The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve held a ceremonial opening of the Far Caves for pilgrims and visitors.
According to a correspondent for the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency, a prayer service for Ukraine was held at the Lavra on Tuesday morning, led by Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) with the participation of Bishop Abraham, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the OCU.
Afterward, the caves will be open to pilgrims and visitors.
It is noted that for the first month, access will be limited to believers, and starting approximately August 15, it will be open to all visitors.
“Not much time has passed since we all together opened the Near Caves. Today we are opening the Far Caves. And this demonstrates that our efforts are systematic. It is very important that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra be a place that is open to Ukrainian believers, for Ukrainian pilgrims—a place where Ukrainian prayers and the Ukrainian Spiritual Hymn are heard, and where people feel themselves to be part of Ukraine’s cultural, religious, and national traditions,” said Tetyana Berezhna, Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine, at the opening ceremony.
The event was also attended by First Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine Ivan Verbytskyi, Director General of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve Maksym Ostapenko, Oleksandr Alferov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR); Mykyta Poturaiev, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy (Servant of the People faction); People’s Deputy Mykola Knyazhitsky (“European Solidarity”); and representatives of the OCU, the Ministry of Culture, and the reserve.
The Far Caves are one of the oldest sacred sites of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Together with the Near Caves, they form a unique system of man-made underground labyrinths, where the Kyiv-Pechersk Monastery was founded in the mid-11th century. Initially, the caves served as dwellings and places of prayer for the monks, and later became an underground necropolis.
As reported, on March 29, 2023, the “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” National Reserve terminated its lease agreement with the Holy Dormition Monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). On the same day, the Kyiv Economic Court opened proceedings on a lawsuit filed by the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra of the UOC (MP) against the “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Reserve regarding the unlawful termination of the lease agreement, while the UOC (MP) itself stated that it had no intention of vacating the Lavra until the conclusion of the court proceedings. On August 9, 2023, the court ruled that the termination of the agreement between the UOC (MP) monastery and the “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” National Reserve was lawful. Appeals proceedings are currently underway.
In August 2023, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve temporarily suspended access to the Lower Lavra grounds for all visitors.
In February 2026, the reserve reopened access to the Near Caves, and in June, regular prayer services resumed in the Near Caves of the Lavra.
Researchers at higher education institutions and scientific organizations can now apply for a mobilization deferment entirely online through the “Reserve+” app, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
According to the ministry, the online deferment feature in “Reserve+” has been expanded to include researchers. Previously, online deferments were already available for certain categories of employees at institutions of higher, pre-higher vocational, and professional education.
To obtain a deferment online, the employee’s data must be up-to-date and correctly entered into the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (USEDE). Key requirements include a primary place of employment, employment of at least 0.75 FTE, eligibility for deferment based on a position in higher education or research, and holding a position included in the list of research positions.
The Ministry of Education and Science clarifies that the new category in “Reserve+” applies to scientific, scientific-pedagogical, and pedagogical staff at institutions of higher, pre-higher vocational, and professional education, as well as scientific institutions and organizations.
If the system does not confirm the right to deferment or issues a denial, the employee must contact their employer to verify and update the data in the Unified State Electronic Database on Military Service (USEDMS). The accuracy of the data in the database is crucial for the automatic confirmation of the right to deferment.
The expansion of online deferrals in “Reserve+” is part of the digitization of military registration and reduces the need for in-person visits to territorial recruitment centers. For research institutions and educational institutions, this also means greater responsibility for the timely and accurate entry of personnel data into the EDBO.
Ukraine is forming a National Reserve of Mobile and Modular Power Equipment for rapid recovery after attacks, according to Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery of Ukraine – Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba.
‘We are forming a national reserve of mobile and modular energy equipment. Such solutions allow for the rapid restoration of critical infrastructure after attacks. We communicated our priority needs to the Norwegian delegation during the meeting,’ he wrote on Telegram.
Kuleba said that he discussed Ukraine’s energy security with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, in particular the construction of physical protection for energy facilities.
According to him, on Monday, Norway announced the allocation of about $400 million for Ukraine’s urgent needs this winter.
The minister also stressed that heating plants remain one of the main targets of Russian attacks.
‘During the last massive shelling alone, the enemy fired more than 20 missiles at them. Russia is trying to provoke a large-scale humanitarian crisis – we are doing everything to prevent this,’ he said.
The parties also discussed housing reconstruction.
‘The Nansen programme is key for us: in 2025, its volume reached 85 billion Norwegian kroner, which is three times more than the initial plans,’ Kuleba emphasised.
According to him, the extension of the programme until 2030 with total funding of 205 billion kroner is a clear sign of confidence in Ukraine.
‘I also expressed my gratitude for the support of the effective HOPE, RELINC and Re-Power programmes. The partnership with NEFCO is equally important – EUR 16 million in investments in energy efficiency projects,’ the minister noted.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and discussed with him the energy situation in Ukraine, as well as the prospects for joint arms production. He thanked Norway for today’s decision to allocate a $400 million aid package to Ukraine and for its assistance since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression.
A program has been developed in Kyiv for reserve energy supply and protection of the most important second-level facilities (requiring reinforced concrete protection). A total of UAH 3.7 billion has been allocated for such shelters, of which UAH 2.7 billion has already been allocated to the Agency for Restoration under the Ministry of Infrastructure, which is responsible for the work, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Monday.
“After completing the construction of first-level protection, which was approved by a commission with the participation of the State Special Communications Service, we developed a program for backup power supply and protection of the most important second-level facilities. (These are the facilities over which reinforced concrete shelters are being built. I would like to note that the Agency for Restoration under the Ministry of Infrastructure was responsible for the construction of concrete shelters). The capital has allocated a total of UAH 3.7 billion for such shelters and has already spent UAH 2.7 billion of this amount. In other words, the financial resources are secured, but the city had to implement the program on its own. And Kyiv is doing it,” he wrote on Telegram before the meeting of the Kyiv Defense Council.
The mayor emphasized that all measures were carried out in accordance with the requirements of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Klitschko stressed the inadmissibility of bringing issues of the security of Ukraine’s energy system into the public domain.
“It was the City Defense Council that approved and adopted decisions on protective measures. After all, its representatives have the relevant competence, experience, and professional approach (the Council, I remind you, includes representatives of the Armed Forces, the State Emergency Service, the Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor’s Office, and other structures),” the mayor of Kyiv noted. “In my opinion, in wartime, this approach is justified and effective: the military and security forces must set clear guidelines for security. Any other format, where the issue of the security of Ukraine’s energy system is brought into the public domain and the opinions of amateurs are disseminated as expert opinions, causes significant damage to the issue of defense. In particular, to the image of the air defense forces,” Klitschko said.
Agro-industrial group of companies “Ovostar Union”, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, decided to direct all net profit for 2022 in the amount of $6.087 million to the reserve of retained earnings and not to pay dividends.
According to the company’s announcement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange before the opening of trading on Monday, the relevant decision was made by the shareholders’ meeting on July 14.
At the same time, it approved the payment of an interim dividend for 2022 for EUR3.9m, which had already been made in January this year.
Other decisions of the meeting include fixing the ceiling of total remuneration to the board of directors this year at EUR0.5m and authorizing the board of directors to select an independent auditor in a tender.
Ovostar Union Group is a vertically integrated public holding company, one of the leading producers of chicken eggs and egg products in Europe. The producer has been a certified exporter to the EU since 2015.
The group’s holding company, Ovostar Union N.V., IPOed 25% of its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in mid-June 2011 at PLN62 per share and raised $33.05 million.
On Monday, the company’s shares are listed at PLN58.5, down 1.68% since the beginning of the day. A total of 6 million shares were issued.
“Ovostar earned $8.98 million in net profit in the first quarter of 2023, while it ended the same period last year with a net loss of $16.44 million. Its revenue for the period increased by 70.7% to $47.30 million.”
Ovostar ended 2022 with a $6.09 million net profit, a 3.7 times increase from 2021. Its revenue for the past year increased 1.7% to $135.63 million.
According to the report, by the end of March 2023, Ovostar’s majority shareholder was Prime One Capital Limited – 67.93% controlled by Ovostar CEO Boris Belikov and Chairman Vitaliy Veresenko; Generali Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny – 10.93%, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited – 9.09% and Aviva Otwarty Fundusz Emerytalny – 5.02%.
