Information that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Ukraine is viewed as a “friend and partner” is confirmed by China’s official statements. The remark was made on February 15, 2025, during Wang Yi’s meeting with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Xinhua reported.
According to Xinhua’s publication, Wang Yi noted that China and Ukraine maintain a “traditional friendship,” and that bilateral relations are based on the strategic partnership established in 2011. He also said Beijing is ready to work with Kyiv to advance bilateral relations and practical cooperation despite “unfavorable factors.”
In 2026, the topic of China–Ukraine contacts was again brought to the fore at this year’s Munich conference. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on February 13, 2026, that he invited Wang Yi to visit Ukraine and stated that China could help achieve an end to the war.
Ukraine may face a critical shortage of seasonal workers for raspberry harvest in 2026, the head of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFOA) Taras Bashtannik said.
According to him, without attracting foreign labor, the country will not be able to harvest raspberries and maintain its position as an exporter of this berry.
As noted in the publication, the area of raspberries in Ukraine in 2024 was about 5 thousand hectares, and the need for labor is estimated at about 15 pickers per 1 hectare. Thus, the season requires more than 70 thousand workers only for raspberries. Labor shortages are also affecting blueberry and strawberry farms, as well as apple orchards.
Volodymyr Gurzhyi, the head of USPA Fruit gardening company, said that in 2026 Ukrainian companies plan to import workers to orchards, including from Bangladesh and Nepal, similar to the practice in Serbia. At the same time, taking into account the growth of orchard areas, the additional need may amount to at least 100 thousand pickers.
February 13, 2026, 11:00
Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), Column Hall
(Kyiv, 26 Khreshchatyk St.)
Competition organizers:
The National Industry Partnership in Ukraine’s Light Industry “Fashion Globus Ukraine” and the Italian association VITAWORLD
On February 13, 2026, the Column Hall of the Kyiv City State Administration will host the ceremonial final of the 8th All-Ukrainian Professional Skills Competition “Fashion PRORYV for Freedom and Peace” https://fashionglobusukraine.com/konkurs/ua/fashion-proryv-2026 — a large-scale event that brings together fashion, education, culture, and international partnership between Ukraine and Italy. The final in Kyiv will take place in the format of a runway show featuring collections of sportswear and adaptive clothing, as well as an awards ceremony for the winners.
The Fashion PRORYV competition, launched in 2016, has become a unique platform for cooperation among educators, manufacturers, young designers, and sewing professionals. The project, initiated by Fashion Globus Ukraine, has created an effective model of interaction between education, business, and creativity.
“Over the years of the war with the Russian Federation, we have created a platform of peacebuilding cultural diplomacy, where Ukraine speaks to the world not in the language of pity, but in the language of dignity, creativity, and culture. We have created a precedent: when a competition in the fashion industry became a narrative about humanity, strength, resilience, and hope,” says the competition’s President, Golda Vynohradska.
Over the years, the competition has been held under the patronage of the city halls of Lviv, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, and Kryvyi Rih. In 2025, the project received support from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and in 2026—from the City of Milan.
Fashion as cultural diplomacy
During wartime, Fashion PRORYV has taken on special significance, turning into a platform for cultural diplomacy and international dialogue. Each year, between 60 and 100 educational institutions from all regions of Ukraine take part in the competition. In 2025, the winners’ collections were presented in Paris, Oslo, Milan, and Luxembourg.
This year’s competition is dedicated to cooperation with Italy and the theme of sports. It features students from 52 Ukrainian fashion-industry educational institutions and 4 Italian universities (Venice, Salerno, Milan, Rome).
International finals in Kyiv and Milan
A ceremonial international presentation will take place on February 28, 2026, in Milan (Milan San Siro Hotel) as part of the Milano-Cortina 2026 events and Milan Fashion Week.
Such projects demonstrate Ukraine’s innovative potential, young people’s prospects, and the value of human capital.
Distinguished guests and professional jury
The event will be attended by:
• representatives of the diplomatic corps,
• Olympic champions,
• cultural and sports figures,
• leaders of the fashion industry of Ukraine and Italy.
The jury includes leading experts in fashion, education, and creative industries of Ukraine and Italy: Ivan Frolov, Katya Silchenko, Olena Holets, Taras Prytula, Kateryna Myroshnychenko, Halyna Yerko, Emilia Ametrano, Walter Togni, Elena Kalencani.
General partner of the competition: SOFTORG
Invitation
The organizers invite journalists and media representatives to share in the celebration of Fashion PRORYV—an event about courage, talent, and the power to create the future even in the most difficult times. Such projects demonstrate Ukraine’s breakthrough, prospects for youth, and above all the value of human capital!
Media accreditation
For accreditation and additional information:
+38 067 220 86 37
Goldafashion.ua@gmail.com
www.fashionglobusukraine.com
Interfax Ukraine is the official information partner of the event.
As of December 31, 2025, 1,131,197 foreigners were registered in the Czech Republic – 37,108 more than the previous year (+3.4%), according to data from the Ministry of the Interior and the statistical unit of the Czech Statistical Office, as cited by the information and analytical center Experts Club.
According to the Ministry of the Interior’s estimate, foreigners account for 10.38% of the country’s population (the calculation used a population figure of 10,897,178 as of September 30, 2025). This means that the “native population” (residents without foreign citizenship) amounts to about 9.766 million people (an estimate based on the difference between the figures).
The structure of legal residence at the end of 2025 included 343,876 people with temporary residence, 394,265 with permanent residence, and 393,056 registered under the temporary protection regime. The highest concentration of foreigners is recorded in Prague (32.4% of all registered foreigners) and in the Central Bohemian Region (14.5%).
Ranking: Top 10 nationalities among foreigners in the Czech Republic (31.12.2025)
| Rank | Country | Number of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 612,953 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 125,280 |
| 3 | Vietnam | 69,685 |
| 4 | Russia | 37,524 |
| 5 | Romania | 21,287 |
| 6 | Poland | 17,631 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 17,562 |
| 8 | Mongolia | 14,908 |
| 9 | Philippines | 14,530 |
| 10 | Hungary | 12,111 |
Ukraine will open ten export centers in European countries by the end of the current 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Today we are opening export centers. There will already be ten export centers in Europe in 2026. These are the Baltic countries, and the countries of Northern Europe. In 2026 there will be ten representative offices,” Zelensky said while communicating with teachers and students of the Kiev Aviation Institute on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the birth of aircraft designer Oleh Antonov.
The United States and Ukraine discussed during talks an “ambitious goal” of agreeing on a draft peace agreement with Russia by March 2026, although the timeline could shift due to the lack of agreements on key issues, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the course of the consultations.
According to the agency, the framework under discussion envisages putting a possible agreement to a nationwide referendum in Ukraine and holding nationwide elections on the same day. Two Reuters sources said May was discussed as a benchmark, however several interlocutors called such a schedule “fantastic.”
Reuters separately points to practical and legal constraints: holding nationwide elections in Ukraine is prohibited during martial law, and election organizers previously assessed that preparing a vote under current conditions would require about six months and legislative changes. In addition, Kyiv, according to the agency’s sources, insists that a ceasefire regime is needed for the campaign in order to ensure the integrity of the vote.
In parallel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States would like to find a solution to end the war “by summer,” and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Reuters that Kyiv seeks to speed up the negotiation process, calling the U.S. role key to reaching a final agreement.
