As of September 19, farmers harvested 29.77 million tons of early grain and leguminous crops from 7.09 million hectares, which is 62% of the area sown with these crops, according to the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture on its website.
Last year, as of September 20, 31.90 million tons of grain were harvested from 7.53 million hectares, meaning that the current figures are 6.7% and 5.9% lower, respectively, mainly due to the later start of the corn harvest.
As noted by the Ministry of Economy, 388,700 tons have now been harvested from 90,300 hectares, while last year at around this date, 2.40 million tons were harvested from 514,500 hectares.
As for wheat, its harvest is slightly higher than last year’s – 22.48 million tons from 5.02 million hectares compared to 22.30 million tons from 4.9 million hectares, while barley is slightly lower – 5.33 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 – 626,600 tons from 266,000 hectares compared to 465,300 tons from 212,200 hectares last year, while buckwheat and millet are still significantly lower – 57,100 tons versus 99,400 tons and 45,400 tons versus 132,000 tons, respectively.
The harvest of other cereals and legumes this year reached 844,300 hectares as of September 19, compared to 1,000,000 tons as of September 20 last year.
It is noted that among the leaders, in particular, the Odessa region harvested 3.68 million tons from an area of 1.09 million hectares, the Vinnytsia region with 2.41 million tons from 434,400 hectares, the Kirovograd region with 2.21 million tons from 538,400 hectares, and the Khmelnytskyi region with 2.13 million tons from 306,700 hectares.
As for oilseeds, the rapeseed harvest is only slightly less than last year’s – 3.30 million tons compared to 3.4 million tons from the same area of 1.27 million hectares.
However, the harvest of soybeans and sunflowers is still ongoing, and there is a significant lag: 944,900 tons of soybeans have been harvested from 483,700 hectares, compared to 2.6 million tons from 1.3 million hectares on a similar date last year, while 2.41 million tons of sunflowers have been harvested from 1.37 million hectares, compared to 4.90 million tons from 2.4 million hectares.
In addition, sugar beet harvesting is also lagging behind: 632,500 tons have been harvested from an area of 12,700 hectares, compared to 1.7 million tons on the same date last year.
According to current data, the yields of wheat, barley, peas, rapeseed, and soybeans are roughly the same as last year, while corn and sunflower yields are lower so far, at 4.3 tons/ha versus 4.7 tons/ha and 1.8 tons/ha versus 2 tons/ha, respectively.
As reported, 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 about 56 million tons, the same as last year.
Most Ukrainians express a positive attitude toward Norway. This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club think tank.
According to the survey, 77.7% of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Norway (38.7% — completely positive, 39.0% — mostly positive). Only 1.3% of respondents expressed a negative attitude (1.0% — completely negative, 0.3% — mostly negative). A neutral position towards Norway was expressed by 20.0% of respondents, while another 1.0% admitted that they were not familiar with this country.
“The high level of sympathy for Norway is explained not only by Ukraine’s traditional support in the context of the war, but also by the country’s stable image with high social standards, a developed economy, and one of the highest standards of living in the world,” emphasized Active Group CEO Oleksandr Pozniy.
Experts Club co-founder Maksim Urakin emphasized the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries.
“Despite a significant trade imbalance, Ukraine actively cooperates with Norway. In the first six months of 2025, trade turnover amounted to $231.9 million. At the same time, Ukrainian exports amounted to only $16.5 million, while imports amounted to $215.4 million. The negative balance exceeded $198.9 million, but the presence of Norwegian energy and technology goods is of great importance to the Ukrainian economy.”
Thus, Ukrainian society highly values Norway’s role as a reliable partner, and trade dynamics confirm mutual interest in developing relations.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, NORWAY, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, УРАКИН
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted the credentials of the newly appointed ambassadors of the Czech Republic, Norway, and Germany.
“I accepted the credentials and spoke with the newly appointed ambassadors of the Czech Republic, Norway, and Germany,” he wrote on Telegram.
The president also congratulated them on the start of their diplomatic missions and thanked them for their countries’ support of Ukraine.
They also discussed strengthening cooperation, particularly in the security and defense sector.
“Together, we are adding to the security and stability of the whole of Europe and moving towards a reliable and guaranteed peace in Ukraine,” Zelenskyy concluded.
The vast majority of Ukrainians express a neutral attitude towards Lebanon. This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in cooperation with the Experts Club think tank.
According to the survey, 67.3% of respondents said they had a neutral attitude towards Lebanon. Only 8.7% of respondents expressed a positive attitude (2.0% — completely positive, 6.7% — mostly positive). On the other hand, 15.3% of Ukrainians demonstrated a negative attitude (2.3% — completely negative, 13.0% — mostly negative). Another 8.7% admitted that they were not familiar with this country.
“These results can be explained by the lack of significant historical or cultural ties between Ukraine and Lebanon, as well as Lebanon’s weak informational presence in Ukrainian society,” said Alexander Pozniy, head of Active Group.
In turn, Experts Club founder Maksim Urakin emphasized the economic aspect.
“In the first six months of 2025, trade turnover between Ukraine and Lebanon amounted to $249.3 million. At the same time, exports from Ukraine amounted to $246.5 million, while imports amounted to only $2.7 million. Thus, the positive balance exceeded $243.8 million, which indicates Lebanon’s unilateral interest in Ukrainian products.”
Thus, relations between Ukraine and Lebanon remain predominantly economic, and public perception of this country in Ukraine is still neutral.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, EXPERTS CLUB, LEBANON, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, УРАКИН
The festival brought together architects, developers, urbanists, investors, cultural figures, and city residents — more than 3,500 guests spent the day in discussions, networking, excursions, and the atmosphere of a big city celebration.
Among the main events of the festival were:
◽️ Panel discussions in four halls — from investments in renovation and revitalization to the future of urban infrastructure;
◽️ Presentation of the new issue of DMNTR magazine;
◽️ Excursions to sites from leading developers;
◽️ A gala evening with a performance by Yevgen Khmara and a jazz band featuring Oleksiy Kogan.
Comments from participants:
Oleksiy Baranov: how city spaces are being rebooted
The general sponsor of the festival was Oleksiy Baranov, CEO of A Development. He participated in a professional interview entitled “Restoration and revitalization as an act of rebooting space” and conducted an exclusive tour of the A-Station space for partners and speakers.
Read the full interview with Oleksiy Baranov – https://share.google/pILaOIoTySJK96KGE
“Concept and location are two factors that drive real estate. We must create projects that change the face of the city and make Kyiv a modern European capital,” the developer emphasized.
Pavlo Somov: Restorative infrastructure is about people
EcoBud Building Group founder Pavlo Somov took part in two key discussions:
“Reconstruction through the eyes of a developer: is it profitable to invest in the restoration of the old city?”
“Restorative infrastructure: investment in restorative social infrastructure as a driver of sustainable urban development.”
“Restorative infrastructure starts with people. It’s not just buildings or parks, but above all, human potential, the ability of society to regenerate and create new spaces.”
Roman Ivanenko: Architecture of trust instead of fences
Roman Ivanenko, managing partner of Urban Development Group (UDG), presented the project “Architecture of trust: a park instead of a fence” and shared his experience of working on revitalization and new residential complexes.
“I want there to be no more fences around residential complexes in Kyiv. Fences do not provide security; they separate. If we build a city with fences, it will no longer be a city.”
One of the key themes of the festival: How has the demand for new buildings changed?
“Today, the key criterion for customers is confidence in the developer and their ability to deliver projects on time. In times of turbulence, trust becomes the decisive factor,” emphasized Boris Tsomaia, marketing director at RIEL.
The festival brought together key ideas about the future of cities:
◽️ Renovation and revitalization are the main tools for creating new value in abandoned properties.
◽️ Veteran spaces are becoming a priority in restoration — from rehabilitation centers to venues for entrepreneurship and community.
◽️ The investment attractiveness of urban projects directly depends on partnerships between business, communities, and government.
◽️ Development and architecture must work for people, creating sustainable and inclusive solutions.
Panel discussion: “Renovation. Revitalization: developers’ investment strategies for the future of cities”
Key points:
◽️ A new approach to urban development — developers face difficulties due to limited mechanisms for interacting with authorities, even when they have good ideas.
◽️ Revitalization “for the soul” — there are projects that are interesting to implement even without economic benefits.
◽️ Lack of urban planning policy — developers are ready to build, renovate, and restore, but are waiting for the right rules of the game.
◽️ Investment mechanisms — traditional instruments are high-risk, and there is no infrastructure for tokenizing assets. Legislative changes could significantly boost investment.
◽️ Cities after the war — the war may encourage the state to change its attitude toward urban planning.
◽️ An example of successful urban development — Vinnytsia has demonstrated effective cooperation between architects, the municipality, and the mayor.
◽️ The dream of a cultural project in Podil — the elevator could become a hotel and cultural center, similar to Silo in Cape Town.
September Fest 2025 proved that Ukraine’s new urbanism is emerging at the intersection of architecture, culture, economics, and lively dialogue.
Tel.: 044 461 91 28
www.ubc-ua.info/september-fest
Organizer: DMNTR
General Sponsor: A | DEVELOPMENT
About us:
DMNTR Media Group is a team with 25 years of experience in creating professional events for the architecture, construction, and investment audience. Our key projects include: Ukrainian Construction Congress, Ukraine Investment Congress,
All-Ukrainian Interior of the Year competition, Ukraine Urban Awards, and Creator of the Year architecture and development award.
We also publish the leading architecture and design magazine DMNTR and actively develop social media, where we publish daily insights, news, reports, and photo reports from all our events.
Link to the photo report – www.ubc-ua.info/september-fest
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Interfax-Ukraine – information partner
The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians have a positive attitude towards Latvia, which indicates a consistently high level of sympathy for this country. These are the results of a sociological survey conducted by Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club analytical center.
According to the results, 72.7% of respondents rated Latvia positively (41.0% — completely positive, 31.7% — mostly positive). A neutral attitude was expressed by 21.3% of respondents, while only 5.3% declared a negative position (2.3% — completely negative, 3.0% — mostly negative). Only 0.7% of respondents said they had no information about this country.
“The survey results show an extremely high level of trust and sympathy among Ukrainians towards Latvia. This country is perceived not only as a political ally, but also as a partner that consistently supports Ukraine in the international arena,” said Alexander Pozniy, head of Active Group.
In turn, Maksim Urakin, co-founder of Experts Club, drew attention to the economic indicators of bilateral trade.
“According to the results of the first six months of 2025, trade turnover between Ukraine and Latvia reached $263.9 million. Ukrainian exports amounted to $154.2 million, while imports amounted to $109.7 million.
The positive balance amounted to more than $44.5 million, which favorably distinguishes Latvia among Ukraine’s other trading partners in the EU,” the expert emphasized.
Thus, Ukraine and Latvia not only maintain a high level of mutual sympathy, but also demonstrate balanced and mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation.
The full video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgC9TPnMoMI&t
You can subscribe to the Experts Club YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ExpertsClub
ACTIVE GROUP, BALTIC STATES, EXPERTS CLUB, LATVIA, Pozniy, SOCIOLOGY, TRADE, UKRAINE, УРАКИН
