A new group of Ukrainian children left for Baku on Monday as part of a rehabilitation program, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Ukraine Seymur Mardaliev said.
“A new group of Ukrainian children left for Baku today as part of a children’s rehabilitation program offered by Azerbaijan. I am grateful to my colleagues from the Azerbaijani embassies in Ukraine and Moldova, who facilitated their smooth departure from Chisinau,” he wrote on social media.
According to the ambassador, 360 Ukrainian children have joined the program so far.
In the final match of the European Championship, Ukrainians Marina Gladun and Tatiana Lazarenko defeated Frenchwomen Clemence Viera and Aline Chamereau, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine reports.
Ukraine won a historic gold medal at the European Beach Volleyball Championships.
beach volleyball, EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP, UKRAINE, Women's national team
As of August 1, farmers harvested 15.47 million tons of early grains and legumes from 4 million 423.9 thousand hectares, which is 39% of the area sown with these crops, according to the Ministry of Economy.
Last year, as of August 2, 25.29 million tons of grain were harvested from 6 million 106.1 thousand hectares, which means that the current figures are 38.8% and 27.5% lower, respectively, and the average yield, which is 3.5 tons/ha, is 15.6% lower.
According to the Ministry of Economy, 11.36 million tons of wheat were harvested from 3 million 54.2 thousand hectares (last year – 19.44 million tons from 4 million 465.8 thousand hectares), barley – 3.57 million tons from 1 million 14.8 thousand hectares (4.82 million tons from 1 million 294.1 thousand hectares).
The average yield of these crops this year is 3.7 tons/ha and 3.5 tons/ha, respectively, which is 14.6% and 5.5% less than last year’s figures.
At the same time, this year’s pea harvest is already higher than last year’s – 0.49 million tons from 208,200 hectares compared to 0.45 million tons from 205,700 hectares, and the yield is 7.7% higher at 2.4 tons/hectare.
Other cereals and legumes were threshed on an area of 145,500 hectares, with a harvest of 50,400 tons.
It is noted that among the leaders are, in particular, the Odessa region with 0.09 million tons from 1 million 70.4 thousand hectares, the Kirovograd region with 1.93 million tons from 462.9 thousand hectares, and the Poltava region with 1.52 million tons from 344.7 thousand hectares.
Farmers in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson regions have begun threshing millet, harvesting 83 tons from an area of 1,200 hectares, the Ministry of Economy added.
According to its data, as of August 1, 1.76 million tons of rapeseed had already been harvested from an area of 781,900 hectares, while last year on August 2, 3.24 million tons were harvested from 1,195,500 hectares, and the average yield is 16.8% lower than last year’s on this date and amounts to 2.3 tons/hectare.
As reported, the National Bank of Ukraine, in its Inflation Report published on Friday night, lowered its forecast for this year’s grain harvest from 61.7 million tons to 57.9 million tons, and for oilseeds from 22 million tons to 21 million tons.
The NBU recalled that last year, the grain harvest in Ukraine fell to 56.2 million tons from 59.8 million tons in 2023, while oilseeds fell from 21.7 million tons to 20 million tons.
The indirect cost of housing construction in Ukraine in the second quarter of 2025 increased by 2.8% compared to the previous quarter and by 14.3% to the same quarter of 2024, it follows from the indices of indirect cost of housing construction in the regions of Ukraine approved by the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories (Ministry of Development).
The relevant document establishes indirect indicators of the cost of housing construction, calculated as of July 1, 2025. According to it, the average indicator in Ukraine is 25.3 thousand UAH/square meter, while on July 1, 2024 it was 22.2 thousand UAH/square meter.
According to the Ministry, the indirect cost of construction of 1 square meter of housing in Kiev in the second quarter rose to 29.6 thousand UAH, in Kiev region – to 25.3 thousand UAH, in Lviv region – to 25.2 thousand UAH, in Zakarpattya region – 22 thousand UAH, Ivano-Frankivsk region – 22.8 thousand UAH, Odessa region – 24.3 thousand UAH, Dnipropetrovsk region – 24.6 thousand UAH. Also high indicators are set in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions – 26.6 thousand UAH/sq. m.
cost of construction, HOUSING, statistics by regions, UKRAINE
Ukraine exported 24.406 thousand tons of honey in January-June 2025, which is 1.9 times less than in the same period of 2024, when 48.113 thousand tons of this product was supplied to foreign markets. According to statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), revenue from honey sales for the period amounted to $53.261 million, which is 41.7% less than for the same period last year, when revenue amounted to $91.417 million.
The top three importers of Ukrainian honey in January-June 2025 were Germany, which accounted for 22.86% of purchases worth $12.177 million, Spain – 10.83% and $5.769 million respectively, Poland – 9.77% and $5.2 million respectively.
A year earlier, during the same period, the most active importers of sugar from Ukraine were Germany (25.76% at $23.546 million) and Poland (10.16% at $9.288 million), as well as the United States (15.27% at $13.955 million).
The adoption of the law with amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) No. 4555-IX (in the Rada it was under No. 12414) significantly weakens the independence of anti-corruption bodies, jeopardizes Ukraine’s European integration aspirations, and violates the principles of the rule of law and legality, in particular, due to the violation of procedures provided for by the regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) made a public statement on Wednesday.
Among the norms criticized by the UBA are the abolition of the exclusive jurisdiction of the NABU and the SAP for corruption crimes, the deprivation of the SAP prosecutors of the authority to refer to the competence of the NABU other proceedings not expressly provided for by the CPC, and the consolidation of the right of the Prosecutor General to request the materials of any proceedings and the possibility of assigning the analysis of such materials for compliance with the requirements of the law to any other prosecutor.
The statement also notes the consolidation of the exclusive competence of the Prosecutor General to report suspicion of top officials and authorizing him to close criminal proceedings against top officials.
“The possibility of appointing a prosecutor without a competition – on the basis of a personal application and based on the results of a special inspection. Such a norm levels the selection standards, contradicts the principle of independence of the prosecutor’s office and creates risks for the legitimacy of personnel decisions”, – commented in the UBA another of the norms of the adopted law.
In its opinion, the fixing of such grounds for suspension of an investigator/detective as non-compliance with the prosecutor’s instructions can be used as a tool to influence the procedural independence.
The Association also pointed out that the grounds for conducting an “urgent” search without a court decision have been expanded to include the seizure or preservation of evidence, whereas previously it was possible only to ensure the life of persons, the safety of property or in the case of prosecution of persons.
The UBA notes that the independence of anti-corruption bodies is a key requirement of international partners and a condition for financial support to Ukraine. Its provision was envisaged, in particular, in the framework of visa liberalization with the EU and programs with the IMF.
“Moreover, such a law may create obstacles for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, because it violates the principles of the rule of law, which is a fundamental component of the European integration process. Given the above, the Ukrainian Bar Association calls on the Verkhovna Rada to initiate an immediate review of the provisions of the law, which undermine the institutional independence of the NABU and SAP,” the statement reads.
The Association also calls on international partners to continue monitoring and promoting compliance with the principles of independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption system, and on the professional legal community and the public to work out changes that will comply with international standards of the rule of law.
