The Ukrainian Red Cross (URC) has launched mine risk education sessions for children at summer camps.
“The first sessions have already taken place in the city of Samar in the Dnipropetrovsk region at a local high school, where Ukrainian Red Cross specialists, together with inspectors from the Educational Safety Service, held an interactive session for children at the summer camp,” the URC reported on Facebook on Monday.
During the session, participants learned how to identify potentially dangerous objects, studied safety protocols, practiced practical scenarios, and reinforced the golden rule: “Don’t approach, don’t touch, call 101 or 102.”
Throughout the summer, similar informational sessions will be held at summer camps and children’s centers across all regions of Ukraine.
According to Serbian Economist, Kosovo held early parliamentary elections—the third in less than a year and a half. According to preliminary results, Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s Vetëvendosje movement once again took first place, garnering about 43% of the vote.
In second place is the Democratic Party of Kosovo with approximately 21%, followed by the Democratic League of Kosovo with about 18%. The “Serbian List,” the main party of Kosovo Serbs, received about 6.4% of the vote, according to Democracy in Action projections. Voter turnout was low—less than 37%—indicating voter fatigue from constant elections and a protracted political crisis.
The main problem for Kurti is that his victory does not give him a stable majority. To form a government, he will again have to seek partners or negotiate with the opposition. Therefore, the elections may not resolve the main issue—the creation of stable institutions and a way out of the political impasse.
For Serbia, these elections are important primarily because of Kurti’s stance on the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. His party traditionally takes a hard line and is not prepared to make significant concessions to Serbia. This means that rapid progress in EU-mediated negotiations is unlikely.
A separate issue is the representation of the Serbian community. If the “Serbian List” maintains its dominance among Serbian parties, Belgrade will continue to have an important political channel of influence in northern Kosovo and within Pristina’s institutions. But given Kurti’s hardline stance, this is unlikely to quickly reduce tensions.
For the region, this is also an economic issue. Political instability in Pristina is hindering reforms, obstructing access to international financing, and complicating the European agenda. And for Serbia, there remains an additional pressure from Brussels, which will continue to link Belgrade’s progress toward the EU with the normalization of relations with Pristina.
It is also important to keep the international context in mind. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but its statehood remains partially recognized. Kosovo is not a member of the UN. Many countries do not recognize Kosovo’s independence, including Serbia, Russia, China, Ukraine, and Spain.
Therefore, the new elections in Pristina are not just a matter of Kosovo’s domestic politics. They are part of a broader Balkan issue where the interests of Serbia, the EU, the US, Russia, China, and countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence intersect.
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Rauta presented modern technologies for constructing energy-efficient buildings at the 5th Transcarpathian Architecture and Construction Forum, which took place on June 4, according to the company’s press service.
The event brought together over 100 architects, developers, and government officials. The key theme of the forum was the development of modern architecture in Transcarpathia, taking into account the region’s future needs.
Rauta notes that Transcarpathia is currently a region of active development in tourism and residential real estate, so special attention at the forum was given to sustainable architectural solutions and energy efficiency.
Rauta Director Andriy Ozeychuk presented modern construction technologies to architects in western Ukraine, specifically the features of building a zero-energy cottage (Zero Energy Building) as well as building airtightness technology.
According to the company, investments in building airtightness technology can pay for themselves in three years.
Forum participants also discussed the role of energy-efficient solutions in the development of resort, residential, and commercial real estate in Zakarpattia, where growing tourism activity is driving demand for high-quality, modern architecture.
Rauta is a Ukrainian engineering company specializing in construction solutions for commercial, industrial, residential, and infrastructure projects. The company designs, supplies, and installs sandwich panels, ventilated facades, load-bearing profiles, frames, prefabricated buildings, acoustic structures, translucent structures, as well as industrial doors and material handling equipment.
Agricultural holding Kernel is expanding its presence in the European consumer market: in the Netherlands, just a year and a half after launching its own sunflower oil brand, Bestolie&Kernel, sales have already reached 5.5 million liters, the company’s press service reported on Monday.
“The European market is very competitive and ‘closed’ to new brands. It is dominated by large international FMCG companies and supermarket chains’ private labels. Getting on the shelf is difficult, and staying there is even harder,” the release quotes Serhiy Neroshchyn, director of the marketing and sales department for packaged products at Kernel, as saying.
The company noted that it previously produced oil for the Dutch food distributor Fangoo&Zon Impex under a private label, whereas the launch of its own Bestolie&Kernel brand in 2024 allowed the company to build a complete value chain—from the Ukrainian field to the European consumer.
“Kernel” is responsible for production and quality control at all stages—from seed to finished oil—as confirmed by ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 certifications, while Fangoo&Zon Impex handles distribution in the local market.
Since its launch, the company has also expanded its product range, adding new packaging formats and frying oil for the HoReCa segment.
“Kernel” estimates its share of global sunflower oil exports at 10%. Kernel sells refined sunflower oil in Ukraine under its own brands, “Stozhar” and “Shchedry Dar,” and exports it under its own Kernel brands to 12 European countries, as well as to Jordan, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Guinea, under the Le Blanc and Premi brands in Egypt, the Middle East, and South Asia, as well as under its partners’ private labels.
Fangoo&Zon Impex is a Dutch company specializing in the import and distribution of food products and FMCG goods in the Benelux countries.
Kernel Agricultural Holding is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, Ukraine’s largest grain exporter, an operator of an extensive network of logistics assets, and a leading producer of grain and oilseeds in Ukraine. It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. It is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
According to results for the first nine months of fiscal year 2026 (July 2025 – March 2026), Kernel saw its net profit decline by 5% to $208 million, while its revenue increased by 0.4% to $3.092 billion, and EBITDA by 1% to $403 million.
The ‘Kametstal’ plant, part of the “Metinvest” mining and metallurgical group and established at the facilities of the Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (Kamenskoye, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), has reduced electricity consumption in its converter shop by 6 kWh per ton of steel produced, from 27.4 to 21.4 kWh/t, through measures to reduce equipment load during periods between smelting runs.
According to the company, in particular, the downtime for unloading converter exhaust fan rotors has been cut in half. Operations have been organized on a rotational basis for each of the two converters, allowing equipment not involved in the current melt to be shut down and minimizing idle time, thereby ensuring a systematic reduction in electricity consumption.
In addition, electricity consumption by circulation pumps No. 1 and No. 2—which supply water to the converter gas cooling boilers on both operating converters—has been reduced by 1.2 kWh/t. As part of the investment project, frequency converters and modern controllers from Schneider were installed on CN-1 and CN-2. This allows for the automatic unloading of pumping equipment in accordance with the steelmaking process, thereby minimizing its electricity consumption between converter purges.
In the post-converter steel processing department, electricity consumption was reduced by 4.6 kWh/t through the phased implementation of effective engineering solutions to optimize metal heating. At the same time, the algorithm for automatic control of the metal heating process in the “furnace-ladle” unit was refined and improved by selecting the optimal combination of heating stages and heating rates.
Kametsal was established on the basis of PJSC Dniprovsky Coke Chemical Plant (DKCHZ) and PJSC Dniprovsky Metallurgical Plant (DMP). It is part of the Metinvest Group.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its facilities are located in Ukraine—in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions—as well as in European countries. The holding’s main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
In the context of war, economic recovery, and integration into European markets, Ukrainian businesses need to develop a new culture of corporate due diligence. This involves a shift from operating “on recommendation” or following only a minimal legal review to a systematic analysis of counterparties, partners, suppliers, and customers.
One of the tools for fostering this culture is Dun & Bradstreet’s international business data, which is made available in Ukraine by D&B-Interfax-Ukraine. This data can be used to identify businesses, vet counterparties, assess commercial and credit risks, ensure compliance, and manage global supply chains.
“Ukraine is gradually transitioning to a new quality of business environment. This requires not only reforms, investments, and digitalization, but also a daily culture of business verification. Trust in the modern economy must be based not only on personal contacts, but also on data, transparency, and the possibility of independent verification,” noted Maksym Urakin, Director of Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine, Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit, and Candidate of Economic Sciences.
According to him, this is particularly important for Ukraine in the process of recovery, attracting foreign investors, and expanding the presence of Ukrainian companies in foreign markets. The more transparent companies are to international partners, the easier it is for them to enter into new contracts, supply chains, and investment projects.
D&B-Interfax-Ukraine can be useful for large businesses as well as SMEs, financial companies, exporters, importers, investors, consultants, and organizations working with procurement or international projects.
A culture of company verification helps reduce the risk of fraud, non-payment, and dealing with shell companies or counterparties with a murky history. At the same time, it supports ethical businesses that are willing to be transparent with partners and demonstrate their business integrity.
For the Ukrainian market, this is also a matter of long-term competitiveness. Businesses that operate transparently and can be verified have a better chance of attracting financing, entering international markets, participating in tenders, and working with large corporate clients.
Dun & Bradstreet is an American company specializing in business data, analytics, commercial information, and risk management, founded in 1841. The company provides international tools for business identification, counterparty verification, credit and commercial risk assessment, compliance, and working with global supply chains. D&B maintains a global business data database and works with companies, financial institutions, government agencies, and international organizations.
Interfax-Ukraine is an independent Ukrainian news agency that has been operating in the Ukrainian political and economic information market since 1992 and has a reputation as a reliable and competent provider of timely and objective information. The editorial office and the agency’s headquarters are located in Kyiv.
