Imports of goods into Ukraine from January through August 2026 increased by 26% in monetary terms compared to the same period in 2025—from $52.6 billion to $66.3 billion, according to data from the Telegram channel of the State Customs Service (SCS) of Ukraine.
Exports, however, despite a 4% increase in January–July, slowed in January–August and remained nearly at last year’s level—$26.6 billion compared to $26.6 billion last year.
Meanwhile, taxable imports totaled $46.8 billion, accounting for 71% of the total volume of imported goods.
“The tax burden per kilogram of taxable imports in January–August 2025 was $0.6/kg,” the agency added.
The largest volumes of goods were imported into Ukraine from China ($19.6 billion), Poland ($6.3 billion), and Germany ($4.4 billion).
The largest exports from Ukraine went to Poland ($3.2 billion), Turkey ($2.1 billion), and Germany ($1.7 billion).
Of the total volume of goods imported in January–August 2026, 73% consisted of machinery, equipment, and transportation vehicles—$29.9 billion (customs clearance of these goods generated 168.1 billion UAH in budget revenue, accounting for 29% of customs revenue), chemical industry products—$9 billion (74.9 billion
UAH was paid to the budget, or 13% of customs revenue), and fuel and energy products—$9.5 billion (197 billion UAH was paid, accounting for 34% of customs revenue).
The top three most exported goods from Ukraine were: food products—$15.4 billion; metals and metal products—$2.7 billion; and machinery, equipment, and transportation vehicles—$2.4 billion.
In the first 8 months of 2026, customs clearance of exports subject to export duties generated 1.1 billion UAH in revenue for the budget, compared to 174.2 million UAH during the same period last year.
As previously reported, since July of this year, operations at the ports of “Greater Odesa” and their terminals have become significantly more difficult due to intensified attacks on ships and port infrastructure.
Ukraine’s international reserves amounted to $48.7 billion at the end of August 2026, which is approximately $8.6 billion, or 15%, less than at the beginning of the year, according to an analysis by the Experts Club information and analytical center.
As of January 1, reserves stood at a record level of $57.3 billion, and by the beginning of February they had risen to $57.7 billion. After that, they declined for four consecutive months: to $54.8 billion as of March 1, $52 billion as of April 1, $48.2 billion as of May 1, and $45.7 billion as of June 1.
The main factors behind the decline were significant foreign exchange interventions by the National Bank, government debt payments, and uneven inflows of international financial assistance.
The situation changed sharply in June, when Ukraine received large tranches of external financing. Reserves increased by 12.1% over the month — to $51.27 billion. About $11.3 billion was credited to the government’s foreign currency accounts, including $6.82 billion from the EU and almost $4.5 billion through the World Bank.
In July, reserves remained almost unchanged, but in August they again decreased by approximately $2.5 billion, or 5%, to $48.7 billion.
In August, the NBU sold about $4.82 billion on the foreign exchange market, while $927.3 million was credited to the government’s foreign currency accounts. Ukraine also directed $721.8 million toward servicing and repaying government debt in foreign currency and paid $258.2 million to the IMF.
Net international reserves declined even more sharply over the month — by 6.9%, to $33.8 billion.
At the same time, the current level of reserves remains approximately 5.8% higher than a year ago, when they stood at about $46 billion as of September 1, 2025.
Experts Club founder and economist Maksym Urakin previously emphasized that the absolute size of reserves should not be regarded as a guarantee of currency security.
“Reserves at the level of $51.2 billion remain a significant foreign exchange buffer, but the absolute figure itself should not create an impression of complete protection. The sustainability of reserves depends on the regularity of international financing, the volume of NBU interventions, debt payments, and the economy’s ability to increase export revenues,” Urakin noted.
According to the NBU, the current level of reserves remains sufficient and provides financing for approximately four months of future imports.
Ukrainians demonstrate strong demand for freedom of speech, personal autonomy and protection of private property, while at the same time, on issues of economic and social policy, a significant part of society expects an active role from the state, according to the results of the nationwide sociological study “Values of Freedom in Ukraine,” presented by the International Liberty Institute (ILI).
According to the study, 85% of respondents supported citizens’ right to criticize the authorities without fear of persecution, while 67% supported guaranteeing freedom of expression even for views that may be considered unacceptable or offensive. Almost half of respondents – 49% – opposed internet censorship even under wartime conditions, while 57% opposed punishment by the state for statements or opinions if they do not pose a direct physical threat.
“Almost 85% of Ukrainians, if we combine the responses ‘completely agree’ and ‘rather agree,’ support the right to publicly criticize the authorities without fear of persecution. At the same time, around two-thirds believe that freedom of speech should be guaranteed even for views that are perceived as wrong or offensive. For us, this is one of the clearest indicators of society’s demand for personal freedom,” Director of the International Institute for Liberty Mykhailo Kamchatnyi said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Wednesday.
Another 68% of respondents opposed a situation in which the majority can impose its values on a minority. ILI believes that the combination of these indicators demonstrates a clear demand for limiting state interference in the sphere of personal beliefs and expression.
At the same time, respondents’ ideological self-identification proved to be significantly less liberal. A total of 52% primarily defined themselves as free individuals with their own values who are personally responsible for their lives, while 31% primarily identified themselves as citizens of Ukraine. Only 13% described themselves as supporters of liberal or libertarian views, while 46.5% gravitate toward ideologies that envisage a more active role for the state. Almost half – 48% – reported that their political and ideological beliefs had changed or been formed under the influence of the war and its consequences.
A separate section of the study concerned language policy. According to the data presented, 65% of respondents named Ukrainian as their native language, 23.6% identified themselves as bilingual, and 11% named Russian as their native language. At the same time, 76% supported the mandatory use of the Ukrainian language in the public state sphere, while about two-thirds agreed that people should have the right to communicate in their native language in public life without state restrictions.
The human right to self-defense also received considerable support. About half of respondents supported the right to legally carry weapons for self-defense, while around 80% supported the right to use them to protect life and private property in the event of an unlawful intrusion into a home.
More than 80% of respondents agreed that even during martial law the authorities should not go beyond the limits established by the Constitution. A total of 53% supported a substantial revision of the current Constitution or the adoption of a new one. Some 77% of respondents agreed that closing media outlets or blocking internet resources may be justified only if cooperation with the enemy or coordination of military strikes has been proven.
One of the most sensitive issues was the principle of staffing the Armed Forces. A total of 46% of respondents supported an exclusively professional or voluntary army, while almost half favored a mixed model combining a professional contract-based core with mandatory training for young people in peacetime. The traditional mobilization model was supported by 3% of respondents, while more than 80% approved attracting professional military personnel through high salaries and benefits.
“We see that the traditional mobilization model does not enjoy citizens’ support – only around 3% of respondents chose it. Instead, society is much more oriented either toward a professional volunteer army or toward a mixed model with a professional core and training of citizens in peacetime. More than 80% also support attracting military personnel through competitive salaries and a system of benefits,” Kamchatnyi said.
In the economic part of the study, society proved to be significantly more polarized. A total of 44% of respondents supported an expanded role for the state in the economy and in providing social services, including 29% who took the strongest position in favor of active state regulation. At the same time, 44% of respondents said that they rely primarily on their own efforts to ensure their well-being, while 43.5% expect the state not to interfere with their personal risks.
ILI President Yaroslav Romanchuk, in turn, drew attention to the fact that Ukrainians’ attitudes toward private property and entrepreneurship are more market-oriented than their formal ideological self-identification. In particular, 69% of respondents demonstrated an understanding of the concept of private property, while almost 70% agreed with the statement that excessive bureaucracy and regulation hinder business development.
“Ukrainians as a whole do not reject private property – on the contrary, in many responses we see an understanding that a private owner manages an enterprise more efficiently than a manager appointed by the state. This is fundamentally important for future economic policy: the country’s strategic development should not automatically mean the dominance of state ownership. Private initiative, competition and protected owners’ rights are needed,” Romanchuk stressed.
He also linked problems in the business environment to excessive discretionary powers granted to officials.
“When an official, law enforcement officer or inspector is given the opportunity to interpret a vaguely written rule at their own discretion, a source of discretion arises, and with it a corruption risk. Almost 70% of respondents directly say that excessive bureaucracy and regulation are a brake on business development. Therefore, laws must be as clear as possible and leave as little room as possible for arbitrary interpretation,” the ILI president added.
According to Romanchuk, the results regarding knowledge of economic concepts also indicate the need to update economic education. A total of 46% of respondents had heard or read about Marxism, 12% about monetarism, and 4% about the Austrian School of Economics. A free-market economic model without state intervention was chosen as the most desirable for Ukraine by 18%, a model of active state regulation by 10%, and socialism by 6.5%.
Romanchuk separately advocated preserving and developing the institution of FOP individual entrepreneurship as a form not only of taxation, but also of self-employment and entrepreneurial culture. He noted that microbusiness should be regarded as an important component of citizens’ economic and social independence.
In the social sphere, the ILI president called for a transition toward more targeted assistance that would take into account not only a person’s current income, but also savings, assets, health status and other criteria of need. In his opinion, after the war, the issue of combining the state’s substantial social obligations with the need to preserve conditions for business development will become one of the key issues for fiscal policy.
“Ukraine will have to find a balance between the needs of people who will require social support and rehabilitation and the economy’s ability to finance this. If social obligations are formed without taking into account the tax burden that business is capable of bearing, we will get neither investment nor modernization. Therefore, assistance must be as targeted and transparent as possible and tied to the real needs of a specific person,” Romanchuk stressed.
He also advocated developing alternatives to an exclusively state pension system and making broader use of funded mechanisms, while in education and healthcare he called for competition between public and private service providers. According to Romanchuk, a market model in these sectors does not imply the state’s complete withdrawal from financing, but primarily a change in the mechanisms for distributing funds and greater accountability of providers for results.
During the discussion following the presentation, Romanchuk separately drew attention to the connection between freedom, responsibility and the quality of legal institutions.
“Freedom does not exist without responsibility. If the right to private property formally exists, but no one bears responsibility for violating it, then in practice that property is not protected. The same applies in other areas: a right works only when there is a clear mechanism of responsibility for its violation,” he summarized.
The study covered issues of personal freedom, the state and politics, the economy, the social sphere, private property and entrepreneurship, taxes, elections, military service, education, healthcare, pension provision, individual responsibility and social solidarity.
New Image and Marketing Group conducted the sociological survey in July 2026 at the request of the International Liberty Institute. A total of 1,600 respondents who were living in Ukrainian government-controlled territory at the time of the study took part in the online survey.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH, ILI, PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, PRIVATE PROPERTY, SOCIOLOGY, UKRAINE
Ukrainian steelmaking companies reduced pig iron production by 14.8% in January–August of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 4.350 million metric tons.
According to data from the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association, 257,100 metric tons of pig iron were produced in August, 432,200 metric tons in July, 670,600 metric tons in June, 634,400 metric tons in May, in April—554 thousand metric tons, in March—690.2 thousand metric tons, in February—561.9 thousand metric tons, and in January—549.9 thousand metric tons.
In 2025, Ukraine’s steel companies increased pig iron production by 11.2% compared to 2024, reaching 7.884 million metric tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased pig iron production by 18.1% compared to 2023, reaching 7.090 million metric tons. In 2023, pig iron production fell by 6.1% to 6.003 million metric tons, and in 2022, it fell by 69.8% to 6.391 million metric tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.165 million metric tons of pig iron were produced, or 103.6% of the 2020 level.
According to preliminary data, Ukrainian steelmakers reduced their production of total rolled steel by 15.6% in January–August of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 3.592 million metric tons.
According to information from the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association, 269,500 metric tons of rolled steel were produced in August, 382,700 metric tons in July, 599,800 metric tons in June, 537,800 metric tons in May, in April—460,800 metric tons, in March—544,500 metric tons, in February—390,300 metric tons, and in January—406,400 metric tons.
In 2025, Ukraine’s steel companies increased their production of general-purpose rolled steel by 4.8% compared to 2024, reaching 6.521 million metric tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased its production of general-purpose rolled steel by 15.8% compared to 2023—to 6.222 million metric tons from 5.372 million metric tons. In 2023, total rolled steel production rose by 0.4% to 5.372 million metric tons, while in 2022, it fell by 72% to 5.350 million metric tons.
In 2021, before the war, 19.079 million metric tons of rolled steel were produced, or 103.5% of the 2020 level.
METALLURGY, PRODUCTION, ROLLED STEEL, UKRAINE, UKRMETALLURGPROM
Ukrainian steelmakers reduced steel production by 12.5% in January–August of this year compared to the same period last year, down to 4.3 million metric tons.
According to data from the “Ukrmetallurgprom” association, 277,000 metric tons of steel were produced in August, 457,000 metric tons in July, 690,800 metric tons in June, 629,400 metric tons in May, in April—517,300 metric tons, in March—702,300 metric tons, in February—515,000 metric tons, and in January—511,100 metric tons.
In 2025, Ukraine’s steel companies reduced steel production by 2.2% compared to 2024—to 7.409 million metric tons.
In 2024, Ukraine increased steel production by 21.6% compared to 2023—to 7.575 million metric tons. In 2023, steel production fell by 0.6% to 6.228 million metric tons, and in 2022, it fell by 70.7% to 6.263 million metric tons.
In 2021, before the war, 21.366 million metric tons of steel were produced, or 103.6% of the 2020 level.
