorod began in the fall of 2024. The planned investment in the new facility is approximately EUR 80 million. The company’s Uzhhorod plant will focus on exports.
Biopharma exports its products to dozens of countries and plans to expand its presence in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, further increasing its capabilities.
The results of a public opinion poll conducted in March 2026 by the research firm Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analytical center indicate that, for most Ukrainians, Vietnam remains a country with an undefined or neutral image. The largest share of respondents—66.9%—expressed a neutral attitude, which significantly distinguishes Vietnam from countries with a clearly formed positive or negative perception.
At the same time, the share of positive assessments has increased—to 19.3% compared to 15.7% in August 2025. Of these, 6.1% of respondents indicated a completely positive attitude, while another 13.3% described it as mostly positive. This indicates the gradual formation of a more defined positive image of the country, although this process is proceeding slowly.
Negative attitudes also increased slightly—from 9.0% to 10.5%. Specifically, 7.2% of respondents chose “mostly negative,” and 3.3% chose “completely negative.” The share of those who could not decide on an answer is 3.3%. Overall, these figures demonstrate a slight increase in the polarization of assessments while maintaining a high proportion of neutrality.
The dynamics of change indicate a gradual decrease in uncertainty: some respondents who previously had no formed opinion are beginning to lean toward either a positive or a negative assessment. At the same time, the absence of sharp changes in the structure of responses indicates that Vietnam does not yet occupy a prominent place in the focus of public opinion in Ukraine.
“When we see such a high level of neutral responses, it means that the country is effectively outside the active informational and social sphere. Ukrainians simply do not have enough contacts, experience, or cues to form a clear attitude. That is why any systematic presence—economic, cultural, or diplomatic—could quite quickly shift the balance of assessments in one direction or another,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Thus, Vietnam is currently characterized as a country with high potential for building a positive image in Ukraine; however, this potential largely depends on the intensity of interaction and the level of presence in the Ukrainian information space.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club information and analytical center based on data from the State Customs Service, Vietnam ranks 23rd in total trade volume with Ukraine, with a figure of $1.16 billion. At the same time, imports of Vietnamese goods exceed exports from Ukraine by several times, resulting in a trade deficit of over $706 million.
The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press center; the video can be viewed on the agency’s YouTube channel. The full version of the study can be found at this link on the Experts Club analytical center’s website.
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SURVEY, UKRAINE, URAKIN, VIETNAM
