China maintained its top position by a wide margin among suppliers of goods to Ukraine in January–July 2026, accounting for $16.8 billion in imports, according to the Experts Club information and analytical center, based on data from the State Customs Service.
According to calculations based on State Customs Service statistics, China accounted for about 28.9% of Ukraine’s total goods imports, which reached $58.1 billion over the seven-month period.
Poland was the second-largest supplier with $5.5 billion, or about 9.5% of imports, while Germany ranked third with $3.8 billion, or 6.5%.
Thus, just three countries accounted for almost 45% of the value of all goods imported into Ukraine in January-July.
Total goods imports over the seven months increased by 26.6% compared with the same period of 2025, from $45.9 billion to $58.1 billion.
Machinery, equipment and vehicles remain the main factor behind the high level of imports, with purchases amounting to $25.7 billion. Fuel and energy products accounted for another $8.5 billion, while chemical industry products amounted to $8 billion.
At the same time, Ukraine’s exports over the same period grew significantly more slowly — by 3.8%, to $24.1 billion.
According to preliminary data, Ukraine’s international reserves decreased by $70.4 million, or 0.1%, to $51.2 billion in July, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on Friday.
“This trend was driven by the National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions and the country’s debt payments in foreign currency,” the regulator noted on its website.
According to the published data, net international reserves in July decreased by $668.9 million, or 1.8%, compared to June, to $36.3 billion.
The share of dollar-denominated assets in international reserves as of August 1, 2026, decreased to 64.7% from 66.5% a month earlier, while the share of euro-denominated assets rose to 27.0% from 25.6%. A year ago, these figures stood at 73.5% and 17.5%, respectively.
The share of gold in international reserves as of early August stood at 7.0%, compared with 6.9% a month earlier and 6.8% a year earlier.
It is noted that $1.6 billion was credited to the government’s foreign currency accounts at the National Bank in July, including $683.3 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), $498.7 million through World Bank accounts, and $458.6 million from the placement of foreign currency government bonds.
In addition, Ukraine received $5.1 billion from the European Union (EU) as part of a defense tranche under the Ukraine Support Loan program; however, due to the earmarked nature of this funding, these funds do not directly enter the international reserves. In July, the government converted $3.4 billion of these funds into hryvnia, which correspondingly contributed to an increase in international reserves.
At the same time, the Ukrainian government paid $515.4 million for servicing and repaying public debt denominated in foreign currency, including $433.3 million for servicing and repaying foreign-currency government bonds, $58.7 million for servicing and repaying debt to the World Bank, $6.9 million for servicing debt to the EU, and $16.5 million for debt to other creditors.
In addition, Ukraine paid $174.2 million to the IMF.
The revaluation of financial instruments in July increased the value of reserves by $300.6 million.
The National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions totaled nearly $4.79 billion, which is $296.0 million less than in June.
“The current level of international reserves is sufficient to finance 4.2 months of future imports,” the National Bank added.
As previously reported, in its July macroeconomic forecast, the regulator raised its estimate of international reserves for the end of 2026 to $69.7 billion from $64.8 billion, for 2027 to $73.7 billion from $66.5 billion, and for 2028 to $70.0 billion from $61.1 billion.
Transgaz, the Romanian gas transmission system operator, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. company Argent LNG, which provides for the possibility of investing in the construction of a large LNG terminal in Louisiana.
The project will have a capacity of 25 million metric tons of LNG per year, or approximately 35 billion cubic meters of gas. The first deliveries are expected in 2030.
One of the main goals is to establish a long-term supply route for American gas through Romania to Moldova and Ukraine, and further on to Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany.
The project is intended to strengthen the so-called Vertical Gas Corridor, which is gradually becoming one of the key routes for supplying non-Russian gas to Central and Eastern Europe.
The corridor connects the gas transmission systems of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Moldova. It can be used to transport both Azerbaijani gas and LNG from the U.S., which arrives via the Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis terminals in Greece.
For the Balkans, the project is significant because it provides the region with another major source of gas and fosters additional competition among supply routes. The more American and other non-Russian LNG that flows through Greece and Romania, the more the gas infrastructure of all of Southeast Europe will change.
Moldova has already tested this route: U.S. LNG was delivered via Greece and then injected into Ukrainian underground storage facilities.
Transgaz also controls 75% of the Moldovan gas transmission system operator Westmoldtransgaz.
The Experts Club analytical center has presented a new short video dedicated to changes in the composition of the world’s 20 largest economies by gross domestic product calculated at purchasing power parity. The analysis shows a gradual shift in the center of the global economy from North America and Western Europe toward Asia, as well as the strengthening of large developing countries with large populations and growing domestic markets.
According to Experts Club calculations based on the International Monetary Fund’s April World Economic Outlook database, China remains the world’s largest economy by GDP at PPP in 2026. Its figure is estimated at $44.3 trillion in international dollars. The United States ranks second with $32.4 trillion, followed by India in third place with $18.9 trillion. Russia ranks fourth at about $7.5 trillion, Japan fifth at $7.3 trillion, and Germany sixth at $6.4 trillion. They are followed by Indonesia, Brazil, France and the United Kingdom. The second ten of the world’s largest economies includes Türkiye, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and Taiwan.
The figures cited are IMF estimates for 2026 rather than final annual results. The full World Economic Outlook database was published in April 2026 and contains statistical data and forecasts through 2031.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the structure of the global economy looked significantly different. In 1992, the United States ranked first, Japan second and Germany third. China was only in sixth place, India ninth and Indonesia 14th. By 2026, China had risen to first place, India to third and Indonesia to seventh. South Korea moved from 18th place in 1992 to 14th, while Türkiye moved from 15th to 11th.
The growth of Asian countries is associated with population growth, urbanization, expansion of industrial production, infrastructure development and the formation of large domestic consumer markets. China’s rise has been particularly notable. In 1992, its economy at PPP was almost five times smaller than that of the United States, whereas today China’s figure is roughly one-third higher than the U.S. figure. India has also significantly narrowed the gap with the world’s largest economies. Its GDP at PPP in 2026 is almost three times that of Japan or Germany.
Western European countries remain widely represented among the world’s largest economies, but their relative positions are gradually declining. Germany moved from third place in 1992 to sixth in 2026. Italy fell from fifth to 12th, France from seventh to ninth, and the United Kingdom from eighth to tenth. The Netherlands, which was among the top 20 in the early 1990s, subsequently dropped out. Australia has also periodically ranked among the top 20 but is currently outside it.
This trend does not mean an absolute contraction of European economies. Their GDP continues to grow, but the economies of Asia, the Middle East and individual African countries are expanding faster. GDP at PPP additionally strengthens the positions of developing countries because it takes differences in domestic prices into account. One international dollar is intended to represent a comparable amount of goods and services across different economies, regardless of the market exchange rate of the national currency.
One of the important trends of recent decades has been the strengthening of major African countries. Egypt ranks 18th in the IMF’s 2026 estimate with GDP at PPP of about $2.57 trillion, while Nigeria ranks 19th with $2.42 trillion. Their presence in the top 20 is primarily related to the size of their populations and domestic markets. At the same time, high aggregate GDP does not automatically mean a high standard of living for citizens. To assess living standards, GDP at PPP per capita, labor productivity, the structure of the economy, income distribution and the quality of public services must be considered separately.
Following the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine remained among the world’s 20 largest economies by GDP at PPP for some time. According to Experts Club calculations based on the IMF’s historical data series, Ukraine ranked 17th in 1992 with about $433 billion in international dollars. In 1993, it ranked 19th, while in 1994 it fell to 23rd place and finally left the top 20.
In 2000, Ukraine ranked approximately 35th, in 2010 it was 31st, and on the eve of the full-scale war, in 2021, it ranked around 34th. Following the sharp contraction of the economy in 2022, Ukraine fell to 47th place. The World Bank estimated the decline in Ukraine’s real GDP in 2022 at approximately 29%. In subsequent years, the economy partially recovered. According to the IMF estimate, Ukraine ranked approximately 46th in 2025 and may rise to 44th place in 2026. Ukraine’s GDP at PPP in 2026 is estimated at approximately $724.5 billion in international dollars. This is about 0.33% of the global economy. Ukraine is positioned between Chile and Austria, ahead of Peru, the Czech Republic, Iraq and Norway.
“Ukraine’s departure from the top 20 did not occur in recent years, but back in the first half of the 1990s. Since then, the world has changed significantly: China, India, Indonesia, Türkiye and other developing countries expanded their industries, infrastructure and domestic consumption, while Ukraine went through prolonged structural crises, population loss and insufficient investment,” said Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club analytical center.
According to him, the full-scale war further widened the gap between Ukraine and the world’s largest economies due to the destruction of enterprises, energy facilities and transport infrastructure, as well as the reduction in labor resources. As of the end of 2025, direct damage to Ukraine was estimated at more than $195 billion, while recovery and reconstruction needs for the next decade were estimated at nearly $588 billion.
The world’s 20th-largest economy, Taiwan, has GDP at PPP of about $2.27 trillion. This is more than three times Ukraine’s figure. Therefore, Ukraine cannot return to the top 20 through short-term post-war recovery alone. This will require sustained productivity growth, increased investment, the return of part of the population, development of the manufacturing industry and expansion of exports of high value-added products.
“The main conclusion from the ranking lies not in the country’s position itself, but in the speed of its movement relative to other countries. Even growth of several percent per year may be insufficient if competitors are growing faster. Ukraine needs a model of accelerated development designed for at least two decades,” Urakin emphasized.
Experts Club notes that GDP at PPP rankings make it possible to assess the scale of national economies and their role in global production, but they should not be used as the sole indicator of economic success. The United States, for example, trails China in aggregate GDP at PPP but significantly outpaces it in GDP per capita, financial market development and the value of high-tech companies.
The main global trend remains the gradual shift of economic weight toward Asia and the countries of the Global South. In the coming decades, this process will be supported by demographic growth, urbanization and the expansion of the middle class in India, Indonesia, Africa and other developing regions.
The St. Sophia Cathedral National Reserve has launched an official audio guide in English for foreign visitors to St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC) announced on August 7.
The English-language version of the audio guide is primarily intended for foreign tourists, diplomats, and expats, and introduces visitors to the cathedral’s history, architecture, and 11th-century mosaics and frescoes. The audio guide is also available online.
Andriy Gunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, provided the narration for the English-language tour.
According to him, the project aims to make Kyiv’s rich history more accessible to an English-speaking international audience. Gunder invited diplomats, tourists, and foreigners living in Ukraine to visit St. Sophia Cathedral and use the new audio guide.
St. Sophia Cathedral was built in the first half of the 11th century during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise and became one of the main sacred and political centers of Kievan Rus’. UNESCO calls it one of the most outstanding monuments of architecture and monumental art of the early 11th century. The cathedral preserves a unique collection of original mosaics and frescoes from this period.
In 1990, St. Sophia Cathedral, along with the adjacent monastic buildings and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was one of the first Ukrainian sites to be included on this list.
The launch of an English-language audio guide expands opportunities for international visitors to explore one of Kyiv’s major historical landmarks on their own and creates an additional tourist attraction for foreign visitors to the Ukrainian capital.
St. Sophia Cathedral is located at 24 Volodymyrska Street, Kyiv. The English-language audio guide can be listened to either during your visit or online.
The municipality of Naro in the Sicilian province of Agrigento has opened applications for the purchase of abandoned houses at the symbolic price of EUR1. The program’s official digital portal began operating in July 2026, while the municipal regulations were approved by the city council on June 4. The program is aimed at restoring vacant properties, preserving the historic center and attracting new residents, entrepreneurs and investors to the town. The municipality does not purchase the buildings or become their owner, but verifies the properties and acts as an intermediary between private owners and potential buyers.
At the time of the launch, two houses are listed in the public catalog. The first property, with an area of about 20 sq. m, is located on Via Vanelle and consists of three rooms. The second house, with an area of 93 sq. m and 5.5 rooms, is located on Via Madonna della Rocca. Both buildings require renovation.
Applications may be submitted by adult citizens of Italy and other countries, including those who do not reside in Italy. The program is also open to companies, associations, foundations, cooperatives and other legal entities. The regulations do not impose any restrictions based on citizenship.
The restored property may be used as a primary residence, second home, tourist accommodation, B&B, artisan workshop, commercial premises or an organization’s office. However, in the allocation of houses, preference will be given to projects involving permanent residence in Naro, the creation of businesses and jobs, and the restoration of the building’s historic elements.
The maximum 30 points are awarded to applicants prepared to move their primary residence to Naro. Commercial, artisan and tourism projects may receive up to 25 points, while using the building as a second home may receive up to 10 points. Additional points are awarded to young couples under 35, families with children, energy-efficient projects and initiatives involving the hiring of local workers.
The symbolic price of EUR1 does not include notary services, registration and cadastral fees, project preparation, obtaining permits or construction work. All costs associated with the purchase and restoration are borne by the new owner.
The winner of the competition must provide a deposit of EUR5,000. It may be arranged in the form of a bank or insurance guarantee. The amount is returned after the work has been completed and verified as compliant with the approved project. If the buyer fails to meet their obligations, they lose the deposit and the right to benefit from the program.
The restoration project must be submitted to the municipality within 12 months after completion of the transaction. Work must begin no later than 12 months after the project is approved and must be fully completed within 36 months from the date of purchase. In the event of technical or other justified circumstances, the buyer may be granted a single extension of up to 12 months.
The restored house may not be sold for at least five years after completion of the work. During the renovation, the owner must also obtain third-party liability insurance. Municipal specialists will inspect the status of the project every six months.
The applicant must select a house from the electronic catalog and specify its assigned unique code. Applicants may submit a simplified application containing basic contact details or immediately provide a complete package describing the intended future use of the property, a preliminary project, a work schedule and the estimated amount of investment.
Submitting an application through the portal does not mean that the applicant will automatically receive the property. The documents and project are reviewed by a municipal technical commission, after which a ranking of applicants is compiled. Preliminary results are published for 15 days to allow for possible comments, while final completion of the transaction takes place after the deposit has been provided.
The official primary source of information is the dedicated portal of the Municipality of Naro and the regulations for the “One Euro Houses” program published there. As of August 6, the portal does not specify a final deadline for applications, while the list of available properties may be expanded after new offers from private owners have been verified.
