According to Serbian Economist, the Ukrainian company “Kaspit Trade” has tripled its shipments of mineral fertilizers from the Serbian chemical holding company Elixir Group to the Ukrainian market over the course of two years of cooperation. In 2026, the importer plans to ship approximately 90,000 metric tons of products to Ukrainian farmers, the company reported.
The information was released following the fourth partnership visit by Ukrainian agricultural producers to Elixir Group’s facilities in Serbia. Representatives of agricultural companies visited the Elixir Zorka plant in Šabac and the Elixir Prahovo production complex, where they familiarized themselves with fertilizer production, quality control, and logistics infrastructure.
According to the importer, compound NPK and NP fertilizers with added sulfur and micronutrients are in the highest demand in Ukraine. They are used for primary and starter fertilization of grain, oilseed, and industrial crops.
The Elixir Zorka product line includes over 30 compound fertilizer formulations.
The importer cites river logistics as one of the advantages of Serbian products. Fertilizers are loaded onto barges in Serbia and transported down the Danube to the port of Izmail. According to the company’s estimates, the shipment takes about six days. Elixir Group’s production sites have access to port, rail, and road infrastructure.
The growth in shipments of Serbian fertilizers is occurring against the backdrop of the Ukrainian market’s overall increasing dependence on imports. In the first half of 2025, Ukraine imported 1.563 million metric tons of mineral fertilizers, which was 25% higher than the figure for the same period in 2024. Imports of compound NPK fertilizers totaled approximately 379 thousand metric tons.
Elixir Group describes itself as the largest producer of compound mineral fertilizers in Southeast Europe. The company’s production facilities are located in Šabac and Prahovo. The total production capacity for mineral fertilizers is approximately 1 million metric tons per year, with over 70% of the output exported to more than 85 countries.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3238
Ukrainian and Uzbek companies intend to expand cooperation in mechanical engineering, energy, IT, the food industry, and the textile industry. Participants at the Ukrainian-Uzbek Business Forum, which took place on July 13, 2026, in Lviv, discussed prospects for implementing joint projects.
According to the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the forum was opened by Gennady Chizhikov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Davron Vakhobov, Chairman of the Uzbek Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event was attended by approximately 90 representatives from the business community, government agencies, industry associations, and chambers of commerce and industry from both countries.
Alisher Kurmanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Ukraine, also took part in the forum. The participation of the head of the Uzbek diplomatic mission underscored the intergovernmental level of the meeting and Tashkent’s interest in developing direct contacts with Ukrainian businesses. Kurmanov has headed the Uzbek Embassy in Ukraine since 2020.
The forum participants were addressed by Khristina Kalish, head of the Department of Economic Policy of the Lviv Regional Military Administration; Natalia Karpenchuk-Konopatskaya, vice president of the Lviv Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mirziyod Yunusov, chairman of the “Uzeltexsanoat” Association; Mirziyod Yunusov, Oleg Revchuk, head of the Ukrainian side of the Ukrainian-Uzbek Business Council, and Erkindjon Malikov, chairman of the Association of Exporters of Uzbekistan.
According to Chizhikov, the interest of Uzbek partners extends beyond traditional supplies of food and pharmaceutical products.
“We are ready to offer high-value-added niches—machinery manufacturing, energy equipment, and IT solutions for ‘smart’ cities. This is the level of cooperation that matches the ambitions of both our countries,” stated the president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Participants identified the development of new logistics routes between Ukraine and Central Asia as one of the main areas of cooperation. The Ukrainian side views Uzbekistan as a regional transportation and trade hub that can provide access to the markets of neighboring countries.
The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry proposed that Uzbek logistics operators and customs services work together to create “green corridors.” Such routes could speed up the delivery of Ukrainian agricultural and food products to Uzbekistan, as well as the transport of Uzbek textiles through Ukraine to European countries.
Forum participants held direct B2B negotiations. Promising areas of cooperation identified included pharmaceuticals, machinery and industrial equipment manufacturing, energy, agricultural processing, food products, textiles, chemical products, and digital solutions for municipal services.
Industrial cooperation holds additional potential. Ukrainian companies can supply Uzbekistan with energy and technological equipment, components, pharmaceutical products, and value-added agricultural products. Uzbek enterprises, in turn, are interested in expanding exports of textiles, raw cotton, polymer materials, fertilizers, and other chemical products.
The legal framework for investment cooperation is provided by a bilateral agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of investments, signed in 1993. A preferential trade regime is also in effect between the countries, and imports of goods from Ukraine to Uzbekistan are exempt from customs duties under existing free trade agreements.
According to data from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, trade turnover between Ukraine and Uzbekistan reached $315 million in 2025, an increase of 14% compared to 2024. Ukrainian exports totaled $186.5 million. Based on these figures, imports of Uzbek goods into Ukraine can be estimated at approximately $128.5 million, and Ukraine’s trade surplus at approximately $58 million.
Thus, the latest complete annual data indicate a trade volume of about $315 million. This figure remains significantly below the potential of the two markets; however, the 14% growth indicates a gradual recovery of economic ties.
Ukrainian exports to Uzbekistan consist primarily of pharmaceutical products, machinery and equipment, meat and meat products, confectionery, and other food products. Ukraine imports mainly textiles, cotton and textile raw materials, polymer materials, fertilizers, and chemical products from Uzbekistan.
In the medium term, growth in trade volume will depend on shipping costs and transit times, the restoration of reliable transport corridors, the availability of cargo insurance, and companies’ ability to organize regular shipments. Uzbekistan could become one of the main gateways for Ukrainian manufacturers to Central Asian markets, while Ukraine is of interest to Uzbek businesses as a potential route to the EU market.
The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-governmental, self-governing organization representing the interests of Ukrainian businesses. The Chamber promotes exports, organizes business missions, and provides services related to product certification, force majeure certification, international arbitration, and the search for foreign partners.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan represents the interests of the republic’s entrepreneurs, participates in the development of exports, the attraction of investments, the organization of business missions, and the establishment of contacts between Uzbek and foreign companies.
The “Uzeltexsanoat” Association brings together enterprises in Uzbekistan’s textile, apparel, and knitwear industries. It participates in the modernization of enterprises, the development of value-added cotton processing, and the promotion of finished textile products to foreign markets.
The Uzbekistan Exporters Association provides companies with support in entering foreign markets, finding buyers, and organizing export shipments.
BUSINESS FORUM, LVIV, UKRAINE, UZBEKISTAN, Vakhobov, ЧИЖИКОВ
According to “Serbian Economist”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that he intends to travel to Kyiv to participate in the “Southeast Europe–Ukraine” summit, scheduled for Wednesday, July 15.
“I am going to Kyiv for the ‘Southeast Europe–Ukraine’ summit,” Vučić told reporters in Paris after attending a military parade marking France’s national holiday.
His statement was reported by the Serbian state news agency Tanjug.
Vucic noted that he had previously participated in four such meetings—in Odesa, Dubrovnik, Athens, and Tirana. At the same time, he warned that the upcoming summit in Kyiv “will not be easy,” given the content of the proposed final declaration.
The Serbian president also announced that he is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his trip.
In June 2025, Vučić had already visited Ukraine to participate in the previous “Ukraine–Southeast Europe” summit, which took place in Odesa.
Polish Minister of National Defense Vladyslav Kosyniak-Kamysz stated that Ukrainians of draft age who are in Poland should be in Ukraine and serve their country.
“All young Ukrainians capable of fighting should be in Ukraine and serve their homeland there,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said during a speech, a video of which was published by the Video Parlament channel.
He also criticized Ukrainians who flaunt a lavish lifestyle in Poland or violate local rules. In particular, in the published excerpts from his speech, the minister stated that such cases “are not normal” and that such individuals should be deported.
The statement came amid a debate in Poland regarding the behavior of some Ukrainians residing in the country, as well as Ukraine’s mobilization needs. A separate incident that previously sparked public outrage involved a Ukrainian influencer who drove into the Morskie Oko area in the Tatra Mountains in defiance of a ban; Polish police sought a five-year ban on his entry into Poland and the Schengen Area.
At the same time, Kosyniak-Kamysz criticized far-right politicians and the opposition Law and Justice party for stoking anti-Ukrainian sentiment. He emphasized that since the start of the full-scale war, Poles have opened their homes and provided extensive assistance to Ukrainians without setting up refugee camps.
The Polish defense minister had previously expressed a similar position. In February 2025, in an interview with Radio ZET, he said that Ukrainians of draft age should leave Poland and fight for their country, and he also called the sight of young Ukrainian men in expensive cars and five-star hotels “indecent and unacceptable.”
The Polish minister’s new rhetoric coincided with discussions within the EU regarding changes to the temporary protection regime for Ukrainians. On June 26, 2026, the European Commission proposed extending temporary protection for people who fled the war in Ukraine until March 4, 2028, but at the same time noted that temporary protection, as a rule, should not be granted to new arrivals who cannot confirm that they have permission from the Ukrainian authorities to leave, given their military obligations.
Reuters, citing the European Commission’s proposal, reported that the restriction would apply to new arrivals—Ukrainian men of draft age without permission from the Ukrainian authorities to leave the country—but not to Ukrainians already under protection in EU countries.
Poland remains one of the leading EU countries in terms of the number of Ukrainians with temporary protection status. According to Eurostat, as of May 31, 2026, 967,505 people from Ukraine had this status in Poland, accounting for 22.1% of all individuals from Ukraine who had been granted temporary protection in the EU. Only Germany had a higher number—1.283 million people.
According to the Polish Office for Foreigners, approximately 993 thousand Ukrainian citizens in Poland are registered under temporary protection and hold a PESEL UKR number. In addition, 462 thousand Ukrainian citizens hold valid temporary residence permits, while another 92 thousand have permanent residence or long-term resident status in the EU.
Thus, Kosiniak-Kamysz’s statement reflects a tougher stance taken by a segment of the Polish political class: Warsaw continues to support Ukraine, but at the same time is increasingly raising the issue of mobilizing Ukrainians living abroad and condemning behavior that causes irritation in Polish society.
Kosiniak-Kamysz, mobilization, POLAND, TEMPORARY PROTECTION, UKRAINE
Ukrainian citizens ranked first in the number of residence permits issued by Spain to foreign nationals in 2025, according to data from Spain’s Ministry of Social Security and Migration.
According to the Spanish ministry, 244,579 residence permits were issued to Ukrainian citizens in 2025. They were followed by citizens of Venezuela—224,341 permits—and Morocco—187,790. These three countries accounted for 42% of all residence permits issued to foreigners in Spain in 2025.
In total, Spain issued 1,577,842 residence permits to foreigners in 2025, which is 7.8% more than the previous year, or 114,238 more permits. This growth was due, in particular, to an increase in the number of permits issued to citizens of Venezuela, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Spanish authorities specifically note that these statistics reflect the number of permits, not the number of unique individuals. The same person could, for example, receive an initial permit and then a renewal within the same year, so this figure does not equal the number of new residents.
In the case of Ukraine, the temporary protection regime for people displaced by the war played a major role.
The report also notes that 238,007 permits in the “other exceptional circumstances” category were issued to Ukrainian citizens under the Temporary Protection Directive. This is 11.5% more than in 2024, with 85% of these permits being renewals.
According to the statistics, Russians ranked 11th among the largest groups of recipients of Spanish residence permits, with 27,655 permits issued.
By region, the highest number of residence permits were issued in Catalonia—311,038—followed by the Valencian Community—282,897—Madrid—275,607—and Andalusia—232,201. These four autonomous communities accounted for 70% of all permits issued to foreigners in 2025.
Separately, Spain reported 108,253 residence permits for study purposes issued to foreign students and their family members in 2025. The most common nationalities in this category were Colombia, Peru, Morocco, the United States, and China.
According to The Serbian Economist, Ukrainian tennis player Oleg Prykhodko has decided to change his sporting citizenship and will henceforth compete under the flag of North Macedonia.
The athlete is renouncing the flag under which he previously competed in international tournaments. Details of the transition process, as well as the reasons behind his decision, have not yet been officially disclosed.
Oleg Prykhodko is currently ranked 296th in the ATP rankings, which will make him one of North Macedonia’s leading tennis players once the change in sporting citizenship is complete.
The 27-year-old tennis player primarily competes in ATP Challenger and ITF tournaments. Over the course of his career, he has won several titles in both singles and doubles.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3211
