After a nighttime incident in Podgorica, where a group of Turkish citizens stabbed a local resident during a conflict, the government of Milojko Spajić announced a temporary suspension of the visa-free regime for Turkish citizens—a political signal that security and entry controls take priority over previous openness (visa-free travel had been in place since 2008). The decision was confirmed by leading international media and government sources, which record both the incident itself and the authorities’ response formula—“a temporary pause + a rules review,” with the prospect of further consultations with Ankara on a new visa regime.
According to police reports, after a weekend marked by tension in the capital, several dozen foreigners—primarily citizens of Türkiye and Azerbaijan—were detained; President Jakov Milatović publicly called for calm and condemned retaliatory attacks on Turkish citizens and their property. This set of actions—stepped-up patrols, selective checks of legal stay, and preventive detentions—aligns with the logic of a “rapid stabilization” of order following stabbing incidents.
The socio-political backdrop has sharpened: anti-Turkish slogans were heard on the streets of Podgorica, and acts of vandalism were recorded—in particular, a business owned by a Turkish citizen in the city center was trashed, and a Turkish owner’s car was set on fire. These episodes heighten the risk of “collective responsibility,” when a single criminal offense triggers a chain of xenophobic reactions that harm people’s safety and the business climate.
The interstate dimension is developing in parallel: Türkiye’s foreign ministry promptly reached out to the Montenegrin prime minister and security officials, insisting on guarantees of rights and protection for Turkish citizens; Podgorica, for its part, declares “intensive consultations” with Ankara to find a model that combines public safety with continued economic interaction. This means that the “pause” in visa-free travel is not only a punitive gesture but also an instrument for reformatting access rules: new forms of short-term visas, mandatory registration procedures, or higher criteria for business visitors are possible.
The economic projection of the situation is ambiguous. Turkish business in Montenegro is a notable player in trade, hospitality, and real estate, especially along the Adriatic coast; rolling back visa-free travel will almost certainly reduce the mobility of entrepreneurs and workers, complicate seasonal planning, and slow transactional processes. Estimates of the size of the Turkish community vary: a number of sources cite roughly 13.3 thousand officially resident Turkish citizens (which is higher than the 2–3 thousand estimates mentioned in some materials), and for this group a clear, predictable procedure for extending stays and conducting business is crucial to avoid an outflow of investment and a “cooling” of employment in tourism and services.
At the domestic political level, the authorities’ decision serves several functions at once: it demonstrates control and sensitivity to the demand for security; cuts off the argument about “open gates” for offenders; and simultaneously mitigates reputational risks vis-à-vis the EU, with which Montenegro is negotiating membership, by aligning migration regimes and public-order standards with European practice. However, excessive “toughness” without simultaneously restraining xenophobia may provoke an escalation of ethnic tension and inflict long-term damage on the country’s investment image—this is precisely why the president’s message about the inadmissibility of attacks on Turks is a systemically important marker of balance.
From this follow the near-term scenarios. The first is “controlled thawing”: after stabilization and de-escalation of violence, and after technical parameters are agreed with Ankara, Podgorica restores simplified entry in an updated format (for example, through mandatory declarations of travel purpose or expedited category-based visas for investors and workers). The second is a “long pause”: the visa regime becomes entrenched, criteria for verifying the very purpose of entry and the legality of stay grow stricter, and Turkish companies’ business processes become costlier and slower, with a risk of investment being reallocated to neighboring jurisdictions. The third is “social turbulence”: if law-enforcement response to anti-Turkish pogroms is unsystematic, public sentiment will radicalize, and even a properly calibrated visa filter will not compensate for the loss of investor and tourist confidence. At present, government communications—about consultations with Türkiye and safeguarding public order—indicate that the bet is on the first, compromise path.
In summary, Montenegro’s decision to suspend visa-free travel is a system-level “alarm signal”: the authorities are simultaneously extinguishing a situational security crisis and trying to revise the architecture of migration procedures according to standards of control and predictability. However, the sustainability of this course will be determined not only by the strictness of border filters, but also by the state’s ability to protect lawful residents and entrepreneurs from collective punishment, hold perpetrators accountable, and preserve channels of economic cooperation with Türkiye—a partner that is already demanding security guarantees for its citizens and is ready to negotiate new rules of the game.
CRIME, INVESTMENTS, MONTENEGRO, PODGORICA, PUBLIC SENTIMENT, TURKEY
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest in the capital of Ukrainian insurance companies, which is a powerful signal for Ukrainian insurers and international companies.
This was discussed at a meeting between the leadership of the National Bank of Ukraine and World Bank President Ajay Banga and Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde, according to the NBU’s Facebook page.
It was emphasized that additional investment opportunities will be created with the help of MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency), which provides guarantees for financing.
In addition, the meeting discussed further financial support for Ukraine, strengthening energy security, and increasing the country’s investment potential through the introduction of new financial instruments.
The mining and metallurgical group Metinvest plans to invest $293 million in its assets this year, while last year the total amount of investments, including joint ventures, amounted to $251 million, about 90% of which went to the development of Ukrainian enterprises. According to dsnews.ua’s article “Top 10 Successful Investor Companies in Ukraine,” Metinvest entered the top ten leading investors in Ukraine: $90 million in the first half of 2025. These investments were directed mainly at supporting technologies, maintaining production volumes, and ensuring labor safety.
As before, the funds are concentrated on critical areas: the mining segment, to ensure the production cycle, and the energy sector, to minimize blackout risks.
Despite the proximity of the front line, Metinvest continues large-scale repair and modernization works at its enterprises. In the first half of 2025, investments in repairs and equipment amounted to $28.8 million at Kametstal, $6.4 million at Zaporizhstal, $19 million at Northern GOK, and $3 million at Central GOK. The group focuses particularly on Kametstal and the mining and beneficiation plants.
At Kametstal, the first overhaul of Blast Furnace No. 9 since the start of the full-scale invasion was completed for $16 million, and equipment of one of the converters was restored. At Southern GOK, a new vacuum pump production station No. 4 is being built with a planned capacity of over 100,000 tons of concentrate per month.
A priority is the construction of a tailings thickening plant at Northern GOK. The relevant equipment will be purchased from the Finnish industrial manufacturer Metso Finland, for which Metinvest opened a credit line of EUR 23.6 million at Deutsche Bank.
The group is taking up the challenge of “greening” production processes, particularly within the EU’s environmental policy framework. From 2026, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) should come into full effect, obliging importers to buy certificates compensating for emissions contained in goods imported to the EU. The EU may postpone CBAM for Ukraine due to the war.
At Northern GOK, one of the LURGI 552 roasting machines is being redesigned to produce improved pellets that meet EU green metallurgy requirements. Capital investments at Kametstal also support the green transition. Overall, the group estimates the green modernization of its assets at about $8 billion.
The group pays special attention to energy security. Between 2022 and 2024, it spent UAH 159.4 million on 242 diesel generators with a total capacity of 22.9 MW. Another UAH 240 million was allocated to modernize and maintain steam generation with a nominal capacity of 89 MW. At Kametstal, maneuverable gas generation has started in pilot mode.
Metinvest has major plans for developing its own generation: gas piston generators at Northern, Central GOKs and Kametstal (29 MW, $26 million), as well as solar power plants at Central GOK (23.8 MW) and Kametstal (13.3 MW) worth $18.1 million in 2025–2026.
Another important direction is investment in artificial intelligence technologies. Metinvest Digital, the group’s IT company, is responsible for R&D. Its solutions are quickly implemented in production. The AI tool ForgeCheck helps control product quality at Zaporizhstal by detecting slab defects, reducing complaints and saving electricity.
Another system, the SPAIS platform, integrates into industrial video surveillance to monitor safety compliance, helping reduce workplace violations.
According to Metinvest B.V.’s report, in the first half of 2025, capital investments decreased by 28% to $91 million compared to $127 million a year earlier. $52 million was invested in metallurgy and $38 million in mining. 79% of expenses went to maintenance (90% in the first half of 2024), the rest to strategic projects.
In 2024, capital investments decreased by 17% to $235 million from $284 million in 2023. $81 million was invested in metallurgy and $146 million in mining.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical companies. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine — in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions — as well as in European countries. The main shareholders of the holding are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart-Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage it. Metinvest Holding LLC is the group’s management company.
Volumes of investments in primary housing in the next 2-3 years will grow up to 15% annually, such a forecast was voiced by CMO Alliance Novobud Irina Mikhaleva in comments to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine”.
“The market has adapted to the realities of wartime, and key investors – in particular Ukrainians, and for business class – often foreigners, are increasingly choosing new buildings as a tool for preservation and multiplication of capital. In the next 2-3 years we expect that the volume of investment in primary housing will grow by 10-15% annually, the demand for income property and business class real estate will increase, and the main role will be played by trust in the brand of the developer and security of location”, – said Mikhaleva.
She noted the competition from the secondary market, but does not consider it determinant. After all, the primary market competes not only with more comfortable layouts and well thought-out infrastructure, but also with systematically better quality solutions, first of all, safe and inclusive.
“Modern layouts with wider doorways, spacious bathrooms, principles of inclusiveness, new and reliable engineering communication systems, safe and reliable monolithic-frame construction technology, energy efficiency, alternative ways of energy supply,” Mikhailova lists the advantages of primary housing.
According to experts of Alliance Novobud, soon there will be a shortage of ready housing in the segment of the capital’s business and comfort classes. The reasons are different: in the business class part of the projects have not yet been restored or are realized with significant delays, in comfort – the potential demand is higher than the volume of launch of new projects.
“To ensure maximum investor protection, we are implementing several key approaches in Alliance Novobud, in particular, transparency of the legal model, financial stability of the company, construction phasing and internal control. At the same time, we continue to adapt to the needs of the market, offering investors installments more affordable than bank mortgages,” she says.
According to the data of the portal of new buildings LUN, Alliance Novobud was founded in 2006, since 2010 the company has commissioned 37 houses and parking lots. During the full-scale invasion commissioned 12 houses for more than 1.3 thousand apartments in Brovary and in Kiev. In the process of realization 9 houses of Krona Park II residential complex in Brovary and a premium class project in the capital Montreal House.
The Datagroup-Volia-lifecell Group (DVL) plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in the development of an energy-efficient GPON internet network over three years, with plans to achieve 60% penetration of the technology in every city undergoing modernization by 2025.
“DVL continues to develop its optical network by introducing GPON throughout Ukraine. We also have ambitious plans in this area: the company plans to invest UAH 1.5 billion in the development of the GPON network over three years… Our goal for GPON by the end of 2025 is to achieve penetration of up to 60% in every city where we are carrying out large-scale modernization,” said Sergey Tereshchuk, technical director of the merged company Datagroup-Volia-lifecell (DVL), in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
He noted that the pace of construction depends on external factors, including the restoration of infrastructure destroyed by shelling, the organization of backup key network nodes to ensure stable operation, and the ability to hire workers.
By 2025, DVL plans to build a network of connections for 300,000 apartments. Of this volume, as of early May, 100,000 have already been built. Since the start of the project in May 2024, more than 270,000 apartments have been covered by GPON technology (within one year – IF-U).
“We are talking about a large-scale modernization of the network in Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. We are also building additional networks in 26 cities across Ukraine,” said Tereshchuk.
DVL is also connecting base stations to GPON. As part of the pilot project currently being implemented by the company, it plans to reach around 800 sites connected to fiber optics by 2025. Of these, 300 sites have already been connected during the first phase, during which the solution was tested.
“We are connecting GPON and fiber optics that Datagroup has near its base stations. We have a list of sites that need additional capacity to increase speed. These are the first steps in preparation for the introduction of 5G,” said Tereshchuk.
Datagroup-Volia-lifecell, energy-efficient internet, INVESTMENTS
The Belaya Tserkov Industrial Park (IP) , a project of the holding company UFuture owned by entrepreneur Vasily Khmelnitsky, does not plan to revise its strategic development plan, which envisages attracting 30 resident companies and $250 million in investments by 2030, as well as creating up to 4,000 jobs, according to IP Belaya Tserkov CEO Andrey Ropitsky.
“If there are no ‘black swans’, then, in principle, everything is going according to plan, and we do not plan to revise our strategy,” he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of ‘Industrial Evolution: Manufacturing Drives the Economy’ at IP ‘Bila Tserkva’ on Thursday.
According to him, in addition to the Finnish Peikko plant, the commissioning of an industrial building for a future plant for the production of concrete joints and composite structures was announced on Thursday, and a plant of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of everyday goods, Unilever, is also under construction.
“Three more companies have purchased land from us this year and are already requesting the construction of networks. We are talking to them about commercial terms and conditions and support the construction of their plants. Therefore, Unilever is currently under construction, and the second phase of the Virastar plant (a manufacturer of high-altitude equipment for construction work – IF-U) is also under construction. So two are under construction, two have been commissioned, and three more are on the way,” he said.
Ropitsky did not specify which investors would be attracted to the park, citing commercial secrecy, but added that it is now easier to attract investors because the park already has ”something to show them.”
“At first it’s difficult because there’s nothing to show and no one trusts you. But when someone has considered the possibility and then I tell them that the plot or building is no longer available, they are ready to buy in the second phase. So it’s much easier to sell now,” Ropitsky said.
During the forum, he clarified that of the two parks (Bila Tserkva and Bila Tserkva 2), the first is already almost full (36 hectares) — all plots have been sold, and the buildings have been constructed, sold, or leased.
“This means that we only have 12 hectares left to develop, which are either already under construction, have been postponed by clients, or will be built by us or our clients. In principle, we will do this within the next two to three years. We have already started organizing the second park,” said the CEO of IP ”Bila Tserkva.”
According to him, IP “Bila Tserkva 2,” with an area of 34.7 hectares, has already received state co-financing for external networks and signed contracts with contractors.
“We are supplying 15 MW of electricity, water, and sewage to the site, and gas is right there across the road. Therefore, in a year, all networks will be in place, just like in the first park,” Ropitsky noted.
He emphasized that in order to attract small and medium-sized businesses to the park, small buildings of up to 2-3 thousand square meters are being built, ”which can be divided into lots and rented out to customers by the thousand square meters.”
Among the problems for the development of industrial parks, he mentioned, in particular, the lack of labor, the absence of materials necessary for construction on the local market, as well as high interest rates on loans.
“We have now launched a vocational training project, a center that will quickly train people who are needed by our clients. And we have already started designing such a building on a neighboring site,” he said.
IP ‘Bila Tserkva’ and ‘Bila Tserkva 2’ were included in the Register of Industrial Parks in 2018.
The developed territory of IP “Bila Tserkva” has attracted 15 residents, including Unilever, InTiCa Systems, Peikko, and Pripravka, which relocated from Kharkiv in 2022, as well as the logistics depot “Nova Poshta,” the grain storage complex “Volytsia-Agro,” the Plank Electrotechnic electrical fittings factory, and Virastar, a manufacturer of high-altitude equipment for construction work.
