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.
Wholesale trade led the way in terms of net growth in the number of companies in Ukraine during the first half of 2026, according to Opendatabot. The number of legal entities in the wholesale trade sector increased by 2,304 thousand over the six-month period.
The information technology sector took second place, with a net increase of 1,254 thousand companies. In the real estate sector, the number of companies increased by 1,104 thousand.
The top five sectors with the largest growth also included non-profit organizations, which increased by 859, and building and grounds maintenance companies, which increased by 824.
At the same time, the number of legal entities decreased in a number of sectors. The largest decline was recorded in public administration and defense—a decrease of 289 companies.
In the education sector, the number of legal entities decreased by 282; in veterinary services, by 20; in water supply, by 14; and in the creative, arts, and entertainment sectors, by 11.
In total, 19,758 thousand new companies were registered in Ukraine from January through June 2026, while the number of business closures stood at 6,563 thousand. The net increase in businesses reached 13,195 thousand.
The number of registered marriages in Ukraine in the first half of this year rose by 15.9% compared to the same period last year—to 79,520—driven by increases in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Lviv regions, the Ministry of Justice reported on its website.
According to the ministry’s data, at the same time, the number of divorces decreased by 4.1%—to 12,180, including those granted by court order—which fell by 9.3% to 460.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the number of registered marriages in January–June of this year increased nearly 2.7-fold—to 15,550; in the Lviv region, it rose by 88.2%, to 8,910; and in Kyiv, it increased by 38.3%, to 19,930.
According to the Ministry of Justice, Kyiv and these two regions together accounted for 55.8% of all marriages, whereas in the first half of last year, they accounted for only 36.4%.
The largest decline in the number of registered marriages was recorded in the Donetsk region—a 2.4-fold decrease to 0.23 thousand.
In the Kherson region, the decline was 26.7%—to 0.16 thousand, which is the lowest figure among all regions.
In other regions, the number of registered marriages fell by between 24.6% (Chernihiv Oblast) and 12% (Ternopil Oblast).
As for divorces, Ternopil, Zakarpattia, and Chernihiv Oblasts saw an increase ranging from 16.6% to 11%, while the largest decrease in this figure—excluding the frontline regions of Kherson and Donetsk—occurred in Zhytomyr and Poltava regions, by 19.6% and 18.9%, respectively.
In the Donetsk and Kherson regions, the number of registered divorces fell by 43.4% and 60%—to 56 and 20, respectively—while in Kyiv, it rose by 1.2%—to 1,800.
demographics, divorce, marriage, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, UKRAINE
The median price of apartments in Ukraine rose by 3% between January and June 2026—to $61,000—with Uzhhorod nearly catching up to the capital in terms of housing prices, according to an OLX study.
According to the platform’s analytical center, the apartment market in Ukraine showed moderate growth in the first half of 2026. The number of listings increased by 4%, and the average number of responses per listing rose by 3%; the median price of apartments in dollars increased by 3% and stood at $61,090 as of June.
The most significant increase in the price of one-bedroom apartments on the secondary market was recorded in Vinnytsia (+11%), Khmelnytskyi (+9%), as well as Chernivtsi and Zaporizhzhia (both +7%). Price declines were observed in Kherson (-13%), Rivne (-4%), and Kyiv (-3%).
Kyiv has so far managed to retain first place in terms of real estate prices ($75,040 median price for a one-bedroom apartment), followed by Uzhhorod ($74,749) in second place and Lviv ($73,805) in third. The lowest prices were in Kherson ($13,235), Zaporizhzhia ($15,935), and Mykolaiv ($20,217).
In Ukraine’s largest cities, the trend in one-bedroom apartment prices varied by district. The most consistent price growth was observed in Odesa, where apartment prices rose by 2–4% across all districts. The most expensive apartments were in the Primorsky District ($65,449), while the most affordable were in the Peresypsky District ($32,388).
In Kharkiv, the largest increases were recorded in the Industrial (+15%, to $23,678), Slobidskyi (+13%, to $24,363), and Osnovyanskyi (+11%, to $34,403) districts.
In Lviv, most districts also saw an increase in housing prices, with the most significant increases occurring in the Zaliznychny (+12%, to $72,874) and Frankivskyi (+9%, to $75,320) districts.
At the same time, prices in Kyiv mostly remained stable or declined, with the sharpest drop in the Dniprovskyi district (-10%). Pecherskyi remains the most expensive ($163,134), while Desnianskyi is the most affordable ($44,859).
The trend in Dnipro was the most mixed: depending on the district, price changes ranged from +17% in the Soborny district ($43,926) to -22% in the Shevchenkivskyi district ($31,998).
If you are creating your own application and registering a corporate developer account in the Apple App Store or Google Play, you will most likely be required to provide a D-U-N-S Number when completing the documentation. For many Ukrainian technology companies, this requirement comes as a surprise at the final stage of launching a product.
A D-U-N-S Number, also known as a DUNS number, is a unique nine-digit identifier of a legal entity in the international Dun & Bradstreet system. It allows digital platforms, banks, investors and foreign partners to compare information about a company and verify that it is genuinely registered, has a confirmed address and a defined legal status.
Apple requires a D-U-N-S Number when registering a company or another organisation in the Apple Developer Program. The corporation uses it to verify the applicant’s legal name, address and status.
The company must be an independent legal entity capable of entering into agreements with Apple. A trademark, project name, branch or conventional commercial name is not suitable for such registration. It is the official name of the legal entity that will be displayed in the App Store as the seller of the application.
In addition to a D-U-N-S Number, the organisation will need:
If the application is registered by an individual or an independent developer, Apple does not require a D-U-N-S Number. However, in this case, the developer’s personal name, rather than the name of the company or brand, will be indicated in the App Store as the seller.
Google also requires a D-U-N-S Number when creating a developer account on behalf of an organisation. The number is used to verify the company together with the Google payment profile data, official registration documents and the identity document of the authorised representative.
An organisational account is recommended for companies that release commercial products. For financial applications, cryptocurrency wallets, healthcare services, VPN applications and government digital products, Google explicitly requires registration on behalf of an organisation.
During registration, the data in Google Payments, the developer profile and the Dun & Bradstreet database must match. Differences in the spelling of the company name, address, postal code or legal form may result in additional verification or a delay in activating the account.
A D-U-N-S Number is not a licence, quality certificate or guarantee that an application will be approved. Apple and Google independently verify the software product, compliance with platform rules, security and developer information.
However, obtaining the number creates an international company profile that can be used far beyond the App Store and Google Play. Foreign corporations use D-U-N-S when registering suppliers, checking counterparties, granting commercial credit and organising international procurement. The identifier may also be required during negotiations with investors, banks, distributors and major customers.
“A D-U-N-S Number gives a company the opportunity to be recognisable in the international environment and reduces the barrier of first contact,” said Maksym Urakin, Director for Development and Marketing at Interfax-Ukraine and Head of the D&B-Interfax-Ukraine business unit.
According to him, it is particularly important for Ukrainian IT companies to create a verifiable digital profile in advance. A developer may have a high-quality product and a strong team, but for an American platform, it is initially an unknown legal entity whose data must be verified.
A D-U-N-S Number helps link the application not only to the account of a specific programmer, but also to an officially registered Ukrainian company. This is important for further scaling, attracting investment, selling corporate subscriptions and entering the markets of the United States, the EU, the Middle East and Asia.
Before submitting an application, the company should prepare the official name of the legal entity in Ukrainian and English, its registered address, contact telephone number, information about the manager, legal form, registration date and information on the number of employees.
Before applying for a new number, it is necessary to check whether a D-U-N-S Number has already been assigned to the company. If the number exists but the profile contains outdated information, it is better to update the data rather than create a new record.
Particular attention should be paid to the English spelling of the company name and address. This information must be displayed identically in D&B, registration documents, Apple Developer, Google Payments and on the corporate website.
Obtaining the number does not always happen instantly. Apple recommends allowing up to five business days for the assignment of a D-U-N-S Number through its associated process and up to two additional days for the updated data to be transferred to its system. In other cases, international processing of the application may take several weeks, so it is better to begin the procedure before the planned publication of the application.
The official representative of Dun & Bradstreet in the Ukrainian market is the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Its specialised D&B-Interfax-Ukraine unit helps companies obtain a D-U-N-S Number and work with the international business data database.
Specialists can help check whether a number has already been assigned, prepare information about the legal entity, submit an application and eliminate discrepancies in the corporate profile. At the same time, the final decision on registering a developer account is made directly by Apple or Google.
For information on obtaining a D-U-N-S Number, companies may contact the specialised D&B resource at dnb.ua or call +38 (044) 270-65-74.
For Ukrainian developers, a D-U-N-S Number is becoming a practical element of entering the international digital market. The sooner a company brings its legal documents, website, corporate email and international business profile into alignment, the lower the risk of delays when launching an application in the App Store or Google Play.
