Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, has acquired the regional internet provider Shtorm LLC (Shtorm) in the Kirovohrad region, which serves over 50,000 subscribers, for 420 million UAH, announced Kyivstar CEO and President Oleksandr Komarov.
“This acquisition brings over 50,000 new broadband customers in 130 municipalities into the Kyivstar ecosystem, supporting our strategy to expand our broadband network,” he said during a conference call regarding the company’s annual report on Friday.
“In the fixed broadband market, we aim to strengthen the group’s leadership through organic growth and acquisitions,” Komarov emphasized regarding the company’s future development strategy.
He noted that cross-selling and synergies are at the core of Kyivstar’s digital growth strategy. According to him, for example, in the fourth quarter, the share of broadband customers subscribed to Kyivstar TV grew by more than 3 percentage points (pp) to 48%.
“We attribute this growth to effective marketing and the increasing appeal of our content library, including programs unavailable elsewhere in Ukraine,” Komarov noted.
He noted that the number of multi-service customers (including customers who use at least one digital application in addition to voice and data services) grew by 18% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, reaching 7.3 million, or 35% of the active customer base in a single month, which is nearly 6 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
“The multi-service segment is driving growth thanks to stronger customer engagement, higher data consumption, and improved customer retention. They (such customers) also generate a higher ARPU—$5.20 per month for our services, which is 37% higher than the average for a mobile customer,” noted the company’s president.
Kyivstar announced the acquisition of Shtorm in late February. At the time, it was noted that this provider offers coverage in the Kirovohrad region, covering the cities of Kropyvnytskyi, Oleksandriia, and 132 surrounding settlements. The press release did not include information on the purchase price of the provider.
According to data from YouControl, the revenue of Isp Storm LLC for the first nine months of 2025 increased 4.7-fold compared to the first nine months of 2024—to 94.86 million UAH—while net profit jumped 17-fold—to 30.39 million UAH.
The beneficiaries of the company, which has a registered capital of 4.5 million UAH, were Vitaliy Oliynyk and Yulia Makarenko on an equal basis.
Kyivstar emphasized that the deal preserves the provider’s workforce of more than 100 employees, including engineers, designers, and customer service specialists, who will continue to be responsible for network maintenance and subscriber support in the region.
In August of last year, Kyivstar first announced the $2 million acquisition in September 2024 of LanTrace (Boryspil)—a regional provider of fixed broadband internet access in the Kyiv region.
As reported, Kyivstar served 22.4 million mobile subscribers and 1.2 million “Home Internet” subscribers as of the end of 2025. In 2025, the company increased its EBITDA by 30% to 27 billion UAH, with revenue growing by 30.3% to 48.2 billion UAH; including in the fourth quarter of last year, when EBITDA increased by 23.1% to UAH 7.2 billion, with revenue growing by 30.1% to UAH 13.5 billion.
JSC “Hartron” (Kharkiv), 50%+1 share of which is owned by the state, plans to allocate UAH 20.23 million, or 75% of its net profit of nearly UAH 27 million, to pay dividends to shareholders for 2025.
According to the draft resolution of the general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 15, dividends are planned to be paid at a rate of nearly UAH 0.23 per share with a par value of UAH 0.25.
The amount of dividends attributable to the state’s stake will be UAH 10.115 million.
“Due to the replenishment of the reserve fund to 25% of the authorized capital, no contributions to the reserve fund will be made; retained earnings amount to UAH 6.744 million,” the statement reads.
As previously reported, based on its 2024 results, “Hartron” planned to allocate 75% of its net profit, or nearly 18.113 million UAH, for dividend payments, calculated at 0.21 UAH per share with a par value of 0.25 UAH. Net profit for 2024 amounted to UAH 24.15 million.
The shareholders’ meeting plans, in particular, to elect the supervisory board for a new term.
“Hartron,” founded in 1959, operates in market segments such as the rocket and space industry, energy (including nuclear), and rail transport. The ‘Hartron’ group of companies includes JSC “Hartron” itself and a number of subsidiaries established with its participation.
According to data from the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) for the fourth quarter of 2025, the major shareholders of JSC “Hartron,” aside from the state, are Chairman of the Board Mykola Vakhn (18.29%) and Volodymyr Kucherenko (18.2856%).
There is no information in open sources regarding the company’s net sales revenue for 2024 and 2025.
According to Serbian Economist, Budva’s tourism industry will face a shortage of at least 5,000 seasonal workers during the 2026 summer season, the Investitor.me portal reported, citing Alexander Jovanovic, chairman of the Budva Restaurant Association. According to him, the problem of securing seasonal labor remains chronic for the resort, as interest from workers in Montenegro is declining.
The country’s largest hotel company—the largely state-owned Hotelska grupa Budvanska rivijera—has already begun recruiting staff for the summer and estimates its own need at approximately 600 seasonal workers. Through the employment service, the company has posted dozens of job openings, including waiters, cooks, bartenders, bakers, lifeguards, beach and pool attendants, housekeeping staff, and support personnel.
Budvanska rivijera stated that all seasonal workers are provided with housing and three meals a day, and that it continues to collaborate with agencies, vocational schools, and universities to attract students and trainees during the peak season—in July and August. At the same time, the company acknowledges that it has to seek new sources of recruitment outside the country.
Employers in Budva are increasingly hiring workers from Asia. Jovanović himself attributes the labor shortage in part to the fact that some Montenegrins prefer to leave for seasonal work in other tourist destinations, primarily in the EU and neighboring Croatia.
Montenegro’s growing dependence on foreign labor is also confirmed by broader statistics. In 2025, the country issued 40,567 temporary residence and work permits to foreigners, which is 6.7% more than in 2024. Permits were granted to citizens of 107 countries, with the largest groups consisting of workers from Turkey, Serbia,
Russia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nepal, North Macedonia, and India.
This situation indicates that, as the summer season approaches, Montenegro is becoming increasingly dependent on the external labor market, and the labor shortage in tourism is no longer a local problem for individual hotels but a systemic constraint affecting the entire coast.
Geographical structure of Ukraine’s foreign trade (surplus) in January-September 2025, million usd
The number of Green Card contracts concluded in January-February 2026 decreased by 2.02% compared to the same months of 2025—to 187,500, according to the website of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU).
At the same time, premiums written under such policies during these months also decreased by 5.11%—to 792.7 million UAH.
The amount of claims paid increased by 3.23% to €7.361 million, while the number of claims settled decreased by 4.98% to 2,099.
The MTIBU is the sole association of insurers providing mandatory civil liability insurance for owners of land vehicles against damage caused to third parties.
The “Green Card” is a system of insurance protection for victims of road traffic accidents, regardless of their country of residence or the country where the vehicle is registered. It covers 45 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
According to a decision adopted by the General Assembly of the Council of the International Motor Insurance Bureau “Green Card” in Luxembourg in May 2004, Ukraine has been a full member of this system since January 1, 2005.
In Ukraine on Sunday, March 15, wind gusts of 15–20 m/s are expected in the southeast of the country at night and in the western regions, according to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
Forecasters warn that weather conditions may disrupt operations at energy, construction, and utility companies and cause traffic disruptions on roads and streets.
