Politics & Economics

In January-June 2025, Ukraine imported USD 4.262 billion worth of agricultural products, which is 10% higher compared to the same period last year. The relevant statement was made by the National Research Center ‘Institute of Agrarian Economics’ (IAE), an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “According to the data from the State Customs Service, in January-June 2025, Ukraine imported USD 4,262 million worth of agricultural products, which is USD 398 million higher compared to the first half of 2024,” Leading Research Scientist of the Department for Agricultural Production Economy and International Integration at the National Research Center ‘Institute of Agrarian Economics’ Bohdan Dukhnytskyi told. In…

Unmanned aerial vehicles are one of the top priorities for additional funding of Ukraine's Defense Forces. Private investment can play a critical role in scaling up defense manufacturing, especially if foreign governments provide protection against wartime risks. Dan Rice, an American military expert, West Point graduate, and current president of the American University Kyiv, said this in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform. " Drone technology is clearly reshaping the warfare. The militaries and non-state actors all over the world are learning from what's going on in Ukraine – both from the Russian side but also from the Ukrainian side. Unfortunately,…

Italian investigative journalists reveal schemes involving Russian Speaker Matviyenko and oligarchs Independent Italian investigative journalists have uncovered illicit asset ownership schemes by Russian officials and oligarchs in Italy. Among the figures exposed are the Chair of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, her son, sanctioned billionaire Konstantin Nikolayev, airport magnate Roman Trotsenko, and Dmitry Medvedev's close associate Ilya Yeliseev. Despite being under EU and Swiss sanctions, Matviyenko drew the attention of European media after arriving in Geneva on July 30 to attend the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (EU delegations boycotted her address). Just days later, on August…

Kyiv has approached Warsaw with a request for a EUR 120 million loan to purchase military products from Poland's defense industry. Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, said this in an interview with Ukrinform. According to the foreign minister, Polish-made weapons — particularly the Piorun MANPADS and Krab self-propelled howitzers — have proven highly effective and battle-tested, which is why Ukraine is ready to acquire such systems. "This was one of the topics discussed with Mr. Sikorski, specifically the possibility of securing a loan. Using this credit, we are ready to purchase products from Poland's defense sector. Poland has…

New export quotas for Ukrainian farm produce are harmful not only to Ukrainian producers, but also European businesses and consumers The recent statement by Polish logistics companies highlighting significant losses being suffered by Polish carriers due to the lack of grain from Ukraine confirms the obvious: the European Union’s decision to eliminate trade preferences for our agricultural exports, along with the restrictions on merchandise imports from Ukraine imposed by some of neighboring countries negatively affect all participants in trade. As a result, instead of expanding together into third markets by combining Ukraine’s and European Union’s capacities and competitive advantages, each…

More than 170 Ukrainian manufacturers from the Brave1 defense innovation cluster have begun cooperation with Axon, a global technology leader in public safety. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science, and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced this on Facebook, according to Ukrinform. Fedorov held a meeting with Axon CEO Rick Smith, as well as Aaditya Devarakonda, head of Dedrone — a key part of Axon's ecosystem. The discussions focused on defense innovations in the areas of drones, electronic warfare systems, and advanced electronic technologies for national security. Read also: Ukrainian fiber-optic drones reach strike…

The amendments recently proposed by the Ukrainian government to the Ukraine Plan under the Ukraine Facility financial assistance program are driven by objective circumstances and are foreseen in the Regulation. European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier told this to Ukrinform. "Amendments to the Ukraine Plan due to objective circumstances are explicitly envisioned under the Ukraine Facility Regulation," Mercier said. He explained that when the Ukraine Plan was first assessed by the Council of the European Union in 2024, it was based on a scenario that the conflict would come to an end by end-2024. Mercier added that this was also the…

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved amendments to Ukraine’s strategic plan for the Ukraine Facility. This was announced by Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksii Sobolev on Saturday on Facebook, according to Ukrinform. “Two years have passed since we began preparing the Ukraine Plan. Now it’s time to revise our commitments—adjusting deadlines by extending some and shortening others, adding references to specific EU legal acts, and clarifying the wording of certain steps,” Sobolev stated. He noted that the possibility of amending the plan had been discussed with the European Commission from the outset. Read also: Svyrydenko on moratorium on…

The European Union must find a way to support the democratic aspirations of European countries, so the future of Ukraine, the Western Balkans, Moldova, and in the future, Georgia too, is in the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this in her State of the Union address at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, September 13, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "[We] will help build Ukraine's future to rebuild a modern and prosperous country. And that future is clear to see. This House has said it out loud: The future of Ukraine…

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva and Estonian Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Kyllike Sillaste-Elling have met and discussed the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and bringing Russia to justice. The relevant statement was made by the Office of the President of Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. The interlocutors noted Estonia’s active efforts as part of the Core Group working on the establishment of a special tribunal intended to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. Zhovkva expressed gratitude to the Estonian side for their leadership in the development of national legislation regarding the…