Around 97–98% of war crimes cases in Ukraine are heard in absentia, that is, without the defendant being present, Inna Linyova, director of the Human Rights Institute of the Ukrainian Bar Association, said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
According to her, this mainly concerns cases where the accused Russian serviceman is in the Russian Federation or in temporarily occupied territory, and Ukrainian investigative and judicial authorities are conducting proceedings without his physical presence.
Lynova emphasised that trials in absentia are permitted under international standards, but in such proceedings it is particularly important to ensure all guarantees of the right to a defence. Otherwise, Ukraine may face serious legal and reputational risks.
“Such a trial in the absence of the accused is permissible under international standards, but in such cases it is particularly important to ensure that the rights of the accused are protected,” she noted.
According to Linyova, problems with the quality of defence were observed in a number of proceedings: lawyers could be passive, fail to file motions, fail to examine evidence, and effectively limit themselves to a formal presence in the proceedings. In some cases, defence lawyers even used derogatory terms in relation to their clients, which contradicts the very essence of the right to defence.
The Director of the Human Rights Institute of the Ukrainian Bar Association emphasised that effective defence of those accused in war crimes cases is needed not to exonerate criminals, but to protect the interests of Ukraine itself. If the trials comply with international standards, this will strengthen Ukraine’s position as a state governed by the rule of law and reduce the risk of subsequent challenges to the verdicts in international courts.
Since July 2023, the Ukrainian Bar Association has been implementing an initiative to monitor court hearings and analyse court decisions in cases of war crimes. According to Linyova, these trials are the focus of the international community’s attention, as they relate not only to the punishment of the guilty but also to the future compensation system, the restoration of justice and Ukraine’s international reputation.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the number of registered criminal offences classified as war crimes is rising rapidly. By the end of May 2024, there were 129,065 cases; by September 2025, 179,803; and by 16 April 2026, 221,929.
The Ukrainian judicial system is thus facing a massive challenge: it must simultaneously document crimes, ensure the punishment of the guilty and uphold the standards of a fair trial, even in cases that attract significant public attention.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered its forecast for Ukraine’s real gross domestic product growth in 2026 to 2.2% due to the protracted war, but notes that macroeconomic stability has been maintained thanks to external support.
“This is slightly lower than the 2.5% forecast published in February, but should hostilities ease and post-war reconstruction begin, the forecast for 2027 remains unchanged at 4.0%,” according to the EBRD’s “Regional Economic Prospects” (REP) report, published on Wednesday.
The bank emphasizes that Ukraine is maintaining macroeconomic stability even in the fifth year of Russia’s aggressive war thanks to significant external financing. The outlook continues to depend largely on the course of the war and the availability of external financial support.
“The main downside risk to the forecast is linked to the energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East, which could significantly worsen Ukraine’s already unstable energy situation,” the report states.
The EBRD attributes the slowdown in economic growth to 1.8% in 2025 and the weak start this year to ongoing wartime constraints: labor shortages and persistent attacks on energy infrastructure have disrupted industrial activity and logistics, while broader supply chain issues have limited production.
The bank notes that inflation has also begun to rise again after slowing to 7.4% in January 2026 following a period of tighter monetary policy and relative exchange rate stability. Higher global energy prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East are adding new pressure, increasing costs for businesses and households and contributing to a resurgence of inflationary momentum.
According to the EBRD, fiscal support remains crucial. Ukraine’s budget deficit, excluding grants, reached 23.6% of GDP in 2025 and is projected to remain elevated at 19.3% of GDP in 2026, reflecting exceptionally high spending on defense and social services. These needs are financed largely through official external support, which continues to underpin macroeconomic stability. The allocated external financing of over EUR110 billion for 2026–27 is expected to mitigate short-term risks.
The Bank notes that it is Ukraine’s largest institutional investor and has significantly increased its support in response to the full-scale war: since its onset in February 2022, the EBRD has allocated nearly EUR10.0 billion to Ukraine.
As reported, the National Bank lowered its GDP growth forecast for this year to 1.3% from 1.8% in April.
The government’s forecast, included in the 2026 state budget, currently projects 2.4% growth, but Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev recently announced plans to revise it downward.
According to the State Statistics Service, Ukraine’s GDP growth slowed to 1.8% in 2025 from 2.9% in 2024 and 5.5% in 2023, following a 28.8% decline in 2022—the first year of full-scale Russian aggression.
Ukrainian men of conscription age who are already under temporary protection in European Union countries should not lose their status under the current scheme. Any restrictions currently under discussion within the EU are likely to apply primarily to new applicants, should the temporary protection scheme be extended or amended after March 2027.
The discussion began following reports in the European media that some EU countries are considering restricting access to extended temporary protection for Ukrainian men of conscription or mobilisation age. This does not refer to the immediate withdrawal of status from those already in the EU, but to the possible parameters of the future regime once the current period of temporary protection expires.
The current temporary protection for Ukrainians in the EU has been extended until 4 March 2027. This mechanism was first activated in March 2022 and allows Ukrainians to live, work, and access education, healthcare and social support in EU countries without going through the standard asylum procedure.
The European Commission has previously emphasised that the current rules on temporary protection apply to all Ukrainians eligible for this status, with no specific exception for men of conscription age. Any potential changes must be discussed by EU member states and will require a separate political and legal decision.
According to Eurostat, as of the end of March 2026, 4.33 million people from Ukraine were under temporary protection in EU countries.
Germany remained the largest host country – around 1.275 million people, or 29.4% of all recipients of temporary protection in the EU. Poland was in second place – 961,400 people, or 22.2%, and the Czech Republic in third – 379,800, or 8.8%.
The composition of Ukrainians under temporary protection remains predominantly women and children. According to Eurostat, adult women accounted for 43.3% of all beneficiaries of temporary protection, minors for 30.1%, and adult men for 26.6%.
In absolute terms, this means that approximately 1.87 million adult women, around 1.30 million children and approximately 1.15 million adult men were under temporary protection in the EU.
A rough estimate suggests there are between 0.9 and 1.1 million Ukrainian men of working age and potentially conscriptionable age under temporary protection in the EU. This is an indicative estimate, not official statistics on those liable for military service.
The discussion of possible restrictions is linked to two parallel processes. On the one hand, the EU is seeking a long-term model for the millions of Ukrainians who have been under temporary protection for over four years. On the other hand, Ukraine has an acute need for human resources for defence and economic recovery.
At the same time, any changes within the EU will be legally sensitive. Restricting access to protection on the basis of gender, age or conscription status could spark debates about discrimination, human rights, the national powers of states and the alignment of EU policy with Ukraine.
Thus, the current status of Ukrainians in the EU will remain in place until at least March 2027. The question of whether there will be new restrictions for men of conscription age after that date is still under discussion and has not yet been decided.
According to the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project, the Ukrainian book market is maintaining stable demand during the war, but publishers are facing rising production costs, logistical problems, the loss of warehouses, and changing reader preferences. This is evidenced by assessments from participants at the 14th “Book Arsenal” in Kyiv, published by the Interfax-Ukraine agency on the Interfax-Ukraine Culture project website.
The 14th “Book Arsenal” has become one of the key platforms for assessing the state of the Ukrainian publishing industry. Dozens of Ukrainian publishing houses are represented at the festival—from major players to niche projects working with military, historical, Ukrainian studies, classical, and contemporary fiction.
Market representatives note that, despite the difficult economic situation, shelling, and rising costs of paper and logistics, interest in Ukrainian books remains strong. Readers are increasingly choosing publications on history, war, culture, national identity, as well as contemporary Ukrainian fiction.
Gennadiy Korber, deputy director of the Kharkiv-based publishing house “Folio,” reported that demand for books has declined, but the market continues to function. According to him, a significant portion of the publishing house’s books is still printed in Kharkiv, despite the city’s ongoing shelling, while some orders are fulfilled in other regions of Ukraine.
Among Folio’s new releases presented at the Book Arsenal are Oleksii Bobrovnikov’s novel “Red Zone” about the war and Yurii Soroka’s book “Our Knight’s Cross.” The publishing house notes a growing interest in Ukrainian history, classics, military themes, and fantasy. According to market representatives, the youth audience actively reads fantasy, although for a number of publishers this segment was not previously a primary focus.
One of the main economic challenges for the industry remains rising production costs. Publishers attribute the increase in book prices to rising costs for paper, logistics, imported raw materials, and currency fluctuations. According to market participants’ estimates, paper prices may have risen by approximately 20–25% over the past year. Ukraine has virtually no domestic production of commercial paper for the book industry, so publishers rely on imports, particularly from Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and other countries.
Russian shelling remains an additional risk factor, leading not only to production delays but also to direct losses of print runs. Folio reported instances where books were destroyed due to strikes on factories where orders were being processed.
For the Ukrainian Priority publishing house, the strike on its infrastructure was critical.
Its director, Volodymyr Shovkoshytny, said that as a result of a Shahed drone attack on the night of June 17 last year, the publisher’s warehouse and office were destroyed. According to him, about 70,000 books and office equipment were burned, and only about 4,000–5,000 damaged copies could be salvaged from the ashes and water.
Despite the losses, the publishing house set a goal to restore its catalog by the first anniversary of the attack. Ukrainian Priority’s main focus is historical, literary, and popular science literature on Ukrainian history, spanning from the Scythian era to the modern war.
Publishers are also noting a steady interest in literature on Ukrainian studies. Publisher Oleksandr Savchuk noted that after the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainians became significantly more interested in books about their own culture, history, and identity. At the same time, he said, following a sharp rise in demand during the early years of the war, the market is now seeing a certain decline, though interest in Ukrainian topics remains long-term.
Digital services are emerging as a distinct area of development in the book market. Olga Olkhova, founder of the Litcom book app, presented an update to the service at the “Book Arsenal,” which is positioned as a book market navigator and a tool for building one’s own library. The app now allows users to add books by scanning a barcode, make written and audio notes, and track who the reader has lent the book to.
According to Olkhova, non-fiction is in high demand in Ukraine, especially short audio formats based on books. The Litcom team is also conducting research on the reading habits of Ukrainians among schoolchildren, students, active readers, and the general public. They plan to release the initial results after the conclusion of the “Book Arsenal.”
Military literature remains a notable market segment. Iryna Bilotserkivska, director of the Bilka publishing house, noted that the publishing house has been working with military literature since 2018. Among the new releases is a collection of military horror stories titled “Birds in the Dark,” written by eight military authors. According to the publisher, this is effectively a new genre emerging from the experience of war.
Market participants are also noting a shift in buyers’ expectations regarding the quality of the book as a physical product. While previously part of the audience focused primarily on price, readers now more often pay attention to printing quality, layout, illustrations, cover design, and the collectible value of the publication. The festival’s booths feature gift editions, designer series of classics, and collectible books with colored edges, embossing, and illustrations.
Svitlana Stretovych, editor-in-chief and founder of Stretovych Publishing House, presented the Ukrainian translation of Agatha Christie’s autobiography at the “Book Arsenal”—the first time it has been published in Ukrainian. According to her, the book was originally published worldwide in 1977, but Ukrainian readers had not yet had access to a translation.
Thus, the Ukrainian book market continues to operate amid war, rising costs, and infrastructure risks. Demand has become more selective, yet interest in history, war, national identity, Ukrainian literature, and high-quality publications remains strong. For publishers, “Book Arsenal” remains significant not only as a fair but also as a platform for direct contact with readers, authors, and partners.
“Book Arsenal” is an annual international festival in Kyiv that brings together publishers, authors, readers, cultural institutions, and representatives of the creative industries.
In 2026, the festival will be held for the fourteenth time and remains one of the main public platforms of the Ukrainian book market.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/news/culture/1171986.html
Over half a million transactions and nearly 50 billion UAH—this is the state of the agricultural land market in Ukraine more than four years after the moratorium was lifted, according to the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography, and Cadastre. The average price per hectare of land in Ukraine currently stands at 75,100 UAH. The most expensive land is currently in Ivano-Frankivsk and Kyiv regions, while the most active land purchases this year are taking place in Vinnytsia and Chernihiv regions.
501,619 agricultural land purchase and sale transactions totaling 49.7 billion UAH have been concluded in Ukraine over the past four years since the opening of the land market. The total area of the plots covered by these transactions is 977,200 hectares.
We are tracking the trends on the Land Market in Ukraine page.
Ukrainians concluded a record 131,300 transactions last year. This is 13% more than in 2024. At the same time, the total value of transactions jumped by 43%: from 12.5 billion UAH to 18 billion UAH. While in 2024 a hectare of land cost an average of 47,300 UAH, in 2025 it was already 61,800 UAH. Thus, land prices rose by nearly a third over the course of the year.
The land market continued to rise in price in 2026 as well. In just the first four months, Ukrainians concluded 39,797 transactions totaling 6.17 billion UAH. Although the number of transactions decreased by 5% compared to the same period last year, the cost of land continued to rise rapidly, reaching 75,100 UAH/ha. This is 26% more than a year earlier.
It is worth noting that while prices rose, the area of land sold decreased. While 92,900 hectares were sold in January–April 2025, this year the figure was 82,100 hectares.
January has so far been the most expensive month of 2026—at that time, the average price per hectare reached 95,700 UAH. Buyers were most active in March, when 12,276 deals were concluded.
Traditionally, prices vary significantly by region. The most expensive land is currently in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, where a hectare costs an average of 179,600 UAH. The price is nearly the same in Kyiv Oblast—178,200 UAH/ha. The top five most expensive regions also include Lviv Oblast (153,400 UAH/ha), Ternopil Oblast (120,000 UAH/ha), and Vinnytsia Oblast (93,400 UAH/ha).
In contrast, the lowest prices are found in the frontline and southern regions. In Donetsk Oblast, a hectare of land costs 30,700 UAH, in Kherson Oblast—38,500 UAH/ha, and in Mykolaiv Oblast—44,100 UAH/ha. The regions with the lowest land prices also include Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (46,500 UAH/ha) and Odesa Oblast (47,800 UAH/ha).
Land is being sold most actively in the central and northern regions of the country. Thus, the highest number of transactions since the beginning of the year was recorded in Vinnytsia Oblast—3,416. Next are Chernihiv (3,279), Sumy (3,261), Poltava (2,963), and Khmelnytskyi (2,905) regions.
https://opendatabot.ua/analytics/landmarket-2026
According to preliminary data, Germany set a new record for the number of citizenships granted in 2025: at least 309,852 people in 14 federal states received German passports, reports RND, citing an investigation by Welt am Sonntag.
Official federal statistics for 2025 have not yet been published, so these are preliminary figures. The tally does not yet include complete data from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, and for several states, information from cities and districts was used. Even in this incomplete form, the figure already exceeds the previous record set in 2024, when approximately 291,955 foreigners received German citizenship.
The main reasons for the increase were the reform of the citizenship law and the migration waves of the previous decade. Since June 2024, Germany has allowed naturalization after five years of residence instead of the previous eight, and in cases of exceptional integration achievements—in some instances after three years. In addition, the new legislation generally allowed individuals to retain their previous citizenship, which sharply increased the appeal of a German passport for citizens of countries where renouncing their first citizenship had been a deterrent.
According to official Destatis data for 2024, Syrians constituted the largest group of new German citizens—83,150 people, or 28% of all naturalizations. They were followed by citizens of Turkey—22,525, Iraq—13,545, Russia—12,980, and Afghanistan—10,085. The number of naturalizations of Russians rose particularly sharply: from approximately 1,995 in 2023 to 12,980 in 2024, a trend Destatis attributes primarily to the option to retain previous citizenship.
In 2025, according to German media reports, Syrians, Turks, and Russians were again among the largest groups of new citizens. In North Rhine-Westphalia, 3,841 Russian citizens received German passports, a 67.4% increase from the previous year. This state has become one of the largest centers for naturalization in the country: in 2025, 76,156 citizenships were issued there.
Ukrainians are not yet the main driver of the record wave of naturalizations, but their share could rise sharply starting in 2027.
According to the Bundestag, 8,920 Ukrainian citizens received German citizenship in 2024, placing Ukrainians among the top 10 groups of new German citizens. There are currently no separate official federal figures for Ukrainians for 2025 in publicly available statistics.
German municipalities are already anticipating a new surge in applications from Ukrainians. The first major wave of refugees from Ukraine arrived in Germany after February 24, 2022, so by spring 2027, some Ukrainians will have reached the five-year residency requirement necessary to apply for citizenship.
At the same time, RND notes that temporary protection status does not in itself confer an automatic legal entitlement to naturalization, but the possibility of dual citizenship makes applying more attractive.
The Ukrainian community in Germany has become one of the country’s largest foreign groups. According to Destatis, as of November 30, 2025, 1.158 million Ukrainian citizens were living in Germany—more than seven times the number before the start of the full-scale war. By the end of 2024, Ukrainians were the second-largest group of foreigners in Germany after Turkish citizens.
