Norway is allocating approximately NOK 7 billion (US$696.12 million) to finance air defense systems for Ukraine, according to a press release from the Norwegian government on Sunday.
“Together with Germany, we will ensure that Ukraine receives powerful air defense systems. Germany and Norway are working closely together to support Ukraine in defending the country and its civilian population against Russian air attacks,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
It is noted that Norway and Germany are financing two Patriot systems, including missiles. In addition, Norway is contributing to the purchase of air defense radars from German manufacturer Hensoldt and air defense systems from Kongsberg.
“Air defense is crucial for protecting military units and infrastructure. Together with Germany, we are now stepping up our efforts even further,” added Defense Minister Tore Rømmers.
Earlier this summer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Støre agreed to transfer two Patriot systems to Ukraine, which are currently in Germany and will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible.
The US has confirmed that it will replace the transferred systems, and Norway has pledged to make a financial contribution to their replacement.
The long-awaited revival in the construction of vegetable storage facilities has begun in Ukraine, with small and medium-sized facilities prevailing, Andriy Marushchak, Commercial Director of Van Dyke Techs, told SEEDS in an interview. According to him, this format allows farms to quickly meet local needs, but “storage is not everything”: without parallel development of processing, the effect will be limited.
According to the expert, construction is currently most active in Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Odesa, Dnipro, and Chernihiv regions. The farmers’ decision was influenced by the high cost of logistics: “It is no longer as profitable to transport onions 400-800 km as it is to grow and store them closer to the market,” Marushchak said.
The most promising areas for a quick launch are French fries, dried mashed potatoes, peeled/ready-made potatoes; for onions, peeling, freezing and drying. In countries where processing is already in operation, farmers have gradually scaled up storage facilities from 3 to 30 thousand tons or more; it is logical for the Ukrainian market to follow the same trajectory, the expert emphasizes.
Vegetable consumption in Ukraine is less than 30% of WHO recommendations (≈150-200 g per day versus 600 g), which restrains demand beyond the “borscht set”. In a typical consumption structure, the share of potatoes is 50-60%, cabbage – ~10%, carrots – ~5%, and beets – “very little,” Marushchak said.
For the stable operation of storage and processing plants, it is important for farmers to form commodity lots and fulfill long-term contracts through professionally managed cooperatives, a model that has been successfully operating in the EU, the expert emphasizes.
https://www.seeds.org.ua/ovochesxovishh-v-ukraini-stane-bilshe-fermeri-pochali-aktivne-budivnictvo/
The leaders of the Ukrainian insurance market in terms of premiums collected in January-July 2025 were insurance companies SG TAS with UAH 4.213 billion in premiums collected, ARKS with UAH 3.270 billion, and INGO with UAH 3.101 billion. Unica attracted UAH 2.897 billion, and VUSO attracted UAH 2.613 billion, according to the website of the National Association of Insurers of Ukraine (NAIU). It is noted that compared to the same period last year, INGO surpassed Unica, pushing it out of third place.
The top five companies in the compulsory motor third-party liability insurance market in terms of premiums collected in January-July this year are TAS (UAH 2.245 billion), Oranta (UAH 1.708 billion), Knyazha VIG (UAH 1.368 billion), INGO Insurance Company (UAH 724.1 million), and USG (UAH 619.1 million).
The leaders in the Green Card market in terms of premiums collected for the period are TAS (UAH 753.9 million), USG (UAH 651.2 million), PZU (UAH 427.7 million), which rose from fourth to third place, ahead of Knyazha VIG (UAH 216.1 million), and SK INGO (UAH 152.8 million) instead of SK Oranta, which left the top five.
There were also minor changes in the CASCO market. As before, it is led by ARKS Insurance (UAH 1.539 billion), Arsenal Insurance (UAH 1.425 billion), VUSO (UAH 723 million), which swapped places with Unica (UAH 658.3 million), and Universalna (UAH 640.8 million), which took the place of USG.
At the same time, there were no changes among the leaders in voluntary medical insurance: Unika Insurance Company (UAH 1.412 billion) remains the leader in this segment, followed by Universalna (UAH 710.3 million), INGO (UAH 646 million), VUSO (UAH 493.9 million), and ARKS (UAH 370.6 million).
There were minor changes in the top five life insurance companies in January-July. As a year ago, MetLife Insurance Company (UAH 1.693 billion) ranks first. The next places were taken by IC TAS (UAH 500.6 million), Grave Life (UAH 341.8 million), PZU Life (UAH 221 million), and Arks Life (UAH 203.4 million). At the same time, Unica Life, which was in fourth place at the end of the first seven months of 2024, dropped out of the top five leaders in this market.
As reported, as of the end of July 2025, there were 51 risk insurers operating in the Ukrainian insurance market (compared to 69 on the same date in 2024), 10 specializing in life insurance (down from 12), and one with special status (Export-Credit Agency, ECA).
The State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCC) has granted authorized economic operator (AEO) status with the right to apply simplifications to 100 companies, according to a press release from the SCC.
“This milestone symbolizes not only a quantitative achievement, but also qualitative progress in the development of transparent and effective cooperation between customs and business, which is an important step towards Ukraine’s integration into the European economic space,” the agency explained on its Telegram channel on Monday.
It is noted that among the Ukrainian companies that have received AEO status are manufacturers, exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and other participants in foreign economic activity (FEA).
It is noted that five companies already have both types of authorizations: “granting the right to apply simplifications” (AEO-C) and “confirming security and reliability” (AEO-B).
The GTS reminded that AEO status is a recognized mark of trust that confirms the reliability, security, and high standards of companies in the international supply chain. It gives enterprises the right to simplified customs procedures, saves time and reduces logistics costs, and, consequently, increases the competitiveness of Ukrainian businesses in the global market. For Ukraine, this means strengthening its economic potential, increasing exports, and attracting new trading partners.
For more information on AEO status and authorization to apply for simplifications, please visit https://customs.gov.ua/deiaki-pitannia-funktsionuvannia-avtorizovanikh-ekonomichnikh-operatoriv
Previously, round tables were dedicated to customs reform, where event organizer and moderator Maksim Urakin stated that the State Customs Service provides up to 40% of Ukraine’s state budget revenues, with these figures remaining stable over the past few years. That is why customs reforms are so important for the country.
Passenger traffic across Ukraine’s border from August 16 to 22 amounted to 768,000, which is 1.3% less than the record level for wartime in the previous two weeks, according to data from the State Border Service on Facebook.
According to the data, while in the previous four weeks the number of people entering the country exceeded the number of people leaving by 15,000-32,000, with the approach of the new school year, the numbers evened out: the number of people leaving increased from 378,000 to 385,000, while the number of people entering decreased from 400,000 to 383,000.
The number of vehicles that passed through checkpoints this week increased from 144,000 to 145,000, while the flow of vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo decreased from 524 to 449.
This Sunday, as of 9:00 a.m., according to the State Border Service, the longest queue of 55 cars and 4 buses was at the Ustyluh checkpoint on the border with Poland. Forty cars and four buses were waiting to cross the border at the Krakivets checkpoint, while 19 buses had accumulated at the Shehyni checkpoint.
On the border with Hungary, the longest queue of 45 cars was at the Kosyno crossing, while at the Luzhanka checkpoint there were 30 cars, at Dzvinkove – 20, and at Tisa – 15.
At the border with Slovakia, 30 and 20 cars were waiting for inspection at the Uzhhorod and Malyi Berezny checkpoints, respectively, while at the border with Romania, there was only a queue of 30 cars at the Dyakove checkpoint.
The total number of people crossing the border this year is 4.2% higher than last year: during the same seven days last year, 370,000 people left Ukraine and 367,000 entered, and the flow of cars was also lower – 133,000.
As reported, from May 10, 2022, the outflow of refugees from Ukraine, which began with the start of the war, was replaced by an influx that lasted until September 23, 2022, and amounted to 409,000 people. However, since the end of September, possibly influenced by news of mobilization in Russia and “pseudo-referendums” in the occupied territories, followed by massive shelling of energy infrastructure, the number of those leaving exceeded the number of those entering. In total, from the end of September 2022 to the first anniversary of the full-scale war, it reached 223,000 people.
During the second year of the full-scale war, the number of border crossings to leave Ukraine, according to the State Border Service, exceeded the number of crossings to enter by 25,000, during the third year by 187,000, and since the beginning of the fourth year by 116,000, of which 80,000 were seasonal since the beginning of summer.
As Deputy Minister of Economy Serhiy Sobolev noted in early March 2023, the return of every 100,000 Ukrainians home results in a 0.5% increase in GDP.
In its July inflation report, the National Bank of Ukraine worsened its migration forecast: while in April it expected a net inflow of 0.2 million people to Ukraine in 2026, it now forecasts a net outflow of 0.2 million, which corresponds to this year’s estimate of net outflow. “Net returns will only begin in 2027 (about 0.1 million people, compared to 0.5 million in the previous forecast),” the NBU added. In absolute terms, the National Bank estimates the number of migrants currently remaining abroad at about 5.8 million.
According to updated UNHCR data, the number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe as of July 31, 2025, was estimated at 5.115 million (as of July 1 – 5.083 million), and worldwide – at 5.676 million (5.643 million).
In Ukraine itself, according to the latest UN data for April this year, there are 3.757 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), compared to 3.669 million at the end of last year.
Ukrainian banks earned UAH 95.50 billion in net profit in January-July 2025, which is 1.2% less than in the same period of 2024, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
According to its data, net interest income increased by 14.3% to UAH 151.74 billion, and net commission income increased by 12% to UAH 35.41 billion.
At the same time, the result from the revaluation of government bonds and currency purchase and sale transactions decreased by 28.1% to UAH 17.24 billion, while total administrative expenses increased by 20.8% to UAH 72.24 billion, and other operating expenses by 15.5% to UAH 11.92 billion.
In addition, while banks increased their provisions by only UAH 0.38 billion in the first seven months of last year, they increased them by UAH 4.93 billion in the first seven months of this year.
In July, the net profit of Ukrainian banks amounted to UAH 14.42 billion, which is 1.9% worse than in July 2024. Although net interest income grew by 14.9% to UAH 22.84 billion and net commission income by 18.3% to UAH 5.30 billion, the result from the revaluation of domestic government bonds and foreign currency purchase and sale transactions fell threefold to UAH 1.77 billion.
Therefore, even the release of reserves in July in the amount of UAH 0.24 billion could not prevent a decrease in net profit compared to July last year.
In the overall structure of banks’ income and expenses for the first seven months of this year, the share of interest income increased to 70.8% from 68.7% last year, while the share of interest expenses decreased to 33.6% from 34.5%.
The share of commission income also increased in January-July this year to 21.3% from 21.0% in January-July last year, with the share of commission expenses decreasing to 14.5% from 15%.
At the same time, the share of total administrative expenses increased to 31.2% from 29.9%.
As reported, solvent banks in Ukraine received UAH 103.69 billion in net profit in 2024, which is 24.6% more than in 2023.
Last year, as in 2023, the corporate income tax rate for banks was increased retroactively to 50% for the entire year in the fall, while this year it is 25%.
