Ukraine’s Cyber Police have warned citizens about a scam involving fake electricity bills, which may be sent via email or messaging apps purportedly on behalf of the Ministry of Energy or other government agencies.
According to the statement, scammers may inform recipients of alleged outstanding balances, send payment invoices, or demand immediate payment. To make their messages more convincing, they use official logos, the names of government agencies, and formatting that resembles genuine communications.
The main goal of the attackers is to trick users into clicking a link to a phishing website. There, they may be asked to enter their credit card information, username, password, SMS verification code, or other personal information. Malware may also be distributed under the guise of a bill or document. As a result, scammers can gain access to bank accounts, email, social media, and other accounts.
The Cyber Police emphasize that the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine does not send electricity bills to consumers and does not collect utility payments. Bills are issued directly by the electricity suppliers with whom consumers have signed contracts.
Signs of a fraudulent message may include a demand for immediate payment via a link provided, information about a non-existent debt, a sender’s email address that does not belong to an official institution, a request to enter bank details or a password, as well as unknown attached files.
Grammatical errors, unusual phrasing, and attempts to create a sense of urgency should also raise red flags.
It is recommended to verify information about electricity payments only through your provider’s official website or app. The cyber police advise against clicking on links in suspicious emails and against entering personal or banking information on websites linked to via email or messaging apps.
If a user has already clicked on a suspicious link, entered banking information, or lost funds, they should contact their bank as soon as possible to block their payment instruments. It is also important to save the correspondence, links, phone number, and other evidence to report the incident to law enforcement.
Additional information about current fraud schemes and ways to protect yourself can be found on the “Cyber Brama” portal at stopfraud.gov.ua.
AVIS Ukraine (VIP-Rent FDI) has renewed nearly 17% of its fleet over the past nine months, adding 60 new vehicles for rental and operational leasing. This marks the company’s largest fleet renewal in the past several years.
More than half of the new additions are SUVs. The fleet now includes, in particular, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Volkswagen Touareg R-Line, Audi A6, and Hyundai Staria minivans. The new vehicles are already available to the company’s customers in Ukraine.
Toyota and Volkswagen accounted for the largest share of the fleet update, together making up over 55% of the new additions. Toyota’s share was 30.5%, while Volkswagen’s was about 25%. New Skoda and Hyundai vehicles were also added to the fleet.
Among individual models, the Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Tiguan saw the largest increases. The company attributes this to demand for crossovers for travel and all-wheel-drive pickups used by corporate clients, infrastructure projects, and international organizations.
The Skoda Octavia A8—targeted specifically at the corporate segment—and the Hyundai Staria, designed for group transportation and serving large teams, also accounted for a significant share of the new fleet.
AVIS Ukraine simultaneously expanded its premium segment with the addition of the Volkswagen Touareg R-Line and the Audi A6. The company targets these vehicles primarily at business clients, diplomatic missions, and international organizations.
Diesel vehicles formed the bulk of the new additions—61% of all deliveries. The company attributes this composition to the fuel efficiency of diesel models over long distances and their high demand in the corporate segment.
At the same time, over 15% of deliveries in 2026 consisted of hybrid Toyota RAV4s. In this way, AVIS Ukraine is gradually increasing the share of fuel-efficient vehicles in its fleet.
The company has been operating in the Ukrainian market under the Avis brand since 1997, and under the Payless brand since 2016. It provides short-term car rental services for individuals, as well as operating leases and fleet management for corporate clients.
AVIS is an international provider of car rental and operating lease services, with a presence in 185 countries worldwide.
The insurance company VUSO (Kyiv) and the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) have announced the start of their partnership and that the insurer has been granted the status of official insurance partner of the Ukrainian national soccer team, according to the insurer’s website.
As noted by VUSO CEO Andriy Artyukhov, the company is always on the lookout for projects that embody vibrant energy, character, and a drive to win. The partnership with the Ukrainian Football Association is precisely such an opportunity.
According to the information provided, the partnership includes comprehensive branding of the VUSO brand during the national team’s home and away matches, integration into the UAF’s digital channels, and the implementation of joint media projects.
“In soccer, as in life, it’s important to have reliable support and confidence in those around you. That is precisely why we are pleased to welcome VUSO as the official insurance partner of the Ukrainian national soccer team. It is especially valuable that, even amid the war, Ukrainian businesses continue to support Ukrainian sports and our national team,” noted UAF President Andriy Shevchenko.
VUSO Insurance Company was founded in 2001. On April 23, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine renewed the company’s licenses to conduct insurance activities (33 for voluntary insurance and 17 for mandatory insurance). The company has 34 representative offices, two branches, and more than 20 agency sales centers throughout the country.
As of the end of 2025, the company’s insurance premiums exceeded 5.1 billion UAH. VUSO ranked second in the voluntary medical insurance and travel insurance segments, third in the comprehensive auto insurance and property insurance segments, and was among the top 10 insurers for mandatory auto liability insurance.
Standard-Rating has updated the financial stability rating of PJSC “Insurance Company ‘VUSO’ (Kyiv)” to “uaAA” on the national scale based on the company’s performance for January–June 2026.
According to information posted on the rating agency’s website, the company collected UAH 2.689 billion in gross premiums during this period, which is 26.3% more than in the same period a year earlier.
Premiums from individual policyholders increased by 18.88% to 1.633 billion UAH, while premiums from reinsurers rose by 6.67% to 23.096 million UAH. Thus, the share of individual policyholders in the insurer’s gross premiums for the first half of 2026 was 60.75%, while the share of reinsurers was 0.86%.
Accrued reinsurance premiums ceded in the first half of 2026 increased by 87.62% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching UAH 456.193 million, and the reinsurers’ share of insurance premiums increased by 5.55 percentage points to 16.97%.
During the reporting period, net premiums increased by 18.39% to 2.232 billion UAH, while net earned premiums rose by 36.91% to 2.415 billion UAH.
In the first half of 2026, VUSO Insurance Company paid out UAH 1.292 billion to its clients, which is 63.98% higher than the total insurance payouts and reimbursements for the first half of 2025. The payout ratio increased by 11.04 percentage points to 48.05%.
At the end of the first six months of 2026, the company’s operating profit increased by 12.73% to 152.743 million UAH, while net profit rose by 52.39% to 155.944 million UAH.
As of July 1, 2026, the insurer’s assets increased by 11.84% to 3.504 billion UAH, equity rose by 13.57% to 1.137 billion UAH, liabilities increased by 11.03% to 2.367 billion UAH,
and cash and cash equivalents increased by 0.69% to UAH 1.219 billion.
The RA also notes that as of the beginning of the second half of 2026, the company had a sufficient level of capitalization (55.02%) and cash coverage of liabilities (48.05%). The balance of funds in the Insurer’s centralized insurance reserve funds (MTIBU) amounted to UAH 749.333 million, which also had a positive impact on the Company’s liquidity.
As of July 1, 2026, VUSO Insurance Company had built a portfolio of current investments in government bonds totaling 583.623 million UAH, which increased the insurer’s level of liquidity assets, which collectively covered 76.14% of the company’s liabilities.
VUSO Insurance Company was founded in 2001. On April 23, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine renewed the company’s licenses to conduct insurance activities (33 for voluntary insurance and 17 for mandatory insurance). The company has 34 representative offices, 2 branches, and more than 20 agency sales centers throughout the country.
In the 2025–26 marketing year, rapeseed processing in Ukraine increased 2.7-fold, and rapeseed oil exports increased 2.5-fold compared to the previous marketing year. In total, 42% of the rapeseed harvest was processed domestically (last year this figure was 15%), which is an all-time record since the crop began to be grown in Ukraine. Foreign exchange earnings from rapeseed oil exports more than tripled, reaching $588 million.
This was reported by Dmytro Kysilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development, citing data from the “Ukroliyaprom” association. He also noted that the share of domestic processing of the soybean harvest in the 2025–26 marketing year rose from 39% to 54.2% (also a historic record for processing). Despite a decline in the soybean harvest from 6.6 million metric tons to 4.8 million metric tons, foreign exchange earnings from exports of soybean oil and meal rose by 12.3%, to $1.02 billion.
Compared to the previous marketing year, the harvested areas for these crops changed insignificantly: rapeseed +15.7%, soybeans -3.9%. In total, the area planted with these crops increased from 3.25 million hectares to 3.37 million hectares.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, additional revenue to the state budget from export duties on soybeans and rapeseed amounted to 2.174 billion UAH for the marketing year, i.e., for the period from September 2025 to August 2026.
“These figures show that export duties on soybeans and rapeseed have been effective: the share of processing has increased—Ukrainian plants have seen higher utilization rates; the area under cultivation has expanded—farmers consider these crops profitable to grow; and the budget has received additional revenue from duties as well as from plant operations. Step by step, Ukraine is moving away from low-value commodity exports, increasing processing, foreign exchange earnings, and tax revenues, and developing new plants that offer decent wages for Ukrainians. “When Ukraine exports processed products rather than soybeans and rapeseed, the growth in foreign exchange revenue per metric ton of exports ranges from 30% to 50%,” noted Dmytro Kysilevsky.
On July 16, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the introduction of a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed. The duties took effect on September 4, 2025.
According to Experts.news, brisk walking and jogging may be among the most effective forms of physical activity for maintaining bone mineral density in people over 40, according to the results of a large meta-analysis published on September 9, 2026, in the scientific journal BMJ.
According to ScienceAlert, researchers analyzed 124 randomized clinical trials involving 18,429 participants aged 40 and older. The scientists compared various types of physical activity, including walking, running, strength training, aerobic exercise, yoga, and combined programs.
The primary outcome measure was bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, the femoral neck, and the hip joint. A decline in this measure with age is associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
Brisk walking and jogging showed the best results for bone density. For the lumbar spine, they resulted in an average improvement of approximately 0.013 g/cm² compared to the control group. A combination of aerobic and strength training demonstrated a similar result.
For the femoral neck, brisk walking or jogging was associated with an improvement of approximately 0.009 g/cm². A positive effect was also observed for so-called mind-body practices, which include, in particular, yoga and similar types of exercise.
The researchers also attempted to determine the optimal amount of physical activity. The analysis showed that a noticeable effect on bone tissue begins to appear at approximately 600 MET-minutes per week. This roughly corresponds to about two to three hours of brisk walking or jogging per week, although the exact duration depends on the intensity of the exercise.
The authors note that structured physical exercise can moderately but clinically significantly slow the age-related decline in bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, the femoral neck, and the hip joint.
At the same time, the effect of exercise varied depending on the participants’ age and other characteristics. In middle-aged individuals with normal body weight, changes in bone density were more pronounced, whereas in older participants and those who were overweight, the results were weaker. The authors emphasize that these subgroup findings have limited validity and should not be used as ready-made individual recommendations without further research.
Separately, the researchers analyzed the risk of fractures. This analysis included 26 studies involving 11,132 participants. Some combined aerobic programs and mind-body exercises showed a potential reduction in fracture risk, but the evidence base here was less conclusive.
Experts also caution that an increase in bone mineral density does not always directly translate to a corresponding reduction in fracture risk. For example, brisk walking showed some of the best results for bone density, but no statistically significant reduction in the number of fractures was observed in this group.
The study authors rate the overall certainty of some of the results as low or moderate and emphasize that further research is needed to formulate precise recommendations regarding the type and “dose” of physical activity.
Original study: BMJ – Effect of exercise on bone health in middle-aged and older adults.
