Three Ukrainian citizens have been detained in Croatia on suspicion of participating in an organized international fraud scheme; they were arrested in Dubrovnik on August 8 while attempting to obtain €1.3 million in cash from the victim, according to the Croatian anti-corruption agency USKOK. According to the investigation, they had previously managed to get their hands on more than €800,000.
The investigation believes that the group operated not only in Croatia, but also in Spain, Poland, and the UK, posing as representatives of financial institutions and offering to “return” funds lost in online trading in exchange for large commissions and deposits.
USKOK has opened a formal investigation; those detained are charged with attempted multi-million dollar fraud and participation in a criminal organization. The names of the suspects have not been disclosed, their procedural status is “under investigation,” and the presumption of innocence applies.
Source: Serbian Economist.
Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s leading express delivery service from the Nova Group, has updated its delivery rules to the US due to Washington’s cancellation of the $800 duty-free threshold: the cost of delivery has increased by at least 10% due to the duty applied to goods from Ukraine.
According to a press release from Nova Poshta on Wednesday, if the sender is the payer, customs clearance services are included in the tariff, while if the recipient is the payer, they will have to pay, in addition to 10% of the cost of the shipment, customs brokerage services starting at $25 per shipment upon receipt.
It is noted that the recipient will be sent an email with a link to pay the customs duty and customs brokerage services. Delivery of the shipment will be carried out after payment, and the final amount of customs duty and customs brokerage services will be determined during customs clearance upon delivery in the United States.
The company emphasized that it is important to correctly indicate the country of origin of the goods in the shipment. The 10% duty rate applies only to goods produced in Ukraine. Rates may vary for goods from other countries.
It is also indicated that a technical solution has been developed for Nova Post API users to select the payer of customs duties for the United States.
On the eve of the announcement, Ihor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, Nova Poshta’s main competitor, said that his company would also continue commercial mail deliveries to the US after the country introduced a 10% duty on shipments worth up to $800, and delivery rates to the US will increase by an average of $1.5-3.
According to the CEO of Ukrposhta, Ukrainian senders will have an advantage over competitors from most other countries, as the rate for Ukraine is the lowest at 10%, while for EU countries it is 15% and for Switzerland 39%. In addition, most European countries are pausing shipments to the US until the 10% duty collection procedure is settled.
DUTY, NOVA, NOVA POSHTA, USA
Antonov Logistics Salis GmbH, a subsidiary of Antonov State Enterprise,
created to service cargo air transportation under the NATO program, is starting construction of a hangar for aircraft maintenance at Leipzig Airport (LEJ) in Germany, which became the main base for Antonov Airlines after the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
According to a Facebook post by Leipzig/Halle Airport, the building will cover an area of approximately 24,000 square meters. Preparatory work for construction is already underway, and completion is scheduled for 2027.
“We are very pleased with the construction of the new hangar. It is not only another milestone in our trusting cooperation with Antonov Logistics Salis GmbH, but also a symbol of the efficiency of our airport and an important impetus for LEJ as the second-largest air cargo hub in Germany,” the statement said.
Antonov Airlines was founded in 1989. According to its website, the airline’s fleet consists of one An-225 Mriya aircraft, seven An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft, one An-22 Antey aircraft, one An-26 aircraft, and one An-74T aircraft. According to Ukroboronprom, as a result of Russia’s hostile actions at the beginning of the invasion, the base (Antonov) in Gostomel was destroyed, the base in Svyatoshyn was damaged, and the An-26, An-74, and An-225 Mriya aircraft were destroyed. Another An-124 was also damaged, while five other An-124s were taken out of Ukraine.
In July 2025, Antonov completed the modernization of the An-124-100 Ruslan and transported it from Kyiv to Leipzig.
Relocation.com.ua has prepared an analysis of the Georgian residential real estate market in the first half of 2025: prices are rising, demand is leveling off, and rents are cooling down.
In June, 3,236 apartment deals were registered in Tbilisi, which is +11% y/y (−2% m/m) — the first noticeable rebound after the sluggish spring months, according to TBC Capital. The average asking price in the city is $1,266/m² (+6% y/y), and the average rental rate is $10.6/m² (−12% y/y).
In Tbilisi, 15,865 deals worth $1.2 billion (+2.6% y/y) were registered in the first five months of 2025, with the average price on the primary market in May at $1,331/m² and rent at $9.3/m².
As for Batumi, 7,129 transactions were registered in Batumi in the first half of 2025 (+4.8% y/y), with a total market volume of $397 million (+16.1% y/y). Weighted average prices: new buildings $1,184/m² (+16.1%), secondary market $1,169/m² (+20%).
According to Galt & Taggart’s assessment, sales growth continued in the second quarter in both the primary and secondary markets; rental rates in June were +1.6% y/y, and yields remain high compared to “pyramids.”
Earlier it was reported that the average gross rental yield in Batumi remains at around 8.8% (end of winter 2025).
Prices across the country: double-digit growth in annual terms
According to the Geostat housing price index, in Q1 2025, housing prices in Georgia were +11.53% y/y (in real terms, adjusted for inflation — +7.78%).
Against the backdrop of the high base of previous years, the issuance of permits in Tbilisi in 5M25 declined moderately (by area −1.1% y/y), and in May, 25 permits were issued for ≈203 thousand m² (−18.3% y/y). This is holding back supply growth and supporting prices in the primary segment.
After peaking in 2022–2023, rents in Tbilisi stabilized and fell to $9.3–10.6/m² in May, depending on the source and observation period. Gross yields in Tbilisi remain around ~8–11%, which is comparable to yields in resort locations.
Foreign buyers: activity continues, with Israelis playing a notable role
Government agencies do not usually publish official monthly breakdowns by nationality. However, a Galt & Taggart survey of systemic developers (covering ≈45% of the primary market in Tbilisi) found that buyers from Israel accounted for 11% of all sales in 5M25. Demand from local and “regional” buyers (Russia, Ukraine, Middle Eastern countries) is also significant, but the shares vary from project to project.
Analysts expect moderate, “healthy” growth while maintaining attractive returns in resort locations (Batumi) and a gradual recovery in demand in the capital as rates and incomes stabilize. External demand will remain selective (investment apartments and lots for short-term rent).
On September 26, 2025, Kyiv will host the 19th Customer Experience Conference, the only cross-industry conference in Ukraine that turns conversations about customer experience into the language of systems and profit.
The leitmotif of the 2025 event is CX as a system for profit.
Against the backdrop of war, market instability, and staff fatigue, it is systemic customer centricity that is becoming a critical advantage. Companies that shape the customer experience not intuitively, but through metrics, structure, and transparency, show better capitalization, efficiency, and long-term loyalty.
What is the focus of the program?
Among the speakers:
Speakers will share transformation practices in times of turbulence, cases of CX systems implementation, and approaches to team experience design.
19′ Customer Experience Conference is a platform that helps companies move from chaotic efforts to a mature model of working with customer experience.
Who should attend:
Date: September 26, 2025
Location: Kyiv, Ramada Event Hall + Online
Event partners: Oschadbank, Kormotech, Linkos Group
Tickets and details: https://kagroup.ua/cx
Contact: info@kagroup.ua | +38 (063) 247 94 74
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in January-June 2025 reached UAH 92 billion 997.6 million, which is 8.15% higher than in the first half of 2024, according to data from the State Statistics Service (SSS).
The statistics agency reported that in the first six months of 2025, the volume of construction of engineering structures decreased by 3.5% compared to the same period last year, to UAH 49.7331 billion, compared to UAH 51.5498 billion in the same period last year. At the same time, the volume of work performed in residential construction increased by 11% to UAH 13 billion 684.6 million, and in non-residential construction by 33.7% to UAH 29 billion 579.9 million.
The share of new construction in the total volume of construction work performed in January-June was 43.6%, repairs – 29.6%, reconstruction and other work – 26.8%.
According to the State Statistics Service, in the first half of this year, the construction output index reached 102.4% compared to January-June 2024.
According to seasonally adjusted data from the agency, construction output indices in June 2025 were 56.3% in residential construction, in non-residential construction – 137.5%, in engineering construction – 167.6%, and taking into account the effect of calendar days, the figures are 57.1%, 131.1% and 159.4%, respectively.
