The 2026 fire season in Europe has become one of the most difficult in terms of the geographical spread of fires and the scale of their consequences, with Ukraine ranking among the continent’s most affected countries, the Experts Club information and analytical center reports, citing data from the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and other European bodies.
As of August 31, the area affected by fire in Ukraine was estimated by GWIS at 413.1 thousand hectares, or about 0.69% of the country’s territory. If the Russian Federation is not included in the direct comparison, as the system also takes into account the vast territories of Siberia and the Far East, Ukraine ranks first among the countries of geographical Europe in terms of the absolute area affected by fires.
It is followed by Spain — 242.1 thousand hectares, Italy — 118.3 thousand hectares, France — 105.1 thousand hectares, and Portugal — 60.5 thousand hectares.
In Ukraine, fire statistics have an additional specific feature due to the war. Satellite systems record the territory affected by fire but do not determine its cause. Therefore, alongside heat, drought, careless handling of fire and arson, shelling, explosions and fires along the front line may also play a significant role.
The greatest burden relative to the size of the territory is recorded in the Balkans. In Montenegro, about 1.7% of the country’s territory has been affected by fire, in Bosnia and Herzegovina — more than 1%, and in North Macedonia — about 0.75%. Altogether, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia have about 142 thousand hectares of burned areas.
A separate feature of the season has been a sharp increase in fire activity in countries where large fires are traditionally less common. In Belgium, the area affected by fires has already exceeded the average for 2012–2025 by more than ten times, in the Netherlands — by approximately three times, in Austria — by 2.5 times, and in France — by almost 2.5 times.
In the EU itself, by August 30, 636.1 thousand hectares of burned areas had been recorded within 1,861 major fires. This is 36% less than in the record year of 2025, but more than twice the long-term average for the same period.
Ukraine continues to see a structural shift of notarial services toward the private sector: as of the end of August 2026, 5,484 out of 6,156 notaries included in the Unified Register of Notaries were working privately.
Thus, the share of private notaries reached about 89%, or almost nine out of ten professionals, according to an Experts Club analysis based on Opendatabot data.
There were 652 notaries working in state notary offices, accounting for about 10.6% of the total number, while another 20 professionals worked in state notarial archives.
Over the past year, the number of private notaries increased by 345 people. At the same time, the number of notaries in state institutions decreased by 34.
As a result, the entire net increase in the register was provided by the private sector. The total number of notaries increased by 311 people over the year, or by approximately 5%, to 6,156.
According to Experts Club, this dynamic indicates a further shift of the Ukrainian notarial services market toward the private model. The state segment is gradually shrinking both in absolute terms and as a share of the total number of professionals.
At the same time, the increase in the register does not mean a similar influx of new personnel. Of the total increase, only 40 notaries were new, while the majority were professionals who renewed their certificates. Another 104 notaries stopped working during the year.
A notable feature of the profession remains the significant predominance of women: they account for 82% of all notaries in Ukraine. Over the year, the number of women in the register increased by 250, while the number of men increased by 61.
Source: Opendatabot, data from the Unified Register of Notaries as of the end of August 2026.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted two bills to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration aimed at tightening penalties for organizing fraudulent call centers and participating in their activities, as well as providing additional, substantial protection for people against illegal actions involving payment instruments and bank accounts.
“Penalties for fraudulent call centers must be clear and severe—not only for those who carry out the work at these call centers, but also for those who organize them, profit from them, and own them. The first bill provides for exactly that,” Zelenskyy emphasized, commenting on the bills on his Telegram channel.
According to the president, the bills also provide for the introduction of stricter liability for organizing fraudulent schemes involving banking instruments, in particular so-called “drops.”
“At the level of internal regulation of the banking system, there must be appropriate steps and changes to algorithms that will give banks more opportunities to protect the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and businesses and prevent the use of accounts for tax evasion or the laundering of funds from illegal activities. At the legislative level, we will create the necessary framework to counter the organizers of fraudulent schemes involving bank accounts and payment instruments,” Zelenskyy explained.
He added that this same bill aims to implement European Union legal standards in Ukraine, as provided for in agreements with partners.
BANK, BILL, call center, fraud, UKRAINE
Over the next two weeks, domestic prices for gasoline and diesel may rise by 4.5–5 UAH per liter due to a price surge on global markets to levels close to April’s highs; specifically, the price of diesel fuel in London rising above $1,400 per metric ton, according to Serhiy Kuyun, director of the “A-95” consulting group.
“We are expecting domestic prices to rise. Currently, this increase translates to an additional 4.5–5.0 UAH per liter of gasoline and diesel fuel (their current average prices are 80 and 91 UAH per liter, respectively). This could happen within a couple of weeks if current prices stabilize at their current levels,” he wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
According to the expert, on September 1 and 2, some Ukrainian retail chains had already raised prices by 1 UAH per liter.
“There are no fuel availability issues, neither here nor in Europe. Therefore, the issue is solely about price. The much-discussed 100 UAH per liter mark hasn’t been reached yet, but it’s starting to loom on the horizon again,” Kuyun noted.
As reported by “Energoreforma,” fuel prices in Ukraine showed both slight decreases and increases throughout August.
According to “A-95,” as of September 2, the average retail price in Ukraine for A-95 gasoline is 80.7 UAH/liter, and for diesel fuel, 91.31 UAH/liter.
Nova Post, part of the Nova Group, has entered the Canadian market, bringing the total number of countries where it operates to 18, according to a company statement released on Wednesday.
“Canada, like all of North America, is one of the key directions for Nova Post’s international expansion,” Oleksiy Taranenko, CBDO of the NOVA Group, is quoted as saying in the release.
According to him, the company has already processed over 3,000 shipments, most of which consisted of goods from Ukrainian manufacturers.
The next steps are expected to include further network expansion, the introduction of a franchise program, the launch of new products, and faster delivery times.
Nova Post clarified that customers can arrange international shipments from Canada online via the company’s website or mobile app, as well as drop off a package at one of 1,100 partner UPS stores or hand it over to a courier.
It is noted that delivery time between Canada and Ukraine starts at 5 days. Shipping costs from Canada to Ukraine are CAD 37 for documents and packages up to 1 kg; CAD 47 for packages up to 2 kg; CAD 99 for packages up to 10 kg; and CAD 215 for packages up to 30 kg.
Nova Post reminded customers that it is possible to ship goods from Ukraine to Canada without paying import duties. This service is made possible by the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA).
Specifically, for most shipments, only the harmonized sales tax (HST) is payable, which the sender can pay when arranging delivery; however, no tax applies to packages valued at up to 20 CAD (625 UAH).
As reported in early August, Nova Post has opened 266 new service locations since the beginning of 2026, thereby expanding its presence to 16 countries and 235 cities.
The largest number of new service points were opened in Moldova—155—followed by Poland—63—Spain—18—the Czech Republic—14—Germany—11—Slovakia—2—and one service point each in Austria, Italy, and Romania.
Vyacheslav Klimov, co-owner of Nova Poshta, noted during the “Dialogues with NV” event dedicated to European integration that Nova Post Europe, part of the NOVA Group, plans to double its network of branches in Europe by 2026 and keep its strategic focus on ensuring the fastest possible delivery times.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved, in its entirety, a bill to improve the operation of industrial parks (IPs). According to a correspondent for the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency, 270 deputies voted in favor of the bill, exceeding the required minimum of 226 votes.
“Based on the results of ongoing monitoring of the development of industrial parks, we identified issues, the solutions to which have now been approved by the Rada. Essentially, these are technical issues that arose during the practical implementation of the legislation adopted in 2022. But resolving each of them will contribute to the faster development of this sector and the emergence of new manufacturing facilities,” wrote the bill’s sponsor, Dmytro Kysilevskyi, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development.
He noted that the bill, in particular, more clearly delineates the functions of all entities within an industrial park, and grants the initiator of a park’s creation the ability to also act as the managing company without establishing a separate legal entity.
In addition, the concept of an “eco-industrial park” has been introduced, the Cabinet of Ministers has been granted the authority to establish criteria for them, and a new category of land use designation has been introduced: land for industrial parks.
The procedure for increasing and decreasing the area of an industrial park has also been regulated, as have issues regarding the transfer of ownership rights to a land plot within an industrial park from the park’s initiator to another party; opportunities for establishing industrial parks have been expanded: land plots may now be considered adjacent if there are forest buffer strips between them.
Among the issues addressed are improvements to the competitive selection process for management companies and the introduction of the possibility for management companies whose primary activity is the leasing of real estate to obtain loans under the “5-7-9” program.
Temporary restrictions on the acquisition of power capacity for small electricity distribution systems in industrial parks have also been lifted, and provisions regarding state incentives for industrial parks have been improved, in particular through the transfer of international technical assistance from local government bodies to industrial parks.
As of the end of 2025, 37 factories had been built or were under construction in Ukraine’s industrial parks. Throughout 2026, manufacturing enterprises in the parks continued to open.
As previously reported, Bill No. 12117 was adopted in principle on February 11, 2025, with amendments to its provisions, by a vote of 244 members of parliament.
