Transmission system operators (TSOs) of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania launched the first monthly auctions for the allocation of cross-border capacity on Monday, according to Ukrenergo.
They are being held on December 15-17 on the Joint Allocation Office (JAO) platform with delivery in January 2026. The final results of the auctions are to be announced on December 23. According to information on the JAO, the capacity of the interconnection with Hungary is 460 MW, with Romania and Slovakia – 172 MW each. No interconnection capacity is offered from Ukraine.
“Long-term auctions for the allocation of cross-border transmission capacity are definitely beneficial for the Ukrainian electricity market. In the context of massive Russian attacks on our energy system, we really need confidence in a stable supply of electricity imports every month,” commented Vitaliy Zaychenko, chairman of the board of Ukrenergo, whose words are quoted in the company’s Telegram message.
“We are grateful to our partners at ENTSO-E and the JAO auction platform, as well as our colleagues from the energy system operators of neighboring EU countries for their effective cooperation. We hope that it will continue and that annual auctions will also be introduced in the future,” said Zaychenko.
According to NEC, the introduction of such auctions was made possible thanks to cooperation with TSOs of neighboring countries and with the support of the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E). Work on the rules for long-term allocation for the EU’s external borders has been ongoing for the past two years.
“After these rules were approved by the national regulators of Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, it became possible to allocate free capacity at inter-state crossings through monthly long-term auctions. For Ukraine, this means more effective price forecasting and, in the long term, a reduction in the cost of imported electricity,” Ukrenergo explained.
As noted in the report, on a global scale, monthly auctions contribute to closer integration of the Ukrainian and European energy markets and ensure greater stability of Ukraine’s integrated energy system.
As reported, with the start of a full-scale invasion, given the military risks, ENTSO-E agreed only to daily auctions for the distribution of inter-state cross-border capacity for import and export operations with electricity.
At the same time, traders and energy companies have repeatedly pointed out that the absence of long-term auctions, in particular monthly and annual ones, hinders the effective attraction of imported electricity.
In early December, Vitaliy Zaychenko, Chairman of the Board of NEC Ukrenergo, told Energorforma that he expects the first long-term (monthly) auctions for the distribution of inter-state crossings with Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia since the start of the war to be successful.
“I think these auctions will take place. The market is definitely waiting for long-term auctions. Therefore, I think that the entire proposed cross-border capacity will be sold,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there will be no auctions in Poland because the Polish transmission system operator does not give its consent,” added the head of Ukrenergo.
It should be noted that the auctions launched today are joint, i.e., they are held simultaneously by both operators. The TSO agreed on this mechanism in 2023, and so far, daily auctions have been held under it. Monthly auctions were previously held in Moldova and Poland (Dobrotvir-Zamosc crossing), where unilateral auctions are still in place instead of joint ones.
Fintonik LLC (Kyiv) won the auction held by the state-owned Oschadbank on December 10 for the sale of a pool of loans to the Ukrlandfarming group of companies (Ukrlandfarming, ULF), offering the minimum possible price of UAH 1.13871 billion at a starting price of UAH 5.03852 billion.
According to data from the Prozorro.Prozori system, Fintonik, 80% of which is owned by Andriy Shpylka from Kryvyi Rih and 20% by former SCM director of new business development Mykola Nesterenko, was the only participant in the auction.
According to the protocol, the remuneration of the electronic platform SKOMPANI LLC, through which the application was submitted, amounted to UAH 17.08 million and will be paid from the UAH 75.58 million guarantee deposit.
Earlier, Oschadbank noted that this stage of the sale, at which the minimum price was reduced by 44%, was the final one, because after a series of previous auctions with a gradual reduction, the possibility of further price adjustments had been exhausted.
The auction included claims under loan agreements and related collateral agreements of borrowers — the ULF group of companies (PJSC Raise-Maksymko, PJSC Agroholding Avangard, Imperovo Foods LLC) and Pakko Holding LLC.
“The current auction is the last chance for potential investors to purchase a pool of secured loans, which includes production assets throughout Ukraine: elevators, poultry farms, an egg processing plant, etc., as well as guarantees from individuals and legal entities,” Oschadbank emphasized. It noted that if the auction is unsuccessful, it will proceed with the active implementation of a liquidation scenario to collect the debt.
In early December this year, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) fined TNA Corporate Solutions LLC (USA) and American citizen Nicholas Piazza (Nicholas Piazza) for violating the law when concentrating shares in the authorized capital of 14 enterprises of the Ukrlandfarming group, which was one of the largest agricultural holdings in Eurasia.
The agricultural holding claims that it remains one of the largest in Ukraine despite $1.2 billion in losses due to Russia’s military aggression. A significant portion of ULF’s financial obligations have been in default since 2017. In November 2017, a group of international creditors of Ukrlandfarming and Avangard estimated the total amount of ULF’s debt obligations at approximately $1.65 billion in a letter to the Ukrainian government: about $1.25 billion in debt obligations to international creditors and about $400 million to Ukrainian banks (including state-owned banks). In turn, according to their data, the debt to international creditors at that time consisted of approximately $775 million in Eurobonds and $475 million in credit debt to European and American banks (and their respective credit risk insurers).
In October last year, Ukrlandfarming announced that the lawsuits filed by Gramercy Funds Management LLC and its affiliates against Bakhmatyuk, Piazzi, Oleksandr Yaremenko, SP Capital Management LLC, TNA Corporate Solutions LLC, and/or Maltofex Ltd had been voluntarily withdrawn with a final waiver of claims, and the parties had entered into a confidential settlement agreement in connection therewith.
“Now that the litigation against Mr. Bakhmatyuk has been concluded, the company can more freely negotiate with creditors and focus on growing and rebuilding its business after losing approximately half of its value due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the release said at the time.
According to the NBU, as of early September this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 479.1 billion (12.3% of the total), ranked second among 60 banks in terms of this indicator.
The industrial complex of the former Irkliiv Butter and Cheese Factory in Cherkasy Region is being offered for sale on the OpenMarket electronic platform. The starting price of the lot is UAH 10.9 million, according to the State Enterprise “SETAM” of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
The property, located in the village of Irkliiv, Chornobaivskyi district, includes several non-residential properties with a total area of 5,222.8 square meters. The complex has a developed engineering infrastructure: electricity supply with a connected capacity of 1,159.2 kW, an operating sewage pumping station, a water tower, and its own well.
“The sale of such properties through open bidding is a way to modernize regional industry. We believe that our auction will help find an investor who can unlock the potential of the enterprise and create jobs,” said Roman Osadchuk, CEO of SETAM.
The auction for the sale of the property will take place on December 18, 2025. The OpenMarket electronic trading system, which has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, is one of the key tools for online asset purchases. In total, property worth more than UAH 26.6 billion has already been sold through the system.
AUCTION, CHERKASY REGION, Irkliivsky Butter and Cheese Factory, OPENMARKET
The Ministry of Finance added euro-denominated domestic government bonds maturing on May 6, 2027, to the primary auction on Tuesday, December 9.
According to the updated placement calendar, the rest of Tuesday’s auctions remain unchanged: traditional offers of four issues of government bonds in hryvnia – 1.1 years, 1.7 years, 2.5 years, and 3.1 years, as well as 1.5-year dollar-denominated government bonds.
On November 18, the Ministry of Finance already held an unscheduled auction for the placement of OVDPs in euros, for which a total of EUR 6.7 million in bids were submitted for EUR 100 million, and the cut-off rate remained at 3.25%.
As for dollar-denominated government bonds, last Tuesday the Ministry of Finance refused to put them up for sale, and at the last auction on November 25, it was able to attract $121.2 million for offers of $200 million, but at the same time lowered the cut-off rate from 4.05% to 4.02%, and the weighted average rate from 4.01% to 3.98%.
As for hryvnia bonds, their placement rates have remained unchanged since April this year: 16.35% for 13-month securities, 17.1% for 19-month securities, 17.5% for 28-month securities, and 17.8% for 36-month securities per annum.
According to the updated placement calendar, there are currently no offers for either currency OVDPs or benchmark OVDPs, which banks can use to partially form reserves, at the last two auctions on December 16 and 23.
Auctions for the right to special use of aquatic biological resources in fishery water bodies (or parts thereof) in 2026 will be held on December 8 in the Prozorro.Prozori state electronic trading system, according to the State Agency for Fisheries.
“This will allow entrepreneurs to prepare their material and technical base in advance and plan their economic activities,” the agency noted.
A total of 246 lots will be put up for auction for industrial fishing in 2026, namely: Kremenchuk Reservoir – 59 lots, Dnipro-Buzka Estuary System – 35 lots, Kamyanske Reservoir – 32 lots, Kaniv Reservoir – 27 lots, the lower reaches of the Dniester River (with lakes, the Turunchuk branch) and the Dniester Estuary – 17 lots, the Danube River – 16 lots, Kyiv Reservoir – 15 lots, Dnipro Reservoir – 11 lots, Tiligul Estuary – 10 lots, Berezan Estuary – 8 lots, Dnipro River within Chernihiv Oblast – 8 lots, Desna River with lakes within Chernihiv Oblast – 8 lots.
The State Agency for Fisheries invited business entities that plan to engage in commercial fishing and have declared their right to do so by submitting a corresponding electronic declaration to participate in the auction.
“This is your opportunity to legally, transparently, and honestly obtain the right to industrial fishing, contributing to the food security of the state,” the agency emphasized, adding that detailed information about the lots, auction dates, starting prices, guarantee deposit amounts, volumes and types of aquatic biological resources, fishing gear, etc. can be found on the State Agency for Fisheries’ information resources and in the state system “Prozorro.Sales.”
The National Agency of Ukraine for the Identification, Investigation, and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) has put up for auction land plots of ski resorts in the Zakarpattia region and the lower station with a chairlift and the upper station of a ski lift with the consent of the owners for a total amount of over UAH 347 million.
According to the announcement on the Prozorro.Prozori platform, one of the lots included 115 land plots with a total area of about 98 hectares in the Khust district (Pylypetska OTG), 93 land plots with a total area of over 98 hectares in the Svalyava (Bereznykivska SR) and Khust (Pylypetska OTG) districts of Zakarpattia region, as well as the lower station with a chairlift and the upper station of a ski lift.
The starting price of the lot is UAH 150.4 million.
The other lot includes 145 land plots belonging to Borzhava Development LLC, 56 land plots belonging to Borzhava Invest LLC, 42 land plots belonging to Borzhava Land LLC, and two land plots belonging to Dumka LLC. The land is located in the Mukachevo and Khutsk districts of Zakarpattia.
The starting price is UAH 176.5 million.
The third lot includes 41 land plots owned by Taurus Invest LLC, also located in the Mukachevo and Khutsk districts of Zakarpattia.
The starting price is UAH 20.9 million.
It is noted that consent to the sale of the seized property was given by the owners of the assets of Borzhava Development LLC, Taurus Property LLC, Taurus Land LLC, Taurus Invest LLC, Dumka LLC, Borzhava Land LLC, and Borzhava Invest LLC.
Auctions based on the English model are scheduled for December 2.
According to Opendatabot, the ultimate beneficiary of these companies is Austrian citizen Gernot Leitner, a representative of the Austrian ski industry and a long-time participant in the preparation of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
As reported, the state began searching for investors for the construction of the Borzhava ski resort back in 2013 to implement the project “Olympic Hope 2022: Creation of Sports and Tourism Infrastructure.” However, a number of projects, including Olympic Hope 2022, were not implemented due to embezzlement by officials of the State Agency for Investment and National Projects Management and the State Investment Company, as revealed by detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
Later, in 2020, Leytner presented the resort project. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2021.