Mine action operators (MAOs) completed the clearance of 1,340 hectares of land in January 2026 as part of the state program to compensate for the cost of demining agricultural land, according to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
According to the published data, 12 agreements were executed in January, under which operators received UAH 76.43 million in payments. The average cost of demining 1 hectare of land under the program was UAH 57,100. In addition, eight new agreements were signed last month to clear 3,560 hectares at a total cost of UAH 258.68 million.
In total, since the program began, as of February 1, 2026, 73 contracts have been completed, allowing 13,630 hectares of agricultural land to be returned to use. The total cost of the work performed amounted to UAH 789.32 million. Currently, 98 agreements are being implemented to clear 19,310 hectares at a total cost of UAH 1,181.48 million.
The ministry’s infographic also reflects the growth of the sector’s capabilities: as of early February, there are 134 certified PMD operators and 297 demining machines operating in Ukraine. Thus, during January, the number of operators increased by two, and the fleet of special equipment was replenished with three machines.
The state program to compensate for the cost of demining agricultural land is funded under the EU’s Ukraine Facility. At the same time, in January, 40 veterans and women from the families of combatants completed training in non-technical survey of territories as part of a UNDP project and were employed by the state-owned enterprise Ukroboronservice.
The Ministry of Economy added that Ukraine used the GRIT digital platform for the first time to develop a humanitarian demining plan for 2026, which identified 5,312 hectares of priority areas for clearance at the expense of the state.
The international financial service NovaPay (TM NovaPay) from the Nova group has placed the entire series of “M” bonds, issued by its subsidiary NovaPay Credit, with a nominal value of UAH 200 million, while 11 of the previous 12 series were issued with a nominal value of UAH 100 million each, and another one – UAH 90 million.
As stated in the company’s announcement on Friday, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) approved the placement report on January 29, 2026, while the bonds were issued in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Like most NovaPay bond series, the M series bonds will be used in repo transactions, which the company promotes as an alternative to bank deposits: the bonds are issued in denominations of UAH 1,000 for three years with a coupon payment at a rate of 18% per annum upon maturity.
The funds raised from the bond issue are planned to be used for lending operations to legal entities (20%) and individuals (80%).
NovaPay emphasized that as of early 2026, more than 7,100 customers had become owners of the service’s corporate bonds for a total amount of UAH 1.25 billion.
As reported, NovaPay Credit increased its net profit by 1.8 times in January-September 2025 compared to the same period last year, to UAH 101.56 million, but according to the results of the year, it was planned to bring it to UAH 518.9 million, and in 2026 to increase it to UAH 1 billion 30.6 million by increasing net interest income from UAH 802.1 million to UAH 1 billion 515.1 million.
In total, during 2023-2025, NovaPay carried out 12 bond issues with a total nominal value of UAH 1 billion 190 million. Securities of all series, except for three, are used for the REPO operations program as an alternative to bank deposits. They are available for purchase in the NovaPay mobile application, and interest payments on them are scheduled to be made once upon redemption. Interest on bonds for institutional investors is paid quarterly. They also have an annual offer, and the nominal yield for the first year of circulation is 18% per annum. Series “K” became the third for institutional investors.
In September 2025, the service redeemed two-year Series C bonds worth UAH 100 million, which it placed among institutional investors. The issuer’s portfolio still has another series, Series I, of bonds of this type worth UAH 90 million.
NovaPay was founded in 2001 as an international financial service, part of the Nova group (“Nova Poshta”), providing online and offline financial services in Nova Poshta branches. According to the website, the company employs about 13,000 people in more than 3,600 Nova Poshta branches throughout Ukraine. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the company accounts for about 35% of the total volume of domestic money transfers.
NovaPay was the first non-bank financial institution in Ukraine to receive an extended license from the NBU in 2023, which allowed it to open accounts and issue cards, and was also the first non-bank to launch its own financial application with a wide range of financial services at the end of last year.
The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the allocation of EUR 500,000 to support Ukraine’s energy sector.
“Slovenia has reaffirmed its solidarity with Ukraine, which is experiencing its worst energy crisis since the start of the war. We will add EUR 500,000 to support Ukraine’s energy sector,” the ministry said in a statement on social media on Friday.
The country’s Foreign Ministry also reports that since the beginning of Russian aggression, Slovenia has already allocated EUR 61 million to help Ukraine.
The week of February 2-6, 2026, was marked by a sharp risk-off mode: BTC fell to around $60,000 at one point, then rebounded, but still showed its worst weekly performance since the end of 2022.
By Friday, Bitcoin had recovered to $65,894 (+4.4% for the day), but remained down approximately 14% for the week.
Ethereum was around $1,889 by the end of the week, compared to $2,344 at the beginning of the week (approximately -19%).
XRP fell from approximately $1.62 to $1.30 (about -20%).
Solana fell from approximately $104 to $84 (about -19%).
The key blow came on February 5: the market saw a “sell-off day” comparable in scale to the worst sessions since 2022, amid de-risking and shoulder exits.
A number of factors then came into play: the weakness of risky assets, nervousness around macro expectations, and a rapid “reversal” of positioning from cautious to defensive.
Against the backdrop of the decline in BTC, outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs intensified: in just one session of the week, net outflows amounted to about $545 million, and in two consecutive days – about $817 million.
At the same time, the market experienced a wave of liquidations: in one day, the volume of liquidations in crypto derivatives exceeded $1.4 billion (according to aggregate estimates).
On February 6, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 9 points — the “extreme fear” zone, a level that the media compared to the period of FTX stress.
If ETF outflows and liquidations begin to subside, the market may hold on to the rebound as “technical.” If flows remain negative and risk assets generally weaken, pressure on crypto will continue (especially on altcoins with high beta sensitivity).
In 2024, 68% of EU residents living in households lived in housing owned by their household, which is 1 percentage point less than a year earlier (69% in 2023), according to the European Union’s statistical service (Eurostat).
According to Eurostat, the share of those living in rented housing increased to 32% (31% in 2023).
At the same time, the largest share of owners was recorded in Romania (94%), followed by Slovakia (93%) and Hungary (92%). The only EU country where there are more tenants than owners is Germany (53% of the population are tenants).
Eurostat specifies that the indicator reflects not the number of properties, but the share of people living in owner-occupied or rented households (EU-SILC data). In 2024, 44.2% of people in the EU lived in housing owned by the household without a mortgage or housing loan, and 24.3% lived in housing owned with a mortgage or loan. Among tenants, 21.1% paid market rent, while 10.5% lived at a reduced rate or free of charge.
A previously unknown drawing by Michelangelo was sold at Christie’s auction for $27.2 million, setting a new record for the master’s works.
According to Christie’s press release, the small sketch, depicting a foot, was done in red chalk and dates from 1511-1512. The drawing was estimated to be worth $1.5-2 million before the auction.
The owner of the drawing sent a photograph for a preliminary appraisal, unaware that the work belonged to Michelangelo. An auction house expert identified it as a sketch of the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the key figures depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
It is noted that the drawing is the only previously unregistered sketch for the Sistine Chapel frescoes ever to be offered at auction. Art historians are aware of about 10 drawings by Michelangelo, all of which are in private collections.
The lot was part of Christie’s auction dedicated to drawings by “old masters” and British painting, which also included works by Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake.
