According to Fixygen, JSC “Khmelnytskoblenergo” intends to hold a remote annual general meeting of shareholders on April 29, 2026, via a poll. The list of shareholders entitled to participate in the meeting will be compiled as of 11:00 PM on April 24. The ballot for voting on the main agenda items must be posted by 11:00 a.m. on April 17, and for cumulative voting by 11:00 a.m. on April 24; voting will conclude at 6:00 p.m. on April 29.
According to the initially published announcement, the agenda included the review of the audit reports on the 2025 financial statements, the approval of the results of financial and operational activities for 2025, the distribution of profits, the decision on dividend payments, as well as the approval of reports on the remuneration of the supervisory board and the management. The draft resolutions proposed allocating 100% of the net profit for 2025 to dividend payments and approving the total amount of annual dividends at UAH 18.62 million.
The agenda was later expanded at the suggestion of the shareholder JSC “Ukrainian Distribution Networks,” which holds 70.0089% of the company’s voting shares. It additionally included items regarding amendments to the charter in a new version, the repeal of the provisions on the supervisory board, termination of the powers of the current members of the supervisory board, election of new members, approval of the terms of civil law contracts with its members, as well as amendments to the Unified State Register (USR) to exclude information regarding the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine as the body managing the state’s corporate rights, since, as stated in the draft resolution, the state does not own any shares in the company.
JSC “Khmelnytskoblenergo” is registered in Khmelnytskyi, and its primary activity is electricity distribution. According to Opendatabot, the company’s revenue in 2025 amounted to UAH 4.974 billion, net profit to UAH 979.984 million, assets at year-end to UAH 7.463 billion, and authorized capital to UAH 33.64 million; Sviatoslav Kozlenko is listed as the CEO. According to SMIDA data as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the company’s largest shareholder is JSC “Ukrainian Distribution Networks” with a 70.0089% stake, another 11.4657% is owned by PrJSC “Rivneoblenergo,” and 6.7457% by DTEK Grids B.V.
Northern Mining and Processing Plant (Northern GZK, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), part of the Metinvest Group, plans to increase production of DR pellets for the manufacture of “green” steel and premium raw materials for pig iron production.
According to the company, following a working visit by Metinvest’s management to Northern GOK and Kametstal, the program at Northern GOK includes two projects: the modernization of the LURGI 552-A roasting machine and the construction of a flotation and finishing complex. Once the program is implemented, Northern GOK will be able to produce approximately 4 million tons of DR pellets per year.
A separate focus of the management’s visit was Kametstal’s converter shop, which is one of the key elements in the company’s strategy for developing its metallurgical enterprises. The company is considering the possibility of building a new continuous casting machine (CCM) for slab production. The implementation of this strategic project will allow the enterprise to manufacture new products, improve their quality, and strengthen Metinvest’s competitive position in its sales markets.
As reported, Metinvest presented, among other things, an $189 million waste thickening project at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) 2025 in Rome. The new complex will reduce the volume of slurry pumped to the tailings pond during the iron ore enrichment process by 30%. Energy savings: 125 MWh per year. Project launch timeframe: three years.
Northern GOK and Kametstal are 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.
McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd., which operates the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain in Ukraine, has added 13 dishes from eight other countries to its menu, according to the company’s press service.
The dishes are being offered as part of the “World Menu Heist” campaign, the first European campaign in McDonald’s history to be rolled out simultaneously in several countries. The new items will be available at all open McDonald’s restaurants in Ukraine from April 15 to June 24, 2026, or until supplies last.
The Ukrainian menu will feature the Canadian “Maple BBQ & Bacon Royal Cheeseburger,” “Maple BBQ & Bacon Double Royal,” and “McCrispy Hot Honey,” a shrimp roll from Cyprus, shrimp from Croatia, “McShaker Fries” with ramen flavor from Japan, “McShaker Fries” with cheese and truffle flavor from Singapore, “McFlurry Popcorn Caramel” from Indonesia, and more.
The first McDonald’s restaurant in Ukraine opened on May 24, 1997, in Kyiv. Currently, McDonald’s employs nearly 11,000 Ukrainians and operates 139 restaurants, of which 124 are currently open in 42 locations.
According to data from the OpenDataBot analytical system, McDonald’s in Ukraine generated 21.3 billion UAH in revenue in 2025, which was 26.6% higher than the figure for the same period last year. Net profit increased by 21.3%, to 1.567 billion UAH. In 2025, the company paid 3.5 billion UAH in taxes to the budget.
The owner of the foreign-invested enterprise “McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd.” is listed as MCD Europe Limited (100%, London, United Kingdom).
Moldova ranks among the countries closest to Ukraine not only geographically but also in terms of public perception. According to a survey conducted in March 2026 by the research company Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analytical center, 60.1% of Ukrainians describe their attitude toward Moldova as positive, a significant increase from 51.3% in August 2025. Thus, over the course of six months, positive perception has increased by nearly 9 percentage points.
The distribution of positive attitudes is fairly even: 22.8% of respondents chose the option “completely positive,” while another 37.3% selected “mostly positive.” This indicates not only a general level of favorability but also that a significant portion of Ukrainians have a well-formed and stable positive perception of Moldova.
At the same time, the share of neutral assessments remains relatively high—32.9%. This is a typical figure for countries that, despite their proximity, are not at the center of the constant information flow. However, even with such a proportion of neutral responses, the overall balance of perception is clearly tilted toward the positive side.
Negative attitudes toward Moldova remain minimal—5.4% in March 2026 (compared to 4.7% in August 2025). Although this figure has risen slightly, it remains at a low level, confirming the absence of significant sources of tension in bilateral perceptions.
The trend indicates a gradual strengthening of Moldova’s positive image in Ukrainian society. The increase in positive sentiment occurred both due to a shift of some neutral assessments toward positive ones and through a general rise in the level of trust in the country.
In a broader context, these results can be explained by the proximity of Ukraine’s and Moldova’s interests, shared security challenges, as well as similar European integration trajectories. In the minds of Ukrainians, Moldova is increasingly perceived as a partner with a similar political and values-based context.
“Attitudes toward Moldova are a telling example of how a stable, positive image of a neighboring country is formed. Here, not only geographical proximity plays an important role, but also a sense of shared interests and a similar strategic course. It is precisely these factors that ensure the long-term strengthening of trust in society,” noted Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center.
Thus, Moldova holds a firm position among countries with a high level of positive perception in Ukraine. Its image is characterized by stability, a low level of negativity, and a gradual increase in trust, making this country one of the most predictable and understandable partners in the region.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club Information and Analytical Center based on data from the State Customs Service, the Republic of Moldova ranks 21st in total trade volume of goods with Ukraine, with a figure of $1.32 billion. At the same time, Ukraine has a clear trade surplus, as exports to Moldova exceed imports by more than seven times.
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, MOLDOVA, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, SURVEY, UKRAINE, URAKIN
Ferrexpo plc, a mining company with primary assets in Ukraine, produced 524,926 thousand tons of pellets in January–March of this year, which is 61% lower than in January–March of last year (1,347,749 thousand tons), but 27% more than in Q4 2025, when 412,867 thousand tons were produced.
According to the company’s press release on Wednesday, total production of commercial products (pellets and iron ore concentrate) in Q1 2026 fell by 72% compared to Q1 2025—to 592,751 thousand tons. Specifically, production of premium-grade Fe67% concentrate amounted to 67,825 thousand tons, compared to 777,718 thousand tons in Q1 2025 (a 91% decrease). The company also produced 524,926 thousand tons of premium-grade pellets (a 52% decrease). Meanwhile, no DR pellets (81,787 thousand tons were produced in Q1 2025) or other pellets (160,913 thousand tons) were produced.
The press release explains that Ferrexpo’s production activities were largely suspended in the first quarter due to nationwide attacks on Ukraine’s electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. Production resumed only with limited operations at reduced capacity levels in late February 2026 following improved electricity availability and prices. The Group continues to operate one of its four pelletizing lines and sell its products to European customers.
As noted in the trading update announced on April 1, 2026, the Group focused on carefully managing its working capital and expenses amid challenging operating conditions. This included reducing employee working hours, continuously cutting purchases of goods and services, and further suspending all non-essential capital expenditures, overhead costs, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenses.
The company continues to closely monitor its cash position and working capital and remains actively exploring and refining a range of potential financing options, which may include raising equity capital. At this stage, there is no certainty that the Group will successfully secure such financing options. If the withholding of VAT refunds continues and financing issues are not resolved in a timely manner, this could result in significant adverse consequences for the Group.
Commenting on the Group’s performance, interim acting chairman Lucio Genovese (Lucio Genovese) noted that the lower production figures in the first quarter of 2026—nearly half of those achieved in the last three months of 2025—reflect Russia’s targeted attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at the end of last year and their impact on the company’s ability to operate stably.
“Until January, given that electricity supply could not be secured on a stable basis in the necessary volumes, we were forced to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations and send part of the workforce on leave. Fortunately, by the end of February, we saw sufficient improvement in the availability and price of electricity to resume limited production at the PGZK on one pellet production line. One line remains in operation, and the group continues to use its own fleet of railcars for exports to customers in Eastern and Central Europe. “Going forward, we will focus on managing working capital and costs in this challenging operating environment,” said Genovese.
As reported, Ferrexpo produced 3,221,461 metric tons of pellets in 2025, which is 47% lower than in the previous year (6,070,541 metric tons). At the same time, total production of commercial products (pellets and iron ore concentrate) in 2025 decreased by 9% to 6,141,759 thousand tons. In particular, commercial concentrate output amounted to 2,920,298 thousand tons compared to 709,803 thousand tons, respectively. The company also produced 81,787 thousand tons of DR pellets (489,720 thousand tons in 2024) and 3,139,674 thousand tons of premium-grade pellets (a 44% decrease).
In 2024, Ferrexpo increased pellet production by 58% compared to 2023—to 6,070,541 thousand tons from 3,845,325 thousand tons. In 2023, the company produced 3.845 million tons of pellets, which is 36.5% less than in 2022.
Ferrexpo owns a 100% stake in Yeristivsky GOK LLC, 99.9% in Bilanivsky GOK LLC, and 100% of the shares in Poltavsky GOK PJSC.
