As of October 17, farmers harvested 34.749 million tons of grain and legumes from 7.979 million hectares, which is 69% of the area sown with these crops, according to the website of the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
Last year, on the same date, 42.8 million tons of grain were harvested from 9.4 million hectares, meaning that this year’s figures are 18.8% and 15% lower, respectively, mainly due to the later start of corn harvesting.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, 4.91 million tons of corn have been harvested from 895,200 hectares, while last year at around this date, 13.2 million tons were harvested from 2.4 million hectares.
As for wheat, its harvest is slightly higher than last year’s – 22.78 million tons from 5.05 million hectares compared to 22.30 million tons from 4.9 million hectares, while barley is slightly lower – 5.36 million tons from 1.35 million hectares compared to 5.50 million tons from 1.41 million hectares.
This year’s pea harvest is significantly higher – 658,300 tons from 271,100 hectares compared to 465,300 tons from 212,200 hectares last year, while buckwheat and millet are still significantly lower – 82.4 thousand tons versus 124.8 thousand tons and 59.9 thousand tons versus 158.9 thousand tons, respectively.
The harvest of other cereals and legumes this year reached 896,200 tons from 304,700 hectares as of October 17, while last year it amounted to 1 million tons on the same date.
It is noted that among the leaders are, in particular, the Odesa region – 3.78 million tons from an area of 1.13 million hectares, Poltava – 2.66 million tons from 564,200 hectares, Khmelnytskyi region – 2.48 million tons from 356,900 hectares, and Vinnytsia region – 2.45 million tons from 440,100 hectares.
The harvest of wheat, barley, and peas has been completed, according to the Ministry of Economy.
As for oilseeds, the rapeseed harvest is only slightly less than last year’s – 3.31 million tons compared to 3.5 million tons from almost equal areas of about 1.3 million hectares.
However, the harvest of soybeans and sunflowers is still ongoing, and there is a significant lag: 3.08 million tons of soybeans have been harvested from 1.34 million hectares, compared to 5.2 million tons from 2.3 million hectares on the same date last year, while sunflower seeds – 7.19 million tons from 3.91 million hectares compared to 9.3 million tons from 4.5 million hectares.
In addition, the harvest of sugar beets is also lagging behind: 4.72 million tons have been harvested from an area of 90,000 hectares, compared to 6.5 million tons on the same date last year.
According to the Ministry of Economy, sunflower has been harvested from 76% of the sown area, soybeans from 62%, and sugar beets from 45%, while rapeseed harvesting has been completed.
In its Inflation Report published at the end of July, the National Bank of Ukraine lowered its forecast for this year’s grain harvest from 61.7 million tons to 57.9 million tons, and for oilseeds from 22 million tons to 21 million tons.
The NBU recalled that last year, the grain harvest in Ukraine fell to 56.2 million tons from 59.8 million tons in 2023, while oilseeds fell from 21.7 million tons to 20 million tons.
According to forecasts by Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Vysotsky, this year’s grain harvest will be around 56 million tons, the same as last year.
The majority of German citizens oppose providing Ukrainian refugees with universal social assistance (Bürgergeld), according to the results of a survey conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (INSA) on behalf of Bild.
According to the published data, 66% of Germans surveyed do not believe that all Ukrainian refugees should receive full social assistance, while 17% supported this idea.
In addition, 62% of respondents said that men of conscription age from Ukraine should return home, 18% opposed this, and another 8% said they did not care.
According to the publication, approximately 700,000 Ukrainians living in Germany receive a total of around €6.3 billion in social assistance each year, and only one in three of them has a job.
Against this backdrop, political debates continue in Germany about the appropriateness of payments to newly arrived refugees. In the draft federal budget for 2026, the government plans to save about €1.5 billion, partly by changing the approach to payments for Ukrainians: instead of Bürgergeld, smaller benefits are planned for asylum seekers.
Experts note that this issue is becoming one of the key items on Germany’s political agenda: it concerns both social justice and the country’s immigration policy. The discussion about the role of Ukrainian refugees in German society reflects deeper sentiments about demographic challenges, integration, and support for European solidarity during wartime.
Source: http://relocation.com.ua/germans-oppose-payments-to-ukrainian-refugees-survey-shows/
A report by Microsoft showed that in the first half of 2025, Ukraine ranked fifth in the world and third in Europe among the countries that were most often targeted by cyber activity. In particular, almost one in ten victims in Europe were from Ukraine (9.5%).
“Despite enormous challenges, Ukraine is rapidly transforming and becoming a leader in cybersecurity. By accelerating the adoption of cloud technologies, applying AI to protect critical infrastructure, and stimulating innovation, the country is building digital resilience,” said Renate Strazdin, Microsoft’s technology director for the Northern Europe Multi-country Cluster (NTO Europe North Multi-country Cluster).
The report notes that more than 52% of cyberattacks with known motives are due to extortion and ransomware, while cyber espionage accounts for only 4%. In 80% of cases, the attackers’ goal is to steal data, which underscores the global nature of this threat.
The company notes that every day it processes more than 100 trillion security system signals, blocks approximately 4.5 million new attempts by malicious software to attack, analyzes 38 million cases of risk detection for user accounts, and scans 5 billion emails for malware and phishing threats.
Microsoft noted in the report that hospitals, schools, and local governments are increasingly becoming targets of cyberattacks due to their storage of confidential data and limited resources for cyber defense. This leads to delays in medical care, interruptions in the educational process, and shutdowns of transportation systems.
The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 also adds that outdated security measures are ineffective today. Therefore, the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA), which is particularly resistant to phishing, can prevent more than 99% of attacks involving credential theft.
The report separately notes that the threat from state actors remains. In particular, Russia is expanding its attacks beyond Ukraine, for example, to small businesses in NATO countries, using them as entry points into larger organizations. China is expanding its attacks on various industries and non-governmental organizations, using vulnerable devices for covert access.
Microsoft added that Iran is attacking logistics companies in Europe and the Persian Gulf, likely in preparation for disrupting commercial shipping, while North Korea is focusing on financial gain and espionage, in particular by employing IT specialists abroad who transfer their earnings to the regime.
The report notes that artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating the development of threats. For example, cybercriminals use AI to automate phishing and create artificially generated content. Cybersecurity specialists, on the other hand, use it to better identify threats and improve user security.
Sens Bank plans to significantly increase its SME loan portfolio in 2026, focusing on companies with a turnover of up to UAH 1 billion, said Yana Shumunova, director of the bank’s SME department, in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Today, the SME loan portfolio amounts to about UAH 3.2 billion, and liabilities are about UAH 20 billion. We plan to expand service limits to UAH 1 billion in turnover per client and increase the share of credit operations,” she said.
According to Shumunova, a significant portion of the bank’s clients work in the fields of trade, services, processing, agriculture, and logistics.
SENS Bank is a Ukrainian universal bank, formerly known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine. After nationalization in 2022, the bank has been actively developing digital services, corporate lending, and small business support. The bank’s network includes more than 200 branches, with assets exceeding UAH 100 billion.
KAN Development invested $120 million in education and the construction of educational institutions during the war, according to company founder Igor Nikonov.
“At KAN Development, we believe in the future and are building it today. We are creating self-sufficient ecosystems with everything you need: work, education, sports, medicine, security. During the war, we invested $120 million in education for children and are building schools of a new level,” Nikonov said on his Facebook page following his participation in the Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF).
As reported, KAN Development is investing $80 million in the construction of a school in the Respublika residential complex and a school on McCain Street in Kyiv. In total, the educational institutions are designed for 2,000 students.
In September 2024, the A+ architectural and engineering college also opened in the Faina Town residential district in the capital. It became the 15th educational institution in the A+ network.
KAN Development was founded in 2001. The company’s portfolio includes Ocean Plaza, Respublika Park, Tetris Hall, Central Park, Comfort Town, Faina Town, Respublika, IQ Business Center, and 101 Tower. In more than 20 years of operation, KAN Development has created over 3 million square meters of residential, retail, and commercial real estate. The company is also actively developing its own network of A+ educational institutions.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) remain the foundation of post-war economic recovery, and this segment will be the focus for Sens Bank in 2025–2026, said Yana Shumunova, director of the SME department, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“We are seeing growth in demand for loans to restore logistics, purchase equipment, and implement energy-efficient solutions. This is the foundation for the return of Ukrainian business to sustainable growth,” she said.
The bank is also strengthening its cooperation with the EBRD and international funds to expand SME lending programs.
Sens Bank is a Ukrainian universal bank specializing in the corporate and retail segments. After coming under state control, the bank is transforming its business model, focusing on technology, transparency, and support for SMEs.
