The Ukrainian Association of Developers, which unites the largest construction companies, has reported that the industry is being systematically blocked by a number of politicians and “pseudo-activists.”
The official statement recalls that the aggressor has destroyed the homes of more than 1.5 million Ukrainian families, and that construction volumes have halved compared to pre-war levels. According to minimal estimates, it will take at least 25 years to provide housing for these families under current conditions. Creating conditions for the development of the construction industry and providing housing for Ukrainians should be one of the government’s priorities.
“However, the construction industry is not just deprived of support, it is under constant pressure and blocking. Today, some politicians and pseudo-activists, officials and judges are trying to take developers, who stand behind millions of Ukrainian families and hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, as economic hostages. They, along with some representatives of certain structures, are illegally blocking the work of an entire sector of the economy. In some cases, the authorities either indulge them or simply pretend that the problem does not exist,” the statement reads.
The Association conducted a study of the situation in 2017-2024, interviewed 13 out of 22 member companies, and analyzed 193 criminal proceedings. On average, there are five cases per facility, with 52% of cases involving violations by public officials, 84% of cases involving seizure of accounts and property, interrogations and searches. Only 17% of cases have been completed. At the same time, 74% of respondents reported that the provisions of the Criminal Code on limiting the time of pre-trial investigation and applying the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution for offenses are not being implemented. For example, the oldest episode in which a case was opened was 17 years old.
“After a year of construction, an official can cancel his own decision issued under the law under pressure from the street. Some law enforcement officials can open criminal proceedings only on the basis of a desire to invite businesses to “discuss a financial issue.” As a result, pseudo-activists and law enforcement officers make money, the economy loses, and citizens do not receive their housing,” the Ukrainian Association of Developers said in a statement.
The authors of the statement emphasize that the construction industry is under constant pressure and blocking. Even if they have all the permits and documents, builders have no guarantee that central or local authorities will not change the rules on the fly and block construction. As a result, developers go bankrupt, the economy loses billions, and people do not receive housing, developers emphasize.
The Association warns that further ignoring the problems of the industry by the state will lead to catastrophic consequences. The industry will come to a standstill, and housing prices will skyrocket, making it even more unaffordable for most citizens.
Ukraine’s largest construction companies are calling on the President, the Cabinet of Ministers and other authorities to intervene.
“We demand fair rules! Restore compliance with the law in the construction industry by all its participants! To stop the arbitrariness of pseudo-activists and law enforcement officers! Bring extortionists and blackmailers to justice! To consider the issue of cultural heritage exclusively in the legal field, and not under pressure from the street! Prohibit the application of laws and regulations retroactively! Stop rewriting the rules in the construction industry on the fly!” the statement reads.
If this is not done today, there will be no one to rebuild the country tomorrow, the Association of Developers summarizes.
Established in November 2023, the Ukrainian Association of Developers (UA Developers) unites the leaders of the domestic real estate market. Today, they are KAN Development, RIEL, Stolitsa Group, SAGA Development, Kovalska, Intergal-Bud, Perfect Group, DIM, TARYAN Group (Poznyakyzhytlobud), Association of Western Ukrainian Developers, ENSO, BudCapital, BUD Development, IB Alliance, Futura, Liko-Holding, GEOS, Citex Development, Ave New Development, Caspian Service, UDP and Consulting Development. Together, the Association members represent 92% of the primary real estate market in Kyiv and 24% of the Ukrainian market.
Ukraine and China are working to open the Chinese market for Ukrainian peas, poultry, corn, and fish products, the press service of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection reports.
“China is an important market for national exporters of agricultural products, so on behalf of the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, Serhiy Tkachuk, the service and the competent authority of China continue to interact on a regular basis. Our goal is to open seven new markets. This is a long process of coordination, but step by step we are succeeding,” said Oleh Osiyan, First Deputy Head of the State Consumer Service, at a meeting with representatives of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).
The parties discussed draft bilateral international agreements on the export of peas, wheat flour, pet food, beef, corn, poultry, and wild-caught aquatic products from Ukraine to China. Each of these documents is at a different stage of development and approval.
“Currently, the protocol on peas is at the stage of finalizing domestic approval in Ukraine, and the texts have been sent to the competent authority of China for consideration. This is one of the markets that is at the final stage of opening. After the signing of the bilateral protocol, new opportunities for pea exports will open up for Ukrainian agricultural businesses,” said Vadym Chaikovskyi, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and Chief State Phytosanitary Inspector of Ukraine.
It should be reminded that the last Ukrainian product to be granted access to the Chinese market was honey. The form of the health certificate for its export was agreed upon earlier this year.
The requirements of the countries of destination for the export of food products of animal and plant origin are published on the official web portal of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
“Currently, our Chinese colleagues are considering draft protocols on the export of poultry and fish. The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection sent its proposals on the text of the protocol in the fall. The protocol on wild-caught aquatic products has already passed domestic approval and is at the stage of final approval by the Chinese side. The texts of the protocols on beef and pet food are also undergoing the stage of internal approval,” said Volodymyr Kusturov, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and Chief State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine.
Representatives of the State Food and Consumer Service and the GACC discussed in detail the steps for further cooperation, draft bilateral agreements, and agreed to continue active cooperation on the development of international trade between Ukraine and China.
Hourly power outage schedules may start as early as next week with a significant drop in temperature, predicts Volodymyr Velychko, a member of the Supervisory Board of PJSC Centrenergo.
“Forecasters predict a significant drop in temperature starting next week. For power engineers, this means that more substantial measures will have to be taken to balance the power system, such as emergency assistance from operators in neighboring countries. However, before using emergency assistance, it is necessary to maximize the use of own resources. If NPC Ukrenergo fails to maintain the balance of the power system, we will apply blackout schedules,” Velychko explained in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.
He added that after the daily average temperature dropped in October, the power system has already seen a significant increase in consumption, with its peak shifting from 20:00 to 19:10.
At the same time, Mr. Velychko emphasized that due to the drop in temperature, consumption in European countries will also increase, which will lead to higher electricity prices, in particular due to a decrease in the share of renewable energy sources.
In his opinion, this will affect the possibilities of commercial electricity imports due to the price caps on the Ukrainian spot market.
“Currently, the energy regulator NKREKP has started the procedure of revising price caps upwards, which is supported by the majority of energy market participants, and some even propose to cancel them. This is a painful topic for consumers, but it is important to understand that without an increase in price caps, commercial electricity imports will be unavailable, especially during periods of severe cold weather. Emergency assistance will be much more expensive,” said the member of the Supervisory Board of Centrenergo.
As for the company’s preparations for the winter, he said, repair and restoration works are ongoing, and the company plans to connect almost 1 GW of generating capacity to the power system.
“Centrenergo continues repair works at its own TPPs, which will allow us to provide the power system with about 1 GW of capacity. However, we urgently need to provide all generating capacities of the state with air defense and maximize the use of interstate cross-border crossing to attract imports,” Velychko summarized.
As reported, on October 1, NEURC approved a 23% increase in the price cap on the day-ahead market and the intraday market (IDM) from 11:00 to 17:00, up to UAH 6.9 thousand/MWh (previously UAH 5.6 thousand/MWh).
From December 1, 2024, the crossing capacity for imports is 2.1 GW.
As a result of a massive missile attack on the night of April 11, 2024, Russian troops completely destroyed Trypillia TPP (Kyiv region), on March 22 – Zmiiv TPP (Kharkiv region), and on July 25, 2022, Russian troops occupied Vuhlehirsk TPP (Donetsk region). Thus, Centrenergo lost 100% of its generation.
Acting CEO of NPC Ukrenergo Oleksiy Brekht emphasized that Ukraine could go through the winter without electricity restrictions or with minimal restrictions on daily consumption peaks at temperatures of zero degrees Celsius and above and with minor restrictions at temperatures of minus 10-15 degrees Celsius for up to three days.
On October 30, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with leading Nordic media that the coming winter would be a “big challenge” for Ukraine, including blackouts.
“You are preparing the country for winter, which is crucial, which is a big challenge, a very big challenge for us, because this will be the third winter with blackouts, with all the difficulties,” he said.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
Over the past three decades, Ukraine has reduced the area under hops from 7.4 thousand hectares in 1990 to 0.3 thousand hectares in 2023, according to Oleksandr Haidu, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy.
“Last year, only 460 tons of hops were harvested in Ukraine with an average yield of 13 c/ha,” he wrote on Facebook following a roundtable discussion on the implementation of EU requirements in the hop industry.
According to Gaidu, this reduction in acreage has led to the fact that domestic hops cover only 20% of the needs of breweries, while the rest of the products are imported.
In his opinion, the figures demonstrate the industry’s need for development and support, in particular by encouraging the use of domestic hops in production.
The agricultural holding Continental Farmers Group has completed sowing winter crops for the 2025 harvest on 85.2 thou hectares, of which 33.1 thou hectares are allocated for winter rape, 12.5 thou hectares for barley, and 39.6 thou hectares for wheat, the press service of the agricultural holding reports.
Continental said that despite the dry conditions at the start of the sowing season, due to timely agrotechnical measures and subsequent rains, it managed to get good quality winter rape seedlings on all sown areas. We are currently caring for the crop and preparing it for wintering.
“As for winter wheat, the sowing dates were slightly delayed due to prolonged periods of precipitation in the first ten days of October. However, this did not prevent us from sowing all the planned areas and successfully moving on to crop protection measures. Given the conditions of the region where we operate, the optimal circumstances for germination, we estimate the completion date as satisfactory and close to the long-term average,” said Konstantin Shityuk, Chief Operating Officer of the agricultural holding.
In addition, the second wave of harvesting is coming to an end on Continental’s fields. Sunflower, soybeans, seed and food potatoes have been fully harvested among the late crops. Corn threshing, digging of chip potatoes and harvesting of sugar beets are nearing completion.
Mriya Agro Holding and CFG, united under the name Continental Farmers Group, have been operating as a single business since November 2018, when Mriya entered into an agreement with international investor Salic UK to sell its assets.
Salic was founded in 2012. Its sole shareholder is the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which invests in agricultural and livestock production.
On November 10, new border crossing rules will come into force in the EU countries – a new IT system EES (Entry/Exit System) will start working.
EES will record the entry and exit of all foreigners, including citizens of non-EU countries, including Ukrainians. Instead of stamps in the passport, facial scanning and fingerprints will be used. Biometric data will be taken once during the first entry and stored in the system for three years.
The introduction of the system will not affect the visa-free regime.
