The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has lifted all restrictions on border crossings for all women without exception, regardless of their positions, Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko announced.
“The government is lifting restrictions on border crossings for all women without exception, regardless of their positions in state authorities, local self-government bodies, state-owned enterprises, and courts,” Sviridenko wrote on her Telegram channel.
As previously reported, in early May, the government lifted restrictions on travel abroad for a specific category of female officials. At that time, it was noted that the changes did not apply to the highest-ranking state officials, key heads of state authorities and their deputies, specifically members of the Cabinet of Ministers, the leadership of ministries and central executive bodies, the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the National Bank, as well as to members of parliament, judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General, and heads of state-owned enterprises and state bodies whose jurisdiction extends throughout the territory of Ukraine.
The US dollar-to-euro exchange rate at the end of 2026 will be $1.16/EUR1; the Cabinet of Ministers approved this updated estimate in the draft amendments to Ukraine’s state budget (No. 15224), whereas it had previously projected it at $1.08/EUR1.
As noted in the explanatory note to the draft, these changes have affected the assessment of the maximum levels of public debt: it will decrease by only UAH 332.2 billion, although financing of the state budget through debt operations will be reduced by UAH 651.5 billion thanks to the attraction of €13.2 billion in new budgetary support from the European Union under the Ukraine Support Loan.
According to the draft, it is proposed to set the public debt ceiling at the end of this year at 10 trillion 145. 6 billion UAH and the ceiling for state-guaranteed debt at 464.6 billion UAH, with budget revenues of 5 trillion 195.9 billion UAH and expenditures of 6 trillion 407.1 billion UAH.
As reported, in the calculations for Ukraine’s 2026 state budget, the government for the first time included a separate indicator for the projected average annual euro-to-hryvnia exchange rate—49.4 UAH/EUR1—in addition to the traditional average annual dollar exchange rate, which the Cabinet of Ministers expects to be 45.7 UAH/$1 this year.
In recent years, the share of euro-denominated obligations in Ukraine’s national debt has grown significantly, as the EU has become Ukraine’s main donor, while financial support from the U.S. has declined.
Public and state-guaranteed debt for the first quarter of 2026 increased by 190.4 billion UAH, or 2.1%, to 9.233 trillion UAH, but decreased by $2.5 billion, or 1.2%, to $210.8 billion in dollar terms.
The share of debt in euros as of the end of March this year was 44.08%, while in dollars it was 22.74%, in hryvnia 20.94%, and in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 9.12%.
In its updated April Inflation Report, the National Bank of Ukraine projects an average annual dollar-to-euro exchange rate of $1.18/EUR1, which corresponds to the current rate, compared to $1.13/EUR1 in 2025.
The official hryvnia-to-dollar exchange rate currently stands at 43.8033 UAH/$1, and the hryvnia-to-euro rate at 51.5433 UAH/$1.
The Cabinet of Ministers has allocated an additional 7.7 billion hryvnias to fund housing programs for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from temporarily occupied territories, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced.
“6.6 billion hryvnias for ‘e-Recovery’ for IDPs from temporarily occupied territories. These funds will provide housing for over 3,300 families who have combatant status or are persons with disabilities resulting from the war,” Svyrydenko wrote on her Telegram channel.
She noted that the state provides housing vouchers worth 2 million hryvnias per person or family whose homes remain in the temporarily occupied territory.
Another 1.1 billion hryvnias has been allocated for the construction of social rental housing.
“It will be provided to Mariupol residents who lost their homes due to the war. Housing will be available to 505 families of displaced persons from Mariupol,” she added.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is planning to approve a new procedure for using state support funds for industrial parks in the next week or two with an additional program for receiving monetary compensation for infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks in the amount of up to UAH 200 million, Deputy Minister of Economy Vitaliy Kindrativ said.
“In the near future, we will come up with a new procedure for the use of funds, which will include an additional program for receiving compensation for damaged infrastructure in industrial parks. That is, if there was a Russian attack, something was lost or destroyed, the state will be able to give you up to UAH 200 million to restore the infrastructure. I think it will be adopted by the government in a week or two, and we will soon receive applications,” he said during the annual Eco-Industrial Parks Conference in Kyiv on Friday.
He expressed hope that there will be few applications for restoration, but reminded that there are already “two bad cases, and it is on them that we have developed this mechanism of support from the state for those who suffered.”
Mr. Kindrativ also noted that the incentives provided by the state for the development of industrial parks are enough to develop a network of them.
“For our part, we see one big gap that we have been working on for two years now, and we hope to achieve results – a program to support and develop the capacity of IPs, management companies, and participants. That is, it is not enough to create and register an IP, it is necessary to fill it with appropriate meanings and tools, to bring in residents and give it life, and this requires additional competence and those who create the park do not always have it,” said the Deputy Minister of Economy.
According to him, launching this program this year is one of the government’s priorities.
Mr. Kindrativ also reminded that Ukraine is probably the only country in the world that has developed and approved the standard of an eco-industrial park at the state level.
“And it seems to me that for businesses that are planning and looking towards industrial parks, this is a good beacon of what they should do to develop in this direction,” he summarized.
As reported, as of the end of 2025, 37 industrial enterprises were built or under construction in Ukrainian industrial parks, of which 22 plants have already been built and 15 are under construction.
Currently, the Register of Industrial Parks includes more than 113 objects. Industrial parks are part of the investment component of the Made in Ukraine policy for the development of Ukrainian producers.
In October 2025, for example, a Russian missile destroyed the Sparrow Industrial Park in Lviv.
The EIP Ukraine 2026 conference is being implemented as a flagship national event within the framework of the Global Eco-Industrial Parks Program II – Ukraine: National Implementation (GEIPP-II Ukraine) project.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/1147910.html
A petition on the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers’ website calling for criminal liability for physical violence against animals has gathered the number of votes required for consideration. According to the government website platform, the petition was submitted on January 5, and as of January 10, it had gathered the 25,000 votes required for consideration.
“We, the citizens of Ukraine, appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with a demand to initiate amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine with the aim of introducing real, clear, and effective criminal liability for physical violence against animals,” the petition says.
The author of the petition states that the current legislation of Ukraine in the field of animal protection does not establish strict criminal liability for physical violence leading to suffering, injury, or death of an animal, and the existing sanctions do not have a sufficient deterrent effect.
“In European Union countries, particularly in Greece (Animal Welfare Act No. 4830/2021), physical violence against animals is classified as a serious criminal offense, and the most severe forms of cruelty are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment. This approach has proven effective in reducing cases of animal abuse and is in line with European animal protection standards,” the author added.
In this regard, the government is required to amend the Criminal Code to establish: criminal liability for physical violence against animals resulting in physical pain, suffering, injury, or death of the animal; punishment — imprisonment for 5 to 10 years for such crimes for a first offense; establish a gradation of punishment: for the first act of cruel physical violence — imprisonment for 5 to 7 years; for a repeat offense or one committed with particular cruelty — imprisonment for 7 to 10 years; for systematic violations or in cases of serious consequences — a maximum term of 10 years; provide for additional restrictions that apply to such crimes: a ban on keeping animals for a period of at least 10 years after serving the sentence; creation of a register of persons convicted of cruelty to animals, with restrictions on the right to purchase, own, or care for animals.
As reported, on July 15, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada legislatively strengthened the fight against animal cruelty. In particular, the adopted law provides for the mandatory use of a leash for walking dogs and other domestic animals that may pose a danger to human life or health, as well as muzzles for dangerous breeds of dogs (in particular, Dobermans, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Rottweilers, American Bulldogs, and Bull Terriers). The law prohibits people who have been subject to administrative penalties or measures for committing offenses related to cruelty to animals from keeping animals for one year, as well as for ten years from the date of entry into force of a conviction against persons who have been held criminally liable for cruelty to animals or who have been released from criminal liability and the proceedings have been terminated due to non-rehabilitating circumstances. Cruel treatment of animals – cruelty to animals, including stray animals, is punishable by a fine of 200 to 300 non-taxable minimum incomes (3400-5100 UAH) with confiscation of the animal if the animal’s stay with the owner poses a threat to its life or health. Keeping dogs and cats in places where it is prohibited by the relevant rules, walking dogs without leashes and muzzles, as well as failure by the owner of the animal to clean up its excrement while the animal is in a public place is punishable by a warning or a fine of 10 to 20 non-taxable minimum incomes (170-340 UAH) and a warning or fine for officials of 20 to 50 non-taxable minimum incomes (340-850 UAH).
ANIMALS, CABINET OF MINISTERS, criminal liability, PETITION, violence
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has abolished quotas on the export of table salt for 2026, according to Government Resolution No. 1795 of December 31 on the list of goods whose export and import are subject to licensing and quotas.
According to the document, there will be no quotas on the export of table salt in 2026, whereas in previous periods, exports of this product were limited by zero quotas.
The resolution is published on the government’s website.
