European digital-first banking group Iute Group plans to enter the Ukrainian market by launching a bank under the IuteBank brand with a focus on digital banking services for everyday financial needs, the company said on its website on Tuesday.
“This step is aimed at supporting our long-term goal of expanding digital banking services in a disciplined and responsible manner,” said Iute Group CEO Tarmo Sild.
According to the announcement, the market entry involves an agreement with the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) after approval by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
Under the agreement, Iute Group plans to acquire PJSC “Transitional Bank ”Iute Bank” with a banking license, to which a selective portfolio of low-risk assets and corresponding retail deposit liabilities totaling approximately EUR4 million were transferred from the insolvent RVS Bank.
The expected price of the transaction will be EUR120 thousand, with financing planned from the group’s available liquidity. Iute Group also reported that it expects the net loss of Ukrainian banking operations in 2026 not to exceed EUR3 million.
Upon completion of the transaction, the Ukrainian banking structure is to become the successor to the selected assets and deposit liabilities of RVS Bank. The assets to be transferred mainly include government bonds and cash, while the loan portfolio and related credit risks are not planned to be transferred.
The company expects that around 13,000 retail customers will be transferred as part of the deal, along with their accounts and deposits, but without the branch network.
The bank’s CEO will be Artur Muravitsky, who has over 22 years of experience in the financial sector and previously held the position of deputy chairman of the board of TAScombank and management positions at Ukrposhta, Finance Bank, and VTB Bank in Ukraine.
According to Iute Group, the initial steps after the deal is done will include capitalizing the bank, putting together a key team, and getting ready to launch digital banking services.
As reported, in December, the Deposit Guarantee Fund announced a competition for the best proposal to settle RVS Bank, which the National Bank had declared insolvent. As part of this procedure, the transitional bank Iute Bank was created, headed by Muravitsky.
According to the NBU, as of November 1, 2025, RVS Bank ranked 53rd (UAH 819.8 million) among 60 solvent banks in terms of assets.
According to information on the Iute Group website, it was founded in 2008 by Sild and Allar Niinepuu and is currently a technology-oriented financial services provider serving over 970,000 customers in the Balkans, as well as being present in the Moldovan market since 2008. The group is headquartered in Tallinn, has over 800 employees and more than 50 branches.
Iute Group expanded through several non-bank financial institutions to Albania in April 2015, North Macedonia in September 2017, and Bulgaria in February 2019, and in 2022 acquired a 95% controlling stake in Moldova’s Energbank.
Iute Group provides lending, payment, currency exchange, and insurance brokerage services.
In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, perceptions of the EU and the US are formed not through their own experience, but through the prism of Russian propaganda and information isolation. This was stated by sociologist, director of the Active Group research company Oleksandr Poznyi during his speech at the Forum on Countering Russian Propaganda and Disinformation, held on December 17-18, 2025 in Brussels.
In his speech, the expert relied on the results of sociological studies conducted in 2023-2025 and emphasized that residents of the temporarily occupied territories are virtually deprived of direct communication with Europe and the United States. In such circumstances, the perception of the West is formed mainly through narratives imposed by the occupation authorities. “For many people in the TOT, Europe and the United States are not partners or allies of Ukraine, but abstract, distant actors whose image is almost entirely shaped by the Russian media,” said Poznyi.
According to the sociologist, Russian propaganda systematically forms two dominant images of the West. The first one is aggressive and hostile, which allegedly “controls Ukraine”, “provokes war” and “uses Ukrainians in its own interests”. The second is cynical and indifferent, “tired of Ukraine” and ready to sacrifice its territories for the sake of stability. “These narratives contradict each other but coexist perfectly. They are not about logic, they are about emotion and fear,” explained Poznyi.
As a result, a part of the population has a distorted view of the role of the EU and the US, which has nothing to do with the real policy of supporting Ukraine, but directly affects public sentiment and expectations for the future. One of the key reasons for this perception is complete information isolation. Ukrainian and Western sources of information are blocked or criminalized, and any alternative viewpoints are viewed as “extremism” or “espionage.”
“People cannot verify information. They are forced to live inside an information bubble where the West is an image, not a reality,” the sociologist emphasized. According to him, even those TOT residents who support Ukraine internally often avoid talking about Europe or the United States, as these topics are considered “dangerous” and may arouse suspicion on the part of the occupation structures.
During the forum in Brussels, these observations were presented as a serious challenge for European policy. According to Poznyi, the perception of the EU and the US in the occupied territories will directly affect the processes of de-occupation and reintegration in the future. “If people have been hearing for years that Europe is an enemy or a traitor, these perceptions do not automatically disappear after de-occupation,” he emphasized.
The Forum on Countering Russian Propaganda and Disinformation, held on December 17-18, 2025 in Brussels at the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee, was dedicated to strengthening Europe’s cognitive and information resilience in the face of hybrid threats.
The event brought together representatives of European institutions, think tanks, media and civil society from Ukraine and the EU. The event was aimed at outlining the scope and mechanisms of Russian propaganda, showing its destructive impact on public consciousness, and discussing ways to counter it.
By 2035, Europe may face street protests and conflicts between people and service robots amid mass robotization of the service sector and the displacement of some workers from the labor market, according to a new Europol analytical report, The Unmanned Future(s): The Impact of Robotics and Unmanned Systems on Law Enforcement.
According to the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, citing the document, Europol estimates that by the mid-2030s, robots and unmanned systems will be widely used in areas such as delivery and cleaning, which could lead to job losses among low-skilled workers from disadvantaged areas and cause protests accompanied by attacks on robots and infrastructure, including medical devices and service machines.
The report emphasizes that the widespread introduction of robotic systems could change not only the labor market, but also the landscape of crime and law enforcement in the EU, including new threats ranging from attacks on service robots to the use of drones for criminal purposes.
At the same time, a number of experts interviewed by the media express doubts about the realism of a “war between humans and robots” scenario in the next ten years, pointing out that the development of regulation and retraining programs could mitigate the social risks of robotization.
Participants in the panel discussion “The Strategic Role of the Danube in Logistics and Connectivity” at the international forum in Bucharest concluded that the Danube has become one of the key logistical and strategic corridors in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the growth of hybrid threats, and the need to strengthen NATO and EU military mobility. In their opinion, improving the resilience and security of the Danube infrastructure should be considered a priority not only for coastal states but also for the entire Euro-Atlantic community.
The panel was moderated by Stefan Hofmann, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s offices in Romania. The discussion was joined by Andriy Kashuba, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine (via videoconference), George Scutaru, Director General of the New Strategy Center, Wilfried Jilge, Associate Expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, and Rear Admiral (ret.), Senior Associate Expert at the New Strategy Center, former commander of the Romanian Navy’s Maritime Component Liviu Coman.
The speakers emphasized that after the start of the war in 2022, traditional transport routes in the region became overloaded or vulnerable to military and hybrid attacks. This accelerated the development and more intensive use of the Danube infrastructure as an alternative corridor. Ukraine, they said, relies critically on Danube ports to maintain grain exports and support broader supply chains, while repeated Russian strikes on port infrastructure have exposed its vulnerability.
Participants emphasized that attacks on port facilities on the Danube have demonstrated the need for accelerated modernization of transport, transshipment, and surveillance systems, as well as enhanced protection of maritime and river infrastructure. This included expanding port capacity, upgrading the fleet, digitizing logistics processes, and improving coordination between military and civilian structures.
Following the discussion, the panel concluded that the Danube is a strategic hub for the entire Euro-Atlantic security architecture—a corridor for military mobility, a vector for economic integration, and a platform for regional cooperation. Participants emphasized the need for closer coordination between Romania, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova, including Ukraine’s full integration into European military mobility programs, strengthening port infrastructure, removing administrative barriers, and creating joint mechanisms to counter hybrid threats. According to experts, strengthening the stability and security of the Danube corridor is not just a regional task, but a strategic condition for the stability of Europe as a whole.
Participants in the panel discussion “Security Perspectives for 2026: Possible Developments” at the Ukraine Recovery Forum in Bucharest concluded that 2026 is shaping up to be a potential strategic turning point for Euro-Atlantic security against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the vulnerability of transatlantic ties, and growing pressure on the EU to strengthen its defense capabilities and strategic autonomy.
The discussion was moderated by Antena 3 CNN journalist Radu Tudor. The panel included Sorin Moldovan, State Secretary of the Romanian Ministry of National Defense; Vadym Halaychuk, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on EU Integration; Paul Coyer, Professor at the Institute of World Politics (USA), Nico Lange, Senior Research Fellow at the Munich Security Conference, and Shigeo Mutsushika, Executive Director of the Kazankai Foundation and Honorary Professor at Shizuoka University (Japan).
According to the speakers, Europe’s security environment in 2026 will be determined by a combination of several factors: the Russian Federation’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the fragmentation of transatlantic unity, and growing competition between major powers, including the use of hybrid instruments. Against this backdrop, Europe, in their opinion, should play a “more mature strategic role” – not only in the defense sphere, but also in industrial and energy policy.
“European states can no longer take security for granted – they need their own capabilities that will complement, not replace, the transatlantic partnership,” Lange said.
The participants paid particular attention to the stability of the Black Sea region and the resilience of NATO’s eastern flank, which were identified as key pillars of the European security architecture. It was emphasized that maintaining and strengthening support for Ukraine—military, economic, and political—will remain a decisive factor in deterring Russia and preventing further destabilization of neighboring regions. In this context, particular attention was paid to the risks associated with hybrid threats – cyberattacks, sabotage against critical infrastructure, and information operations.
Following the discussion, the panel concluded that structural changes in the security environment require deeper coordination between European states, accelerated investment in critical capabilities, and the adaptation of defense doctrines to new operational realities. Continued support for Ukraine, active use of Western economic and legal instruments—including the possible use of frozen Russian assets—and strengthening of the transatlantic partnership were identified as necessary prerequisites for maintaining regional stability and establishing a sustainable European security order.
The widespread use of unmanned systems in Russia’s war against Ukraine represents not just a technological evolution, but a profound change in the logic of warfare, for which most European countries are not yet prepared, according to participants in the panel discussion “The Russia–Ukraine Drone War: Innovation on the Front Line and Beyond. What Can We Learn for Our Own Defense?” at the Ukraine Recovery Forum in Bucharest.
Panel VIa was moderated by Greg Melcher, Chief Operating Officer of the New Generation Warfare Centre (USA). The discussion was attended by Andriy Sirko-Galushchenko, an expert in the development of UAVs for military applications; Terry Jamison, International Director of Boeing’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft Division; Mustafa Nayem, Director of Public Communications at GTX; former Prime Minister of Romania, retired General Nicolae Ciucă, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training, Lieutenant General Julian Berdila.
According to the speakers, what until recently was perceived as a “distant technological horizon” has already become an everyday operational reality. The development of unmanned systems, open architectures, and the rapid integration of new capabilities indicate that the “future of warfare” has arrived much sooner than many Western players expected. Ukraine’s combat experience has shown that accelerated innovation cycles are leading to a structural transformation in the planning of air, ground, and joint operations.
Participants emphasized that the combined use of manned and unmanned platforms, as well as immediate technical interoperability between them, are becoming a basic requirement for the adaptation of modern armed forces. Drones are already being used systematically for reconnaissance, high-precision strikes, logistics, mining and demining, artillery fire correction, and special operations support. Massive coordinated attacks on critical infrastructure have demonstrated the limitations of purely reactive defense and highlighted the need to neutralize threats “at the source.”
At the same time, counter-drone systems are rapidly developing, combining existing surveillance and electronic warfare capabilities with new solutions to counter large numbers of small, low-altitude targets. “This is no longer an episodic tool, but a full-fledged layer of the modern battlefield that requires a separate doctrine, forces, and means,” Berdila noted.
A separate emphasis in the discussion was placed on Europe’s vulnerability to hybrid forms of aggression. According to experts, traditional threat assessments do not correspond to the realities in which the enemy acts mainly with asymmetric, scattered, and difficult-to-attribute methods. Incidents involving the appearance of unknown drones near critical infrastructure in various European countries, they said, expose the gap between public perception, the level of institutional preparedness, and the actual nature of the risks.
Following the discussion, the participants concluded that “drone” warfare is not only a technical issue but also a challenge for institutional capacity and defense planning. Adapting to the new operational environment requires flexible institutions, short innovation cycles, coordinated investments, and a doctrine capable of quickly integrating the lessons learned from Ukraine’s experience. Modern warfare, they emphasized, has become a space where speed of adaptation, integration of systems, and simultaneous readiness for offensive and defensive actions are key elements of strategic resilience.
The forum “Rebuilding Ukraine: Security, Opportunities, Investments” is being held on December 11-12 in Bucharest under the auspices of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the New Strategy Center. According to the organizers, more than 30 panel discussions and parallel sessions are planned over two days with the participation of representatives of governments, international organizations, the private sector, financial institutions, and experts from Europe, North America, and Asia. The topics of the panels cover security and defense, infrastructure, financing and investment, green energy, digitalization, human capital, and cross-border cooperation.
