Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent, reporting on Ukrainian companies, investment, energy, corruption, and reforms. Based in Kyiv, Dominic joined the Kyiv Independent team in 2023, having previously worked as a freelancer. He has written articles for a number of publications, including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.
The Khortytsia Distillery, launched in 2003 by Global Spirits, a Ukrainian firm headquartered in the U.S., was hit four times, sparking a three-hour-long fire, the company’s press service said.
With Russia continuing to wage an unprecedented campaign against Ukrainian businesses, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry has downgraded its forecast for the country’s economic growth this year from 1.3% to 0.5%, as Moscow targets key industries such as steel production, e-commerce, and ports.
Peter Novak, a Slovak with 25 years of experience in the IT and banking sectors, replaced former board member head Mykola Hladyschenko after he was officially dismissed from his position on Aug. 21 by the government due to his suspected involvement in a money laundering scheme.
As Ukraine captures global attention with dramatic strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure and e-commerce giants Wildberries and Ozon, Russia has unleashed its most devastating campaign yet against Ukraine’s economic infrastructure.
French President Emmanuel Macron also agreed to help Kyiv in its communications with international partners that have supplies of Patriot air defense systems, which Zelensky has repeatedly said are critical for protecting Ukrainian civilians from Russian ballistic missiles.
Key findings:
* A Ukrainian state-owned bank, seized from a Russian owner in 2023, was allegedly turned into a tool for insider corruption.
* A senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Iryna Mudra, pressed to install a favored, conflicted candidate on the bank's oversight board.
* Two officials who vetted him warned he had ties to a previous bank failure and a conflict of interest, but he was appointed anyway.
* The bank's rushed, low-scrutiny nationalization made it easier to quietly
Ukraine's Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said the goal is ambitious and will involve state companies and private businesses, calling for all ministries, government agencies and communities to work together as a "single system."
Germany will also provide an additional 10 million euros ($11.6 million) to NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package for decentralized energy supplies for the military, equipment for military hospitals, and urgently needed air defense equipment.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) is searching Mudra's premises, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 19.
The attack damaged at least one warehouse at the TIS terminal in Ukraine's Pivdennyi (Southern) Port complex, an agriculture-sector executive with knowledge of the matter told the Kyiv Independent under the condition of anonymity.
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Ukraine's government wants to sell thousands of state-owned assets that are overwhelmingly unprofitable, inefficient, or nonoperational — sometimes all three. But it's facing a problem. Low prices aren’t enough to attract the foreign investors Ukraine wants most, particularly those from Europe.
As Ukraine positions itself as an investment opportunity rather than a charity case to foreign partners, the country's State P
Smoke billowing over the Black Sea is now an everyday sight in Odesa Oblast as Russia continues to strike ports and vessels in Ukrainian waters. But it’s on land that the impact of Russia’s campaign is most keenly felt, with Ukraine facing an economic crisis unless the country finds a solution soon.
The biggest victims are Ukraine’s agricultural and steel firms — both key economic drivers — which are cut off from crucial trading routes via the Black Sea. Ukraine could lose 1%-1.5% of its gross
In this report, the Kyiv Independent's Dominic Culverwell and Nick Allard travel to Ukraine's agricultural heartland, documenting how two brothers survived Russian occupation, rebuilt their farm from scratch, and continue to harvest under the increasing threat of Russian FPV drones.
The grain corridor — a Black Sea shipping route that handles 90% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports — has not been officially closed, but it is under enormous strain as Russia steps up missile attacks on Odesa Oblast, Oleh Khomenko, CEO of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), told the Kyiv Independent on July 24.