The Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine justifies the appointment of lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk as a member of the Competition Commission for the competition for administrative positions in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) as the only candidate from among those who participated in the selection process and met the requirements of the law after one of the three participants refused to work in the competition commission.
“Within the established deadline, the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine received documents from four persons: three representatives of the prosecutorial community and one lawyer… All four candidates were admitted to participate in the selection process and underwent the relevant interviews… On December 9, 2025, the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine reviewed the submitted documents at its meeting and decided to submit proposals to the Prosecutor General to appoint three employees of the prosecutor’s office to the Selection Committee. The relevant decision was published on the website of the Council of Prosecutors of Ukraine on the same day,” according to an explanation published on the Council of Prosecutors’ website on Monday.
However, one of the proposed candidates subsequently submitted a request to be removed from the list of candidates at his own request. It is reported that on December 18, the Council of Prosecutors granted his request and informed the Prosecutor General of this decision, who appointed Shevchuk as a member of the Competition Commission.
“Given the insufficient number of candidates proposed by the Prosecutors’ Council of Ukraine, and in order to comply with the requirements of paragraph four of part three of Article 29-1 of the Law of Ukraine ”On the Prosecutor’s Office” in a timely manner, the Prosecutor General appointed lawyer A. Shevchuk, the only candidate among those who participated in the competition and met the requirements of the law, as a member of the Competition Commission,” the statement said.
It is also noted that the powers of a member of the Competition Commission may be terminated early only in the event of a personal application for termination of powers, inability to participate in meetings for more than one month due to health reasons, a proposal by the Competition Commission to terminate the powers of its member ahead of schedule in cases provided for by the commission’s regulations, the entry into force of a court conviction, recognition of a person as incapacitated or missing, or his death.
The Council of Prosecutors noted that at the moment, the full composition of the commission has not been formed, as three candidates from international and foreign organizations, who must be proposed in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, have not yet been determined.
As reported, after Shevchuk was appointed a member of the competition commission, which is to select the deputy head of the SAP, he announced a “wave of information attacks, mudslinging, and provocations” against him by a number of activists, which he linked to the fact that he was Ilya Kiva’s lawyer at the time when Kiva held the position of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs department and was responsible for combating drug trafficking. Shevchuk also reported that on March 7, he was mobilized and is working for the army and the front as a soldier.
“I am aware that some journalists have obtained information about our clients in violation of procedure. Manipulation and distortion of facts will not go unanswered – either in court or within the Commission on Journalistic Ethics. The relevant lawsuits have already been filed, and work in this direction will continue,” he said.
Source: https://rpu.gp.gov.ua/ua/rada_news.html?_m=publications&_c=view&_t=rec&id=410485
The gold market entered a phase of rapid acceleration in January 2026, with prices repeatedly hitting historic highs during the month and, for the first time ever, firmly settling above $5,000 per troy ounce. On January 26, the spot price rose to $5,110.50, with growth since the beginning of 2026 estimated at approximately 18%.
A key feature of the current movement is that it formed in “stages” on the wave of news triggers and demand for defensive assets. In the middle of the month, gold hit a record high of around $4,641 amid a combination of geopolitical uncertainty and expectations of a softening of Fed policy. Then, on January 19, gold and silver rewrote their highs after a surge in the flight to safety amid discussions about Greenland and tariff signals from the US. By January 23, gold had risen to around $4,988, and on January 26, the market crossed the psychological threshold of $5,000 and accelerated to $5,110.
The fundamental drivers of the January rally are as follows:
1) Politics and geopolitics. Investors are paying a higher risk premium due to foreign policy and trade signals from the US administration, as well as general market nervousness. Reuters directly links the surge in gold to growing demand for a “safe haven” amid volatility and geopolitical factors.
2) Currencies and interest rates. The weakening of the dollar and expectations of lower interest rates supported gold as a non-yielding asset (an alternative to bonds), especially against the backdrop of expectations of the Fed’s decisions at the end of January.
3) Central banks. Purchases by regulators remain high: the World Gold Council estimated net purchases by central banks at 45 tons in November, with total purchases for January-November at 297 tons.
4) Investment flows and “new” large buyers. Demand from atypical players is emerging in the market: for example, Tether reported purchasing about 27 tons of gold in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Possible scenarios for the near future look diverse.
The market is focused on US macro statistics and the trajectory of Fed policy: any signals of tighter rates could trigger a correction after rapid growth. At the same time, the “rally continues” scenario remains in place if the risk premium remains high and demand from central banks remains stable. Against this backdrop, investment houses are already raising their targets: Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs has raised its gold price forecast for the end of 2026 to $5,400 per ounce and expects central banks to continue making significant purchases.
The baseline scenario for the market in the near future is high volatility with a continuing upward trend: January’s rapid growth increases the likelihood of pullbacks “on the news” and profit-taking, but structural factors (diversification of reserves, geopolitical risks, demand for hedging) still appear to be stronger.
Earlier, the Experts Club analytical center released a video on gold production by the world’s leading economies from 1975 to 2024 – https://youtube.com/shorts/DWbzJ1e2tJc?si=BT8LW70pzdJThvqN
https://expertsclub.eu/rynok-zolota-v-sichni-2026-uvijshov-u-fazu-rizkogo-pryskorennya-experts-club/
The State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) has put up for privatization a state-owned stake in the Kolomyia Agricultural Machinery Plant at a starting price of UAH 12 million, the agency’s press service reported.
The SPF specified that 93.4% of the authorized capital of the Kolomyia Agricultural Machinery Plant joint-stock company will be put up for privatization.
The property includes 75 units of real estate — production, warehouse, and administrative buildings, infrastructure (roads, fences, electricity, gas, and water supply) with a total area of 81,776.8 square meters, as well as three land plots with an area of 55.3 hectares, eight vehicles and special equipment manufactured between 1986 and 1996. Part of the property has already been leased under seven agreements until July 29, 2026.
The terms of sale include the repayment of wage and budget debts within six months after the purchase, as well as a ban on employee layoffs.
The auction will take place on February 5 in the Prozorro.Prozori system. Applications will be accepted until February 4, 20:00.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and one of the European countries will provide Ukraine with EUR85 million for the purchase of additional gas volumes, First Deputy Prime Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal said.
“EUR 85 million through EBRD instruments for the purchase of additional gas volumes for Ukraine. Work on obtaining the relevant grant from one of the European countries is already being completed,” Shmyhal wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
He noted that this was discussed during an online conversation with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
“We are grateful to our partners for this! We will continue to work together to find additional sources of funding,” the head of the Ministry of Energy emphasized.
According to him, it is also extremely necessary to continue financial support from the EBRD to Ukrenergo and Ukrhydroenergo, as this helps to provide repairs, equipment, and implement new solutions so that people have light and heat.
Raw milk production in Ukraine decreased in 2025 amid falling purchase prices, increased production costs, shipping disruptions, as well as severe frosts and heating problems that led to a decline in cow productivity, according to the Association of Milk Producers (AMP), citing data from the State Statistics Service.
The industry association noted that in December 2025, farms of all categories produced 478,000 tons of raw milk, which is 29,000 tons less (-6%) than in November of the same year and 75,000 tons less (-14%) than in December 2024.
At the same time, milk production in Ukraine in 2025 amounted to 6.86 million tons, which is 374 thousand tons less (-5%) than in the previous year. In December 2025, the share of enterprises in raw milk production was 57%, and that of private farms was 43%.
In December 2025, enterprises produced 271,000 tons of raw milk, which is 6,000 tons more (+2.1%) compared to November, but 12,000 tons less (-4%) compared to December 2024.
Last year, commercial dairy farms produced 3.18 million tons of raw milk, which is 210,000 tons more (+7%) than the previous year.
According to the ABM, milk production in private households in December 2025 amounted to 206 thousand tons, which is 35 thousand tons less (-14%) than in November and 64 thousand tons less (-24%) than in December 2024. In January-December 2025, households produced 3.67 million tons of raw milk, which is 583 thousand tons less (-14%) than the year before last.
“Raw milk production volumes are declining in Ukraine, primarily due to the household sector, which is ceasing to play an important role in the dairy industry. It is likely that if private farms do not consolidate by 2030, their milk will no longer be sent for processing and will be used for their own consumption. To remain in the industry, PFFs must unite into cooperatives and form commercial milk batches or independently increase their cow herds and develop craft production of dairy products,” emphasized AVM analyst Georgiy Kukhiashvili.
He noted that the industrial sector is compensating for the decline in the share of private farms and demonstrating stability in raw milk production. However, in December, milk production in the industrial sector declined compared to the same period last year amid a decline in purchase prices for raw milk under pressure from the collapse of world prices for commodities, including butter.
“Low raw milk prices do not correspond to its cost at dairy farms, which have increased production costs due to energy supply problems, which worsened in January 2026, and the need to spend more money on diesel generators. Due to long blackouts, there were interruptions in the shipment of raw milk from dairy farms to milk processing plants. The plants report that they cannot accept milk and send it for processing when the power is off. The severe frosts this winter, combined with heating problems, have led to a decline in cow productivity,” the AVM said.
The association suggested that, in the context of the crisis, dairy farms may revise their investment plans for 2026, as it is difficult to increase raw milk production during blackouts, and a significant recovery in demand for dairy products on the domestic market is unlikely in the short term.
“It is likely that in 2026, the reduction in raw milk production will occur not only in the household sector, but also in the industrial sector. Due to unprofitability, certain farms with less than 400 head of cattle are likely to close. In this case, raw milk production in Ukraine may decline to 6.0-6.2 million tons. However, those dairy farms that are able to maintain their cow numbers in 2026 and invest in sustainability should benefit in the coming years,” the UAM concluded.
The amount of value-added tax (VAT) declared by non-residents who provide electronic services to individuals in the customs territory of Ukraine and are registered as VAT payers reached 14.4 billion hryvnia in 2025, while in 2024, the budget received 29% less – 11.2 billion hryvnia.
The “Google tax” brought over 14.4 billion hryvnia to the budget in 2025. These are funds paid by non-residents who provide electronic services to individuals in the customs territory of Ukraine and are registered as VAT payers,” wrote Lesya Karnaukh, acting head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine (STS), on her Facebook page.
According to her, 150 non-residents already pay this tax: in 2025, 12 new non-residents registered as VAT payers, and at the beginning of 2026, another five companies did so.
The leaders in paying the “Google tax” remain the world’s leading digital companies: Apple, Google, Valve, Meta, Sony, Etsy, and Netflix.
“All the electronic services we use every day contribute to the state budget. These are funds for the protection of the country, social programs, and restoration,” Karnaukh noted.
