JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia,” in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has approved amendments to the loan agreement for the “UZ Energy” project, which will allow EUR130 million from the previously approved EUR180 million loan to be allocated to support the company’s liquidity, specifically for infrastructure restoration and ensuring the transportation of passengers and cargo.
“Funds previously earmarked for the distributed generation project can now also be used for critical repairs, infrastructure restoration, and ensuring the transportation of people and cargo,” wrote Mykola Kalashnyk, Ukraine’s Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport, on his Telegram channel on Wednesday following a meeting with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
According to him, the ministry is working to ensure that “Ukrzaliznytsia” gains access to the relevant funds as early as the first weeks of October.
Among other things, the project to build a 200-MW gas-fired power plant is continuing thanks to grant support from the EU and the United Kingdom, while “Ukrzaliznytsia” is carrying out the construction work on its own.
The minister also noted that the meeting included discussions on additional funding for the modernization of the locomotive fleet.
According to the ministry, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, 550 locomotives have been damaged, with more than 335 of them damaged this year.
“Securing resources to replace and restore them is one of our top priorities,” Kalashnik emphasized.
Separately, the Ministry of Infrastructure discussed the development of international highway corridors and investments in roads—specifically, projects the ministry is implementing jointly with the Recovery Agency.
Other topics for discussion included the development of distributed thermal power generation, backup power supplies, and the protection of critical infrastructure.
Issues related to port concessions were also addressed, particularly the preparation of relevant projects; in this context, the ministry is counting on the EBRD’s expertise in drafting these projects and attracting international operators and investors.
“I would like to thank Odile Renaud-Basso and the EBRD team for their support of Ukraine and their willingness to tailor financing to our urgent needs,” added Ukraine’s Minister of Recovery, Infrastructure, and Transport.
Autostrada founder Maksym Shkil reported that the company continues to carry out all work at its sites in accordance with the approved schedules, he wrote on Facebook.
“… Autostrada is helping to restore damaged infrastructure and protect facilities amid intensifying Russian attacks. We are doing everything in our power to protect people and critical infrastructure. We understand the difficult situation with public finances. Autostrada continues to carry out work at all sites in accordance with the approved schedules. We assume that the government will fulfill its obligations to the industry for work already completed once international financial aid is received,” reads the post by the company’s founder on Facebook.
Earlier, the Autostrada Group of Companies announced that it was suspending work at all sites in Ukraine due to the government’s suspension of capital expenditures.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development may provide EUR600 million to restore the electricity balancing market, said Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Denys Shmyhal after a meeting with EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
“Ukrainian energy companies need EUR600 million in financing to revitalize the balancing market. We greatly appreciate the EBRD’s participation in this process and count on the bank’s support for this reform,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the parties also discussed priorities for further cooperation across all areas. Currently, Ukraine, in partnership with the EBRD, is implementing 13 energy projects that cover virtually the entire energy chain—from gas production and supply to electricity generation and transmission—as well as projects in hydropower and renewable energy. The total value of the portfolio exceeds EUR3 billion.
In addition, Shmyhal and Reno-Basso coordinated further cooperation to attract new contributions for the reconstruction of the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant during the Donors’ Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Paris in November.
The Ukrainian Corporation for Viticulture and Winemaking “Ukrvinprom” and the state-owned “Ukrgasbank” have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at supporting the development of the Ukrainian wine industry, implementing joint projects, developing wine tourism, and introducing modern financial instruments for companies in the industry, the corporation reported.
As Ukrvinprom CEO Volodymyr Kucherenko stated in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine, the goal of the agreement is to create opportunities for further cooperation and provide winemakers with access to the bank’s financial instruments.
The agreement does not specify a fixed amount of funding. Industry enterprises will have access to the bank’s financial instruments as needed and within the framework of specific projects, in accordance with the terms of the bank’s programs.
“It is important to us that this particular agreement opens up an additional tool to support our winemakers and industry enterprises. You will see concrete results in certain areas of this cooperation, I think, in the very near future—even before the end of this year,” he said.
According to Kucherenko, the collaboration will also encompass the development of wine tourism and the preservation of Ukraine’s winemaking cultural heritage.
“We see the need to revive, preserve, study, and restore the so-called Mazepa Wine Cellar. We also see other areas that we are currently exploring. We hope that with the help of ‘Ukrgasbank’ and other patrons, we will be able to revive our Ukrainian winemaking heritage. And not only revive and preserve it, but also build upon the achievements of our winemakers,” Kucherenko noted.
He added that “Ukrvinprom” is open to cooperation with all market participants. In the first phase, the corporation plans to help its members gain access to special programs developed jointly with the bank, as well as to inform market participants about available opportunities.
The agreement was signed on September 18 during the 5th International Forum “Ukrainian Wine—Part of the World’s Cultural Heritage: From Trypillia to the Present Day” in Kyiv. One of the forum’s topics was financing opportunities for investments in winemaking and wine tourism.
According to Fixygen, Siroko Finance LLC, which provides factoring services and extends loans to individuals—and in which Serhiy Tihipko, one of the largest shareholders in the Ukrainian financial market, indirectly controls 20% of the shares—has fully placed a UAH 50 million Series C bond issue without conducting a public offering.
As indicated in information on the website of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the commission registered the report on the results of the issuance on August 18 of this year, although the issuance had originally been registered on July 17 of this year.
The face value of each bond is 1,000 UAH. Information on other parameters of the Series “C” issue is not yet available.
In July 2025, the NSSMC registered a report on the issuance of the debut series of five-year Series “A” bonds “Siroko Finance” Series “A” bonds totaling 20 million UAH with a six-month offer period and an interest rate of 17% per annum during the first six months of circulation, with quarterly interest payments. The list of 141 participants in the bond offering included 132 individuals, among them: Oleksandr Bandurko, Serhiy Belashov, Ihor Voronin, Anatoliy Holubchenko, Andriy Gubskyi, Rajiv Gupta, Oles Dovgyi, Volodymyr Dubey, Volodymyr Zhmak, Volodymyr Zagoriy, Vyacheslav Kapustin, Oleksandr Katsuba, Serhiy Koretskyi, Ihor Nikonov, Lev Partskhaladze, Illia Rybchych, Serhiy Tihipko, Heorhiy Tsagareishvili, Pavlo Tsaruk, Oleksandr Shlapak, and Mykhailo Shelemba.
In February 2026, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) registered a report on the issuance of “Siroko Finance” Series B five-year bonds in the amount of 30 million hryvnias, also with a six-month maturity and an interest rate of 17% per annum for the first six months of circulation, with quarterly interest payments. Several companies were listed among the participants in the placement, including those from the “TAS” group.
The resolutions on the issuance of these two series stated that the funds raised were to be used to provide loans, including on the terms of a financial loan. For subsequent periods, the rate was maintained at 17% per annum.
According to data from YouControl, in the first half of 2026, “Siroko Finance” increased its revenue 2.5-fold compared to the same period in 2025—to 138.01 million UAH—and its net profit grew by 49.9%—to 10.09 million UAH.
As of the end of August this year, Natalia Gordienko held a 49.96% stake in the company, while Roman Katerynchyk held 30.04%. Tihipko indirectly controlled 20%.
Raiffeisen Bank has launched financial leasing for business clients in Ukraine and has signed its first agreement under this new initiative with one of Ukraine’s leading agricultural producers, the bank’s press office reported.
Under the first agreement, the agricultural producer will upgrade its fleet of machinery. Going forward, the bank’s clients will be able to use financial leasing to purchase agricultural machinery and equipment, passenger and cargo vehicles, commercial vehicles, and other fixed assets.
“Businesses today need solutions that allow them to continue investing, modernize production, and plan for growth even amid a full-scale war. The launch of financial leasing expands these opportunities for our clients,” said Natalia Gurina, Chair of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank.
The bank plans to develop this service for Ukrainian and international companies operating and investing in Ukraine.
The launch of this new instrument draws on the experience of the international Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) group, where financial leasing is already in use in other European markets. Harald Kröger, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Raiffeisen Bank and Head of Structured Finance and Investment Banking at the RBI group, assesses the potential for its development in Ukraine as significant.
As previously reported, in late 2024, the then-Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank, Oleksandr Pysaruk, announced in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency the financial institution’s intention to resume plans to develop its leasing business in Ukraine. According to him, even before the full-scale war, the bank had already reached an agreement with its shareholder to ramp up the leasing company’s operations and was preparing a corresponding business plan.
At the time, Pysaruk expressed hope that the bank would be able to resume implementing these plans as early as 2025.
Raiffeisen Bank is the largest Ukrainian bank with foreign capital. Since October 2005, the bank has been part of the Austrian banking group RBI. Currently, the Raiffeisen Group owns 68.21% of the bank’s shares, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development holds 30%.
According to the National Bank, as of August 1, 2026, with total assets of 282.37 billion UAH, it ranked fourth among Ukraine’s 59 banks.
