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Liliane Bivings
Business EditorLiliane is the business editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked at the Kyiv Post as a staff writer covering business news and then as business editor. Liliane holds a master’s degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian affairs with a focus on Ukrainian studies at Columbia University. From 2017-2020 she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, after which she interned with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Liliane is the author of the Ukraine Business Roundup newsletter, which is sent out every Tuesday.
Articles
Exclusive: Ukraine pitches US modernizes its largest oil refinery as part of minerals deal
Projects Kyiv has submitted to the U.S. for consideration as part of a profit-sharing deal for Ukraine's resources include a shelf and deepwater project and an oil refinery that comes under frequent attack by Russia, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko told the Kyiv Independent in an interview published on July 7.
After months of hard-fought negotiations around the investment agreement — known more widely as the "minerals deal" for its focus on Ukraine's critical minerals — the two sid
‘Neither side wasted time' — Ukraine's economy minister on minerals deal negotiations with Trump’s ‘business-oriented’ administration
Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko says her task is simple — to get the investment fund behind the closely watched minerals deal with the U.S. off the ground, and prove its detractors wrong.
"There are so many criticisms from different parties that this fund is just a piece of paper we can put on the shelves — that it won't be operational," Svyrydenko, who is also Ukraine's first deputy prime minister, tells the Kyiv Independent at Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers on July 4, the morning
EXCLUSIVE: Ukraine economy minister breaks down US minerals deal
The Kyiv Independent's business editor Liliane Bivings sits down with Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko to discuss the U.S.-Ukraine "minerals deal" and address the myths surrounding it.
In wartime Ukraine, a university grows — and reclaims a space once reserved for the corrupt
Once the playground of disgraced Ukrainian politicians, a golf club in Kyiv’s Soviet-era Obolon neighborhood is now set to become the new campus of the Kyiv School of Economics, which last month bought the site for $18 million as part of a $40 million investment — the largest private investment in education in Ukraine’s independent history.
At the opening picnic on the grounds last Sunday, over 2,000 students, alumni, and locals gathered on a territory once reserved for political elites, includ
Ukraine, US sign additional agreements for minerals deal, Economy Ministry says
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
‘Clearly, Ukraine is holding cards’ — political economist on why US pressure won’t force Kyiv to concede
If Ukraine’s military resistance to Russia’s full-scale invasion stunned the world, its economic resilience in the face of a larger, better-equipped enemy is a lesser-known story of the war.
A combination of rapid state expansion, prudent monetary policy, active civil society in Ukraine, and crucial external funding from foreign partners since 2022 have helped Kyiv avoid the kind of catastrophic state collapse a war can trigger.
As a result, Ukraine is far from “doomed to defeat” — even if the
Ukraine Business Roundup — Making sense of the minerals deal
The following is the May 6, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
As I’m sure you saw, the U.S. and Ukraine finally signed the minerals agreement after months and months of back and forth and tense negotiations. Most people are in agreement that this version of the deal is much fairer than earlier versions observers called “colonial” and “exploitative,” but that doens’t me
Ukraine Business Roundup — How Russia steals Ukrainian coal
The following is the April 29, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
The following is an excerpt from our latest investigation by investigative reporter Alisa Yurchenko.
On March 29, the sanctioned Russia-flagged vessel Sv. Nikolay quietly docked at the Algerian port of Anaba near the coal terminal, waiting to be unloaded.
The metallurgical coke the ship was carrying — a
Ukraine Business Roundup — The mining company losing faith in Trump's minerals deal
The following is the April 22, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
As a U.S.-proposed deal for Ukraine’s natural resources stalled amid months of tense negotiations, some in Ukraine who were initially optimistic about the agreement are starting to lose hope.
At least that’s how one graphite mine in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad Oblast feels about it, business reporter Do
Ukraine Business Roundup — Minerals deal saga continues
The following is the April 16, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
If you’re getting tired of the constant back and forth of the minerals deal, so am I, and this last week has offered little relief.
Ater a Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington last week on April 11 for what Kyiv called “technical consultations” on a deal to give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minera
Ukraine Business Roundup — More wartime M&A deals
The following is the March 25, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
Ukraine’s largest telecom operator, Kyivstar, signed an agreement to acquire Uklon, a leading ride-hailing and delivery platform in the country, for $155.2 million, Kyistar’s parent company Veon announced last week.
Forbes Ukraine first valued the deal somewhere between $40–80 million. Then, earlier this
Ukraine Business Roundup — McDonald's and DOGE in Ukraine
The following is the March 18, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
I’ve always wanted an excuse to talk to this newsletter audience about McDonald’s in Ukraine and now I have it.
This past week, McDonald’s announced it would be gradually reintroducing its breakfast menu in some cities after pausing the options at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than three
Meet the Ukrainian fashion brand that's making heritage trendy
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series of profiles highlighting successful Ukrainian startups and businesses. The series is funded by the regional investment fund Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF) and created in partnership with Spend With Ukraine, a non-profit organization that launched a platform to showcase businesses with Ukrainian roots and provide one more meaningful way to support Ukraine – by choosing to spend with Ukraine. The series’ sponsors are not involved in
Senator Mark Kelly gets rid of his Tesla after Musk calls him 'traitor' for visiting Ukraine
Senator Mark Kelly said he was getting rid of his Tesla Model S after billionaire Elon Musk called the senator a "traitor" on his social media platform X for visiting Ukraine just days after the U.S. paused military aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine Business Roundup — The foreign arms producer showing real results in Ukraine
The following is the March 11, 2025 edition of our Ukraine Business Roundup weekly newsletter. To get the biggest news in business and tech from Ukraine directly in your inbox, subscribe here.
For all the hype around foreign weapons producers setting up shop in Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s invasion, they have little to show for it.
With the exception of the Prague-domiciled conglomerate Colt CZ, which has set up assembly of its Bren 2 assault rifles inside Ukraine, reporter Kollen Post
Editors' Picks
Ukrainians grapple with how to memorialize a war still being fought
Kremlin exacts loyalty amid tightening crackdown on Russian elite
'We need to learn how to live without America' — Ukraine’s survival amid faltering US aid
