At its meeting on February 5, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) granted Landex Agro LLC permission to acquire direct control over Zemli Slobozhanshchyny LLC.
According to the regulator’s Facebook post, this involves the acquisition of assets that provide control over the enterprise.
Lands Agro LLC (Lozova, Kharkiv region) was registered at the end of 2023. The ultimate beneficiary of the company is businessman Alexander Katsuba, former deputy chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine. Given the purchase of a number of agricultural enterprises in the Kharkiv region, he is currently forming a new agricultural group.
In particular, in December 2025, Katsuba formed a land bank by purchasing more than 6,000 hectares of land in the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region from the Novaagro group. In addition to the agricultural business, where he also owns the companies Ivak Agro, Lozovsky Agropromtechservice, and the agricultural firm Podolevskaya, Katsuba is the owner of the gas production company Alfa Gas and the online publications Avtocenter and AvtoBazar.
Zemli Slobozhanshchyny LLC was established in 2023 and has its headquarters in Kharkiv. It specializes in real estate transactions and auxiliary activities in crop production.
The Kametstal plant, part of the Metinvest mining and metallurgical group (Kamensk, Dnipropetrovsk region), has certified B500SP and B500B grade rebar for supply to Lithuania.
According to the company, Metinvest’s steel products are conquering EU construction sites.
At the same time, it is noted that at the end of 2025, Kametstal’s rebar took a new step in European geography: from the “green light” on the Romanian market for B500C class profiles in October to the official certification of B500SP and B500B classes for Lithuania in December.
“The certification process for B500SP and B500B grade rebar with a nominal diameter of 8 to 32 mm, produced on the 400/200 rolling mill, has been successfully completed. As a result, certificates have been obtained that enable Kametstal to supply its products to customers in Lithuania,” the company said in a statement.
It is noted that the certification was preceded by intensive preparation and coordinated work by a team of specialists from Kametstal and the management company of the Metinvest Group. An offline audit, during which an experienced expert, Valdemaras Gauronskis, director of the Construction Products Certification Center (Statybos produkcijos sertifikavimo centras – SPSC), visited Kametstal, took place at the end of October. Based on the results of the production inspection, a positive decision was made regarding the compliance of the specified grades of reinforcing steel with the Lithuanian standard.
Kametstal is part of the Metinvest Group.
CERTIFICATE, EUROPE, EXPORT, LITHUANIA, reinforcement, Каметсталь
According to Serbian Economist, the municipality of Knyazhevats has begun the process of preparing a detailed regulation plan for the construction of the Knyazhevats solar power plant in the community, as follows from the decision to develop planning documentation.
The deadline for preparing the plan is set at 12 months. The municipal administration (urban planning and construction) has been designated as the project manager, Projektura d.o.o. (Belgrade) as the developer, and Central Europe Energy Company d.o.o. (Belgrade) as the initiator, which is also financing the preparation of the documentation.
The project involves the construction of Serbia’s largest solar park in Tresibabi with a capacity of 170 MW, with investments estimated at approximately €200 million.
Approximately 270 hectares of low-quality state-owned land have been leased for the project, with a lease rate of €1,050 per hectare per year, of which 40% goes to the community budget and 60% to the republican budget.
Central Europe Energy Company is registered in Belgrade, with Qin Zhang listed as the responsible person, according to CompanyWall data.
The Cabinet of Ministers has set new deadlines for foreigners with expired residence permits to apply for exchange of the document.
According to the decree № 141 from February 5, it is established that foreigners and stateless persons, except for citizens of the Russian Federation, who have a residence permit, the term of application for the exchange of which came after February 24, 2022, should within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this decree to apply for the exchange of such a residence permit.
It is determined that this Decree shall enter into force three months after its publication.
In addition, the State Migration Service is instructed within three months from the date of entry into force of this decree to provide information and awareness-raising work aimed at informing foreigners and stateless persons about the procedure and terms of exchange of temporary residence certificates, the deadline for applying for the exchange of which came after February 24, 2022.
The US virtual embassy in Iran has urged US citizens to “leave Iran now” if possible and to have a plan to leave independently, without expecting assistance from the US government.
The published warning notes that heightened security measures continue in the country, with road closures, public transport disruptions, and internet blockages. It also points to communication restrictions, including access to mobile and landline networks, and that airlines continue to restrict or cancel flights to and from Iran.
US citizens are advised, if safe to do so, to consider leaving by land, including via Armenia or Turkey, and to make alternative communication arrangements in advance in light of possible internet shutdowns.
The US State Department maintains a Level 4 – Do Not Travel advisory for Iran and separately emphasizes that there is no US embassy in the country and consular assistance is limited; Switzerland acts as the protecting power.
The European Union may provide Ukraine with a grant to modernize the Shepit-Izvoarele Sucevei border crossing point on the border with Romania as part of the Interreg VI-A NEXT Romania-Ukraine 2021-2027 program, according to the press service of the Recovery Agency. According to the report, the program’s governing body has approved the selection of the BOND – Border Operations and National Development project. The project has been recommended for funding and may receive a grant of up to €690,900, which is 90% of the total project budget.
The Recovery Agency noted that BOND is the next stage of comprehensive work on opening the Shepit-Izvoarele Sucevei border crossing point, provided for by an intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Romania. Earlier, as part of the Romania-Ukraine 2014-2020 program, mirror infrastructure projects were implemented on both sides of the border – bridges and access roads were built, and flood protection measures were carried out on a 2 km section on the Ukrainian side and a 3 km section on the Romanian side.
As specified, the BOND project provides for the technical equipment of the checkpoint on both sides of the border, in particular the purchase and installation of specialized equipment for the safe and efficient operation of the checkpoint, as well as the development of a joint cross-border strategy for the development of border areas.
The Interreg NEXT “Romania-Ukraine” program for the period 2021-2027 is aimed at supporting cross-border cooperation and covers the border counties of Romania and the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Odesa regions of Ukraine.
BORDER, CHECKPOINT, EUROPEAN UNION, GRANT, MODERNIZATION, ROMANIA
