The State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS) has uncovered evidence of a coordinated network of over 2,300 companies that effectively ceased to exist after conducting foreign economic transactions totaling over 198 billion UAH, reported Lesya Karnaukh, Acting Head of the STS.
“It took quite some time to uncover this scheme. Its participants are becoming increasingly inventive in their methods of concealing violations. To determine the riskiness of the transactions being conducted, we analyzed data sets using risk-based approaches… Such a concentration of management functions is atypical for real business and indicates signs of the organized use of such individuals as nominal managers,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
According to the agency head, the relevant data was obtained based on an analysis of information from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) regarding violations of payment deadlines for the period from 2024 to the first quarter of 2026. The majority of transactions involved the export of goods: 1,243 companies carried out exports totaling over 176 billion UAH, while 555 companies conducted import transactions totaling over 18 billion UAH.
Lesya Karnaukh specified that 73% of the offending companies and 78% of the total volume of transactions are concentrated in seven regions: Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as in Kyiv. Tax authorities recorded the mass re-registration of hundreds of companies under the same individuals, as well as the use of shared IP addresses and mass registration addresses in Kyiv and Lviv. In particular, seven individuals were identified, each of whom simultaneously serves as the director or founder of over 500 companies.
Based on data from the National Bank of Ukraine, tax authorities have already conducted audits and assessed over UAH 70 billion in penalties for violations of foreign exchange legislation in the field of foreign economic activity. The State Tax Service has forwarded all collected materials to the Office of the Prosecutor General for a legal assessment. Regarding 557 business entities, the agency has already prepared analytical conclusions indicating violations of the law and signs of money laundering.
According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, dozens of Kyiv museums will traditionally open their doors for free admission in June. Journalists from the culture department of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency have compiled a list of museums where you can explore the capital’s history, art, and cultural heritage without purchasing a ticket.
Museum June will begin on June 2 with an open house at the National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art on the grounds of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
The very next day, June 3, free admission until 2:00 p.m. will be available at three popular art venues in the capital—the National Museum “Kyiv Art Gallery,” the Khanenko Museum, and the “Chocolate House” Art Center.
On June 19, you can visit the Museum of Outstanding Figures of Ukrainian Culture for free.
The largest number of museums offering free admission will open on June 24. On this day, the National Museum of Ukrainian History, the Museum of Ukrainian Literature, the Museum of the History of Kyiv, the Museum of the 1960s Movement, the Museum of the Ukrainian Diaspora, the Sholom Aleichem Museum, the Museum of the Occupation of Kyiv, the Museum of the Avant-Garde, the Kudriavka Estate, and the Museum of Books and Printing of Ukraine will welcome guests.
On June 25, the Taras Shevchenko National Museum, the Taras Shevchenko House-Museum “Hata na Priortsi,” the Mykhailo Hrushevsky Historical and Memorial Museum, and the Mykhailo Bulgakov Literary and Memorial Museum will hold open house events.
The following day, June 26, free admission will be available to the Hetmanate Museum, the Ivan Honchar Museum National Center for Folk Culture, and the Kyiv Fortress National Historical and Architectural Museum.
At the end of the month, the Maria Zankovetska House-Museum, the Kyiv Literary and Memorial Museum of Maksym Rylsky, and the Pavlo Tychyna Literary and Memorial Apartment Museum will join the campaign, and visitors will be able to visit them for free on June 28.
On June 29, the Viktor Kosenko Apartment Museum and the Museum of Theater, Music, and Cinema Arts of Ukraine will open their doors to visitors.
The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II will conclude the June program of free visits on June 30.
In addition to these special days, the Boris Paton State Polytechnic Museum, the Museum of Modern Art of Ukraine, and the Apple Museum on Khreshchatyk offer free admission on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, the Forest Museum can be visited for free every Wednesday, and the Money Museum of the National Bank of Ukraine offers free tours upon prior online registration.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/culture/1173008.html
PJSC Zaporizhkox, one of Ukraine’s largest producers of coke and coke-chemical products and a member of the Metinvest Group, increased its blast furnace coke production by 0.4% in January–May of this year compared to the same period last year, reaching 359,400 tons.
According to the company, 77,700 tons of coke were produced in May, compared to 75,000 tons in the previous month.
“In times of greatest trials, it is not only resources or technology that matter, but the unity of people. We have learned to work in conditions of uncertainty, respond quickly to challenges, support one another, and stay the course together. It is this solidarity that helps us endure, maintain production, and move forward even during the most difficult times,” said Zaporizhkox CEO Oleksandr Bekhter.
As reported, Zaporizhkox increased its output by 2.7% in 2025 compared to 2024—to 898,300 tons, while in 2024, it increased by 2.1% to 874,700 tons from 856,800 tons in 2023.
Zaporizhkox possesses a full technological cycle for the processing of coke-chemical products.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies. Its main shareholders are the SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%). Metinvest Holding LLC is the management company of the Metinvest Group.
According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, the opening of the 14th International Book Arsenal Festival. The National Cultural, Art, and Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal.” May 28, 2026 | Photo: Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko
The 15th International Book Arsenal Festival will take place May 27–30, 2027, in Kyiv, according to the PR & Communication Department of the Art Arsenal.
This year, the 14th Book Arsenal, which concluded on Sunday, took place for the fourth time amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The festival program featured a record number of events since 2022, taking place simultaneously across several stages and venues: the Main Stage, Literary Stage, Street Stage, Authors’ Stage, Discussion Stage, Publishing Stage, the Literary Garden, the Lecture Hall, BookLab, and the Teen Space. In total, there were over 240 events—public discussions, lectures, presentations, author and poetry readings, talks, workshops, musical events, performances, and book signings. Due to air raid alerts and safety concerns, several events on the program were canceled or shortened, while others took place in shelters in an informal setting.
Despite the air raid alerts that interrupted the festival’s proceedings and numerous warnings of potential large-scale Russian shelling during those days, the 14th Book Arsenal attracted 27,000 visitors. A total of 111 major and 25 small publishing houses, the book.ua bookstore, as well as military and volunteer initiatives, presented their booths. 12 graphic artists presented their works at the Illustrators’ Fair. The venue also hosted 15 exhibition projects.
“We are delighted that we managed to carry out practically everything we had planned. Air raid alerts, of course, caused us some trouble and disrupted a number of important events. But we are aware that this is part of organizing a festival during wartime, and we are grateful to all our participants and visitors who quickly and calmly took shelter and, after the all-clear, returned and continued the festival again and again. This ability to live and work despite everything is inspiring,” noted Olesia Ostrovska-Lyuta, General Director of the Art Arsenal.
According to Yulia Kozlovets, Director of the International Festival, the “Book Arsenal” theme became the common language of the forum’s participants and guests.
“The best confirmation of a theme’s relevance is when it ceases to be a festival slogan and becomes the language in which visitors speak to one another.
This year, the metaphor ‘Carry Your Freedom’ resonated exactly like that. What is particularly valuable is that numerous military and veteran initiatives, charity events, and volunteer projects are now naturally integrated into the festival—not as a separate program, but as part of our shared reality. “The Book Arsenal doesn’t provide simple answers, but it creates a space for meetings and conversations that deepen our understanding of our own experiences, strengthen connections between people, and give us a little more strength to keep living and doing our work,” Kozlovets emphasized.
Over 230 guests took part in Book Arsenal events. The festival featured voices of Ukrainian and international guests from Poland, France, the U.S., Canada, Germany, Moldova, Belgium, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the U.K.
This year marked the third edition of the Book Arsenal Fellowship Program—a professional initiative that brought eight foreign publishers, agents, and rights managers from the Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Egypt, Georgia, and Peru to the festival. As part of this program, 115 B2B (Business to Business – IF-U) meetings took place, involving 31 publishing houses and 5 literary and graphic agencies.
Over 150 volunteers joined the Book Arsenal team.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/culture/1172954.html
Metinvest Sichstal LLC (MSS, Zaporizhzhia) increased its net loss by 9.4% in January–March of this year compared to the same period last year—to UAH 10.209 million from UAH 9.333 million.
According to the company’s interim report, available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” revenue from ordinary activities for this period rose by 39.3%—to UAH 250.413 million from UAH 179.806 million.
The accumulated deficit as of the end of March stood at UAH 114.010 million.
Key projects and plans for 2026: The LLC will continue to implement Metinvest Group’s strategic projects; the company also plans to actively participate in the development of design and cost estimates for the Group’s projects, as well as in the development of measures for the physical protection of facilities and the enhancement of business resilience.
In 2025, the company quadrupled its net loss compared to 2024—to UAH 59.506 million from UAH 15.075 million—while revenue from ordinary activities for this period increased 2.4-fold, to UAH 1,585.117 million from UAH 653.099 million.
The LLC ended 2023 with a loss of UAH 7.764 million.
Metinvest Sichstal LLC is a company within the Metinvest Group established in 2019 to implement highly complex strategic investment projects. The number of full-time employees as of the end of 2025 was 270.
MSS is one of the largest design organizations in Ukraine, capable of implementing large-scale projects from the conceptual design phase through to the commissioning of the facility. The company’s goal is to implement key projects within the technological strategy of Metinvest Group enterprises. MSS provides an integrated process from investment concept, engineering, and design to procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Metinvest B.V. (Netherlands) is wholly owned by Metinvest Sichstal LLC
The LLC’s authorized capital is UAH 30.405 million.
Metinvest Sichstal LLC is part of the Metinvest Group, whose main shareholders are PJSC System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk) (71.24%) and the Smart-Holding group of companies (23.76%). The management company of the Metinvest Group is Metinvest Holding LLC.
According to Fixygen, the mining company Ferrexpo plc, whose main assets are located in Ukraine, has announced that it will hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 29 of this year.
According to the company’s statement, the total number of shares whose holders are entitled to vote at the meeting is 598,137,142 common shares.
It is specified that only one class of shares is outstanding, and each share carries one vote; therefore, the total number of voting rights that can be exercised at the meeting is 598,137,142.
This information from Ferrexpo is provided in accordance with Section 311A of the UK Companies Act 2006.
In a letter from the company’s interim acting chairman, Lucio Genovese, on behalf of the board of directors of Ferrexpo plc to the shareholders, it is specified that the nineteenth annual general meeting will be held at 11:00 a.m. on June 29, 2026, at the offices of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EG.
He urged shareholders to participate in the meeting by casting their votes by proxy prior to the start of the general meeting or by voting online prior to the start of the general meeting. Shareholders are advised to appoint the chairman of the meeting as their proxy. To vote by proxy, shareholders must complete, sign, and return the appropriate proxy form. The deadline for receiving proxy appointments and votes is 11:00 a.m. on June 25, 2026.
Voting on all resolutions will be conducted by a show of hands, and the voting results will be announced via the Regulatory Information Service and published on the Group’s website as soon as possible after the general meeting.
Genovese notes that the company aims to raise at least $100 million, which is necessary to finance support for Ferrexpo Group’s operations over the next 18 months. The Group’s operations have been significantly impacted since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, leading to a reduction in operational activities and periods of complete suspension of operations. This has significantly impacted the group’s revenue.
Furthermore, he notes that the decision by Ukraine’s tax authorities to suspend VAT refunds starting in March 2025, amounting to approximately $90 million, has further significantly impacted the group’s liquidity. The company intends to complete the equity offering as soon as possible and is actively working toward this goal. However, it is not yet in a position to officially launch the equity offering.
“Until the equity offering is ready to launch, the company cannot publish its audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, on a going concern basis, as the company and its auditors require sufficient assurance regarding the commencement and successful completion of the equity offering prior to signing the financial statements. Due to the delay in the equity offering and given the dependence on the commencement of the equity offering for the publication of the audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, on a going concern basis, the company is unable to finalize the audited annual report and financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, but aims to do so as soon as possible,” the letter to shareholders states.
According to the statement, this general meeting of shareholders is being held solely to consider routine matters, namely the re-election of directors and the renewal of the authority granted to conduct market purchases of the company’s own shares, as well as the convening of a general meeting with 14 days’ notice. All directors will stand for re-election at the 2026 general meeting of shareholders, with the exception of Mr. Vitaly Lisovenko, who, as previously announced, will step down from the company’s board of directors upon the conclusion of the general meeting.
According to the information, the meeting proposes, in particular, the re-election of Stuart Brown, Nikolai Kladiev, Lucio Genovese, and Fiona Macaulay as members of the board of directors.
As reported, Ferrexpo is delaying the publication of its audited report for 2025.
It was also reported that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) suspended trading in Ferrexpo shares, while the company warned shareholders twice in the second half of April about the suspension of its listing and trading due to its inability to publish its annual financial statements on time. Most recently, on April 28, Ferrexpo noted that it had received indicative, non-binding expressions of interest from institutional investors regarding a potential capital raise of over $100 million, on which the publication of the report also depends, but that it would not be able to do so by the end of April.
Ferrexpo owns a 100% stake in Eristovsky GOK LLC, 99.9% in Belanovsky GOK LLC, and 100% of the shares in Poltavsky GOK PJSC.
