According to Fixygen, starting April 1, 2026, cigarette manufacturers and importers in Ukraine will be required to apply a multiplier of 1.1 to the minimum excise tax liability, resulting in the minimum excise tax rising from €82 to €90.2 per 1,000 cigarettes. This was reported by the State Tax Service of Ukraine.
As explained by the tax service, the multiplier is being introduced for the period from April 1 to December 31, 2026, since, according to the results of the 2025 tax declaration, the share of the total excise tax in the weighted average retail price of cigarettes amounted to 58.8%, which is below the 60% threshold established in the Tax Code. The State Tax Service also published the estimated weighted average retail price of cigarettes at 6,537 UAH per 1,000 units.
The base rate of the minimum excise tax liability for 2026 was set by Law No. 4115-IX at 82 euros per 1,000 cigarettes, and the application of a 1.1 multiplier effectively raises it to 90.2 euros. The law also provides for a further increase in this rate to 86 euros in 2027.
According to market experts, this change could lead to a 10% increase in retail prices for cigarettes, and a pack could become approximately 10 UAH more expensive.
According to Serbian Economist, the authorities in Kotor, Montenegro, welcomed a group of 40 children from Ukraine aged 14 to 18, who arrived in the city as part of a humanitarian visit organized with the participation of the municipality and the Ukrainian Embassy in Montenegro.
According to a municipal announcement, the children are staying in Kotor from March 23 to 28, and the Ukrainian association “Dobro djelo” also participated in organizing the trip. At an official reception at the Byzantine Palace, the guests were welcomed by the Mayor of Kotor, Vladimir Jokić; the Ambassador of Ukraine to Montenegro, Oleg Gerasymenko; the Chairman of the Municipal Assembly, Vojin Batuta; Deputy Mayor Stojan Milović; and the Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Community Activities, Tatjana Krieštorac.
As Jokić noted, the host’s mission is to give the children at least a few days of peace and a sense of a normal childhood, interrupted by the war. During the meeting, city representatives emphasized that they want the stay in Kotor to become a bright memory for the Ukrainian teenagers and a time of respite from the realities of war.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Montenegro thanked the municipality and residents of Kotor for their support, emphasizing the importance of such initiatives for children experiencing the consequences of war.
A packed program was prepared for the guests, including visits to Kotor’s museums, a boat ride around the bay, a trip to Perast, a tour of St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, a trip to Plavi Horizonti, a walk along the city’s fortress walls, as well as sports and other group activities.
https://t.me/relocationrs/2518
The Norwegian government is tightening its rules regarding refugees from Ukraine: men aged 18 to 60, with some exceptions, will no longer be granted temporary protection in the country; this change will take effect shortly (Relocation).
“Since the fall of 2025, too many people have arrived in Norway, especially young men. Norway has already accepted the largest number of Ukrainians in Scandinavia, and Norwegian municipalities are reporting strain on the service delivery system and a shortage of housing. “That is why we are tightening the restrictions,” said Minister of Justice and Emergency Situations Astrid Hansen. “We also consider it important that as many people as possible remain in Ukraine to join the defense effort and support the functioning of Ukrainian society,” she added.
The change in regulations will mean that men aged 18 to 60 will no longer be covered by the temporary collective protection mechanism, under which temporary residence permits are granted based on a group assessment. Those applying for asylum will have their applications processed in the usual manner.
The government has provided for certain exceptions to these stricter requirements.
“First, they will apply only to new applicants and will not affect those who already have temporary collective protection in Norway. The stricter requirements will also not apply to minors or men over 60 years of age, men who have documented proof of exemption from military service or are clearly unable to perform it, or individuals evacuated under the medevac program. An exception is also made for men who are the sole caregivers for accompanying children or children in Norway. This applies only to the child’s father or another close family member,” the government statement noted.
According to The Serbian Economist, Serbia has aligned itself with two European Union resolutions that extend existing restrictive measures related to the war in Ukraine.
The first EU resolution concerns measures against Russia’s actions regarding the occupied regions of Ukraine that are not under Kyiv’s control. Essentially, this is an extension of the special sanctions regime for another year—until February 24, 2027. Serbia supported this extension along with a number of other EU candidate countries and partners.
The second decision concerns sanctions against specific individuals, companies, and organizations in connection with the situation in Ukraine. These are not “general sanctions against Russia as a whole,” but rather an extension of the list of targeted restrictions on specific individuals until March 6, 2027.
The wording stating that Serbia “will ensure the alignment of its national policy” with this decision means the following: Belgrade has declared that it will act in line with EU policy on these two specific issues. The European Union separately noted and welcomed Serbia’s alignment in official statements.
This does not mean that Serbia has fully aligned itself with the entire EU sanctions package against Moscow. It concerns specifically these two separate decisions, not full alignment with Brussels on sanctions.
For Serbia, this is yet another example of partial foreign policy alignment with Brussels on issues related to Ukraine and Russia.
Serbia is a candidate country for EU membership and is regularly under close scrutiny by Brussels regarding the alignment of its foreign and sanctions policies with European decisions. Against this backdrop, such steps by Belgrade are usually seen as a signal of its willingness to maintain working-level coordination with the EU on specific international issues, primarily those related to the Ukrainian agenda.
The Ukrainian team has already won ten medals — three gold, two silver, and five bronze — and is in second place in the medal count after the Chinese team, which has one more medal, according to the results of the second day of competition at the XIV Winter Paralympic Games, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine reported on Facebook on Sunday.
In turn, the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine reports that on Sunday, the Ukrainian team won one silver and three bronze medals.
“The final point of Ukraine’s second day of competition at the 2026 Paralympics was two high awards in para-biathlon in the individual 12.5 km race among athletes with visual impairments: Maksym Murashkovskyi (Kyiv) and leader Vitalii Trush (Zakarpattia Oblast) won the silver medal; this is the first medal for this tandem at the Paralympics, as these Games are the athletes’ debut! Dmytro Suyarko (Volyn region) – leader Oleksandr Nikonovych (Kyiv region) won bronze,” according to the committee’s Facebook page.
The Ministry of Sport reported that two other bronze medals in para-biathlon were won by Ukrainian athletes on Sunday in individual races. “Individual race, men, sitting class: Taras Rad, 3rd place… Individual race, women, standing class: Oleksandra Kononova, 3rd place,” the statement said.
In addition, para snowboarding competitions took place on Sunday. A Ukrainian athlete took fourth place in them. “Snowboard cross, men, SB-UL class, preliminary run 1: Vladislav Khilchenko 4th place, did not advance to the quarterfinals,” the ministry said.
It is reported that on Monday, the Ukrainian team at the 2026 Paralympics will have a training day, and on Tuesday, March 10, the ski races will start.
As reported, on March 7, Ukraine finished the first day of competition at the 2026 Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in first place with six medals: three gold, one silver, and two bronze.
The Ukrainian team won a triple podium in the competition for athletes with visual impairments: Ukrainians won all three medals – Oleksandr Kazik – gold, Yaroslav Reshetynsky – silver, Anatoliy Kovalevsky – bronze.
Oleksandra Kononova, representing the Kyiv region, won a gold medal in the para-biathlon sprint race among athletes in the standing class at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games. This is the fifth gold medal of her Paralympic career and the third in para-biathlon. She also has three gold medals in cross-country skiing. Taras Rad won gold in the 7.5 km sitting biathlon sprint race.
European farmers’ organizations have appealed to the European Commission to seek the cancellation of Ukraine’s 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed, according to industry media reports.
The appeal was sent by the Spanish agricultural association ASAJA and the European association of farmers’ organizations Copa-Cogeca. In their opinion, the introduction of export duties on Ukrainian oilseeds could lead to a redistribution of raw material flows and negatively affect the EU market.
Farmers’ associations believe that the current restrictions may stimulate the processing of raw materials within Ukraine and reduce the volume of oilseed supplies to the European market. In this regard, they call on the European Commission to hold consultations with the Ukrainian side and seek the cancellation of the relevant measures.
As reported, a 10% export duty on soybeans and rapeseed has been in effect in Ukraine since September 2025, which is to be gradually reduced over several years.
At the same time, representatives of the European agricultural sector believe that such measures could change the balance in the EU oilseed market and affect the region’s processing industry.
