The Ukrainian men’s épée fencing team won silver medals at the 2026 World Championships, currently being held in Hong Kong.
The team consisted of Roman Svitkar, Nikita Koshman, Yevhen Makienko, and Mykhailo Krasniuk. This is Ukraine’s second medal at the current World Championships and the sixth time in history that Ukrainian épée fencers have stood on the podium at the World Championships in team competition.
On their way to the final, the Ukrainians defeated the teams from Sweden (45–35), Poland (41–40), Switzerland (39–37), and Israel (45–44). In the final match, the Ukrainian team lost to Kazakhstan with a score of 40–45.
For Roman Svichkar, this is the third World Championship medal of his career; for Nikita Koshman, it is his second; while Yevhen Makienko and Mykhailo Krasniuk earned their first World Championship medals.
The last time the Ukrainian men’s épée team won a World Championship medal was in 2019, when they also took silver.
As of June 2026, approximately 3.9 million people in Ukraine remain internally displaced, according to a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“Although the proportion of internally displaced persons has remained at about 12% of the population since 2023, the report shows that the longer displacement lasts, the more difficult it is for families to meet their basic needs. Nearly seven out of ten internally displaced persons have been away from home for more than two years. This indicates the increasingly protracted nature of displacement in Ukraine,” the report states.
At the same time, people continue to be forced to leave their homes: in January–June of this year alone, approximately 132,000 people were forced to flee.
“Stable displacement figures should not be interpreted as a sign of stable living conditions. Many displaced families are depleting their savings, cutting back on essential expenses—including healthcare—and moving to less suitable housing in an effort to meet their basic needs. Long-term support remains essential to help people regain stability and make informed and voluntary decisions about their future,” said Dejan Keserović, Deputy Head of the IOM Mission in Ukraine.
According to the report, 87% of displaced families were forced to resort to at least one coping strategy to manage their situation. Most commonly, people spent their savings (75%), reduced their use of utilities (59%), and cut back on healthcare expenses (53%). One in five households also reported moving to lower-quality housing, and 17% reported being behind on rent payments.
Safety remains the main criterion in people’s decisions about the future: 82% of internally displaced persons indicated that they would like to return home only after hostilities have ceased. At the same time, an increasing number of people are considering the possibility of integrating into the communities where they currently live: the proportion of those interested in local integration rose from 51% in March to 58% in June 2026. This underscores the need to provide support to displaced families where they are, while also monitoring the risks of premature or unsafe returns.
Approximately 2.15 million people, or 56% of all internally displaced persons in Ukraine, come from territories that were fully or partially occupied at the time of the survey. They are more likely to face protracted displacement, significant hardships, and more limited opportunities for return.
“The report’s findings show why emergency assistance alone is not enough. People need long-term support in the areas of housing, livelihoods, access to healthcare, protection, and other essential services. This will help them make informed and voluntary decisions—whether to integrate where they currently live, move to another location, or safely return home when conditions permit,” IOM emphasized.
The report is based on the latest survey of the Ukrainian population, conducted by IOM from April 23 to June 30, 2026, with support from the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine, the European Union, and the governments of Canada and Sweden.
According to experts.news, as of June 1, 2026, there were 1,786,900 head of cattle in Ukraine, including 941,200 cows, the Milk Producers Association reported on June 26, citing preliminary data from the State Statistics Service.
Compared to June 1, 2025, the cattle herd decreased by 383,000 head, or 18%, while the number of cows decreased by 208,000, also by 18%. Over the month, the total cattle herd increased slightly—by 2,100 head—while the number of cows decreased by 3,300.
About 53% of the herd is held by agricultural enterprises, with the remaining 47% held by private households.
In the industrial sector, there were 951,200 head of cattle as of early June, including 391,900 cows. Over the year, enterprises increased their cattle herd by 4% and their number of cows by 3%.
At the same time, private households held 835,700 head of cattle, of which 549,300 were cows. Over the past year, the private sector lost 33% of its cattle herd and 28% of its cows. It is precisely this reduction in livestock holdings by private households that remains the main cause of the overall decline in the country’s figures.
An increase in the number of cows at agricultural enterprises was recorded in 11 regions. The largest increases in herd size were observed in Rivne Oblast (29%), Lviv Oblast (22%), Kharkiv Oblast (13%), Ternopil Oblast (11%), and Khmelnytskyi Oblast (9%). In Kyiv Oblast, the number of cows in the commercial sector increased by 3%.
The largest cattle herds across all farm categories were held in Poltava Oblast—168,000 head, Vinnytsia Oblast—160,000, Khmelnytskyi—143,400, Odesa—131,600, Chernihiv—126,100, Cherkasy—125,400, and Kyiv—105,700 head. These seven regions accounted for approximately 54% of the country’s total cattle population.
The Milk Producers Association attributes the decline in the herd size to low milk purchase prices, rising costs of feed, fuel, and fertilizers, insufficient farm modernization, and the consequences of hostilities. Farms in frontline regions are also forced to transport their livestock to central and western regions.
According to the association’s estimates, approximately 850 of Ukraine’s 1,375 thousand dairy farms require renovation to meet European standards for animal husbandry. The estimated investment need is approximately EUR219 million.
At the beginning of 1991, Ukraine had 24,623,400 head of cattle, including 8,378,200 cows. By early 2001, the cattle herd had declined to 9,424,000 head, and the number of cows to approximately 4,958,000.
In 2013, Ukraine had 4.646 million head of cattle and 2.554 million cows. As of early 2021, these figures stood at 2.874 million and 1.673 million head, respectively.
As of January 1, 2025, the cattle herd was estimated at 2.002 million head, including 1.155 million cows. By the beginning of 2026, these figures had fallen to 1.804 million head of cattle and 1.022 million cows.
Thus, from the beginning of 1991 to the beginning of 2026, the total cattle herd in Ukraine decreased by approximately 92.7%, or 13.6 times. The number of cows decreased by 87.8%, or 8.2 times.
By June 1, 2026, the number of cows fell below 1 million heads for the first time—to 941,200. Compared to 1991, this represents a decline of nearly 89%, or 8.9 times.
When comparing long-term indicators, changes in statistical coverage should be taken into account. Data for 2015–2021 do not include the temporarily occupied Crimea, Sevastopol, and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, while figures from 2022 also exclude other occupied territories and parts of combat zones.
Despite the sharp overall decline in livestock numbers, industrial dairy farms in relatively safe regions are partially increasing their herds of productive cows. However, this is not yet sufficient to compensate for the mass exodus of smallholder farms from livestock production.
https://www.experts.news/posts/poholivya-vrkh-v-ukrayini-za-rik-skorotylosya-na-18
The State Customs Service of Ukraine transferred UAH 420.1 billion in customs payments to the state budget in the first half of 2026, which is 31.9% more than in the same period last year, the Experts Club information and analytical center reports.
In January–June 2025, revenues amounted to UAH 318.5 billion. Thus, over the year, the budget received an additional approximately UAH 101.6 billion. The official data were published by the State Customs Service on July 13, 2026.
The Experts Club Analytical Center compared the State Customs Service’s data with the Ministry of Finance’s operational report on the execution of the state budget for January–June 2026.
Ranking of Customs Revenues by Main Categories
Value-added tax on goods imported into the customs territory of Ukraine remains the main source of customs revenues.
It accounted for approximately 75.7% of all payments transferred by the State Customs Service in the first half of the year. In other words, approximately three out of every four hryvnias of customs revenues were generated by import VAT.
The high share of VAT is explained by the fact that the tax is charged on virtually all taxable imports, including equipment, raw materials, fuel, cars, consumer goods and products intended for industrial use.
After deducting import VAT and customs duties from the total amount, approximately UAH 70.9 billion, or 16.9% of revenues, remains.
The main part of this amount should consist of excise duty on imported excisable goods, primarily petroleum products, cars, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
However, in its operational report, the Ministry of Finance indicated only the total excise tax revenues from domestically produced and imported goods — UAH 152.4 billion. The separate amount of import excise duty was not disclosed in the report. Therefore, the figure of UAH 70.9 billion is an estimate and may also include small amounts of other payments administered by customs authorities.
Revenues from import and export duties in the first half of the year amounted to UAH 31 billion, or approximately 7.4% of the total volume of customs payments.
The share of customs duties is significantly lower than that of import VAT because zero or reduced rates apply to many goods under Ukraine’s free trade agreements. In addition, certain categories of equipment, energy products and defense-related goods benefit from tax and customs exemptions.
Structure of Ukraine’s Customs Revenues
Thus, the approximate structure of the UAH 420.1 billion is as follows:
VAT on imported goods — UAH 318.2 billion, or 75.7%.
Import excise duty and other payments — approximately UAH 70.9 billion, or 16.9%.
Import and export duties — UAH 31 billion, or 7.4%.
The Experts Club calculation shows that Ukrainian customs primarily performs the function of administering import VAT. Customs duties themselves account for less than one-tenth of the total volume of revenues.
Cars Accounted for More Than 7% of All Payments
Imports of passenger cars brought UAH 32.1 billion to the state budget in the first half of the year. This corresponds to approximately 7.6% of all revenues transferred by the State Customs Service.
At the same time, petrol-powered cars alone generated UAH 14.6 billion, or approximately 3.5% of all Ukraine’s customs revenues for the six-month period.
Thus, payments from passenger car imports exceeded the total revenues from import and export duties across all product categories.
Large Importers Accounted for 85% of Revenues
In the first half of the year, customs payments were made by 28,300 foreign economic activity participants. Their number increased by 2.5% compared with January–June 2025.
At the same time, only 2,350 companies, or approximately 8% of all payers, accounted for 85% of revenues. Their combined contribution can be estimated at approximately UAH 357 billion.
Another 10,600 enterprises, each of which transferred between UAH 1 million and UAH 20 million, generated UAH 53.5 billion.
Approximately 15,300 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses paid up to UAH 1 million each. Their combined contribution amounted to almost UAH 4.8 billion.
This indicates a high concentration of customs revenues: the majority of revenues depend on a relatively small group of large importers of fuel, cars, machinery, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and consumer products.
Customs Accounted for More Than One-Fifth of General Fund Revenues
In January–June 2026, UAH 1.898 trillion was received by the general fund of Ukraine’s state budget. Customs payments amounting to UAH 420.1 billion were equivalent to approximately 22.1% of this amount.
Including the general and special funds, state budget revenues for the first half of the year amounted to UAH 2.52 trillion.
The 31.9% growth in customs revenues significantly outpaced the increase in the number of payers, which amounted to only 2.5%. This indicates that the main growth factors were an increase in the value of taxable imports, changes in the exchange rate, an increased tax burden on certain categories and higher payments from the largest companies.
The most comprehensive official source of detailed information by budget classification codes is the state Open Budget portal. The State Customs Service publishes the total volume of payments and the structure of payers, while the Ministry of Finance publishes the main tax categories. At the time this material was prepared, a separate comprehensive table from the State Customs Service showing the distribution of the UAH 420.1 billion across all types of payments in a single document had not been published.
As of July 28, Ukrainian farmers had threshed 2.6 million hectares—or 22% of the projected area—and harvested 10.65 million metric tons of grain from the new crop, according to the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
Wheat was harvested from 1,531.7 thousand hectares (30% of the area), yielding 6.61 million metric tons with an average yield of 43.2 centners per hectare.
Barley was harvested from 790,000 hectares (53%), yielding 3.49 million metric tons at a yield of 44.2 centners per hectare. Peas were harvested from 279,500 hectares (94.6%), yielding 549,500 metric tons at a yield of 19.7 centners per hectare.
The Odesa region currently leads in terms of the volume of early grain and legume crops harvested, with 2,425.7 thousand metric tons harvested from an area of 586.7 thousand hectares (wheat—1,252.1 thousand metric tons, barley—988.9 thousand metric tons, peas—184.7 thousand metric tons).
In the Mykolaiv region, 1,797.8 thousand metric tons have been harvested from an area of 514.1 thousand hectares (wheat – 1,152.0 thousand metric tons, barley – 539.0 thousand metric tons, peas – 106.8 thousand metric tons). In the Dnipropetrovsk region—1,493.0 thousand metric tons from an area of 376.4 thousand hectares (wheat—1,087.2 thousand metric tons, barley—379.0 thousand metric tons, peas—26.8 thousand metric tons).
Winter rapeseed has already been harvested from 539,600 hectares (41% of the total area), yielding 1.31 million metric tons.
According to the “Serbian Economist,” Serbia’s lack of progress in its EU accession negotiations could create additional challenges for Ukraine and Moldova, as some EU countries are insisting on maintaining a geographical balance between candidates from Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.
Euronews reports this, citing EU diplomats.
Ukraine has opened two of the six negotiation clusters in recent weeks, but further acceleration of the process may face demands to simultaneously advance Serbia’s application.
“Progress in one direction creates pressure to move forward in the other as well,” one European diplomat told Euronews.
In early July, the European Commission once again recommended opening Cluster 3—dedicated to competitiveness and inclusive growth—for Serbia. Negotiations regarding Serbia have effectively remained stalled since December 2021.
However, eight EU member states opposed opening the chapter: the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. Denmark, Luxembourg, and Latvia are also not yet ready to support this decision. The consent of all 27 EU member states is required to open a negotiation chapter.
Opponents of Serbia’s advancement point to Belgrade’s insufficient progress in the areas of the rule of law, judicial independence, and democratic standards. Another reason is Serbia’s refusal to join the EU’s sanctions against Russia.
The European Commission, on the other hand, believes that Belgrade has implemented some of the recommendations, repealed controversial changes to judicial legislation, improved cooperation with the EU on foreign policy, and strengthened ties with Ukraine. At the same time, Brussels acknowledges that Serbia needs to continue reforming its judicial and prosecutorial systems.
France, Spain, and a group of countries calling themselves the “Friends of the Western Balkans” advocate for preserving Serbia’s membership prospects. They fear that Ukraine’s rapid progress against the backdrop of Belgrade’s prolonged stagnation will be perceived as the application of double standards.
Euronews emphasizes that the negotiation processes for Ukraine and Serbia have not yet been formally merged. However, as Kyiv and Chisinau push to open the remaining clusters by the end of the year, demands for equal treatment of the candidate countries may intensify.
