Ukraine holds key rate at 15% as inflation risks persist after Middle East energy shock
The bank said that inflation slowed in May to 8.2%, after a bump from 7.4% in January to 8.6% in April, partly driven by the war in the Middle East.
Team
Luca Léry Moffat
Economics reporterLuca is the economics reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He was previously a research analyst at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economics think tank, where he worked on Russia and Ukraine, trade, industrial policy, and environmental policy. Luca also worked as a data analyst at Work-in-Data, a Geneva-based research center focused on global inequality, and as a research assistant at the Economic Policy Research Center in Kampala, Uganda. He holds a BA honors degree in economics and Russian from McGill University. Luca is originally from the UK.
Articles
For Ukraine's mil-tech startups, access to credit remains a battlefield
When a bank asked Ukrainian defense tech company TAF Industries to pledge its assets as collateral for a simple bank loan, the company faced a dilemma: it couldn't reveal the location of its manufacturing facilities.
To prove the factory existed, TAF came up with a bold workaround — blindfolding bank officials and driving them to the site.
"It worked — they gave us a loan," Volodymyr Zinovskyi, CEO at TAF Industries, told the Kyiv Independent in a cafe in downtown Kyiv.
Well into the fifth ye
Polish concerns over Ukraine EU talks 'solved,' EU enlargement chief says
"For the time being, I think this issue has been solved at the working level," the EU's Enlargement Chief Marta Kos said in a meeting with journalists in Kyiv on June 8, referring to Poland's objection.
Ukraine railways chief seeks higher freight fees amid Russian attacks, rising costs
Ukraine's state railway company needs to increase freight tariffs by at least 45%, the company's CEO said, as its finances deteriorate amid Russian strikes and pressure from lenders.
World’s largest shipping firm invests in Ukrainian port near Odesa despite war risks
The Swiss-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company acquired a stake in the TIS container terminal in Ukraine's Pivdennyi Port, one person with close knowledge of the deal confirmed to the Kyiv Independent, who was granted anonymity to discuss closed talks.
Telecoms giant Kyivstar wants a seat in Ukraine's driverless car revolution
Ukraine's most popular ride-hailing service wants to conquer the global robotaxi race.
Uklon, owned by Ukraine's telecoms giant Kyivstar, gathered journalists, executives, and policymakers at Kyiv's shuttered Boryspil airport on May 27 to showcase the remote-driving technology the company is testing — and one day hopes to bring to the streets of Kyiv.
"We want Ukraine to be the best in Europe for self-driving cars," Uklon CEO, Serhiy Hryshkov, told the crowd in a sleek ceremony, during which h
Ukraine fails to pass IMF-backed reforms, despite millions of dollars on the line
Ukraine's access to billions in much-needed cash is once again hanging in the balance as lawmakers stumble on reforms.
Having already missed deadlines on a long list of legislation required by the European Union, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund, Ukraine's parliament made limited progress during a plenary session on May 26 and 27 — failing to pass a new IMF tax and withdrawing other bills at the last minute for fear of a lack of votes, said lawmakers who spoke with the Kyiv Independe
Russian strikes on Kyiv damage Albanian ambassador's residence
"The residential complex where the Ambassador of Albania to Ukraine resides was struck, putting his life at serious risk," Ferit Hoxha, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, posted on X.
'We had just opened yesterday' — Kyiv businesses reel after massive attack
"We had just opened the coffee shop yesterday," Yevhen Prusak, 35-year-old co-owner of Hogo coffee shop, told the Kyiv Independent at the scene.
Russia launched Oreshnik missile at Kyiv Oblast in overnight attack, Zelensky confirms
"They're really insane. It's important that this doesn't go unpunished for Russia," Zelensky said.
'Damage in every district of Kyiv' — Massive Russian ballistic missile, drone attack kills 4, injures 100
Russian forces launched a large-scale missile attack on Kyiv overnight on May 24, officials reported.
EU ties billions in Ukraine aid to unpopular tax reforms
Kyiv will have to improve its revenue collection and how efficiently it spends money, the European Commission said in a press release on May 20, if it wants to access more than $8 billion of the loan.
Ukraine economy improves in April as Russia’s outlook worsens, prime minister says
Ukraine's economy improved in April, driven partly by the defense industry, softening what had been expected to be a sharper slowdown in early 2026 after the country's toughest winter of the full-scale invasion, the prime minister said.
How leaked conversations suggest backroom influence at a Ukrainian bank
A state-owned bank that formerly belonged to a Russian oligarch is at the center of a spiraling corruption scandal implicating several people close to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In transcripts of recorded conversations published by Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda in the first weeks of May, two businessmen with ties to close friends of Zelensky discuss potential candidates for the board of Sense Bank — appearing to exert influence over a process that should be free of outside interfer
Exclusive: Ukraine’s Finance Ministry quietly working to convince MPs to vote for unpopular tax change
Ukraine's Finance Ministry is hoping to convince Ukrainian lawmakers to vote for unpopular tax changes — needed to keep receiving cash for foreign donors — with improvements to electronic tax filing systems.
Kyiv has agreed to a long list of reforms as part of large financing packages from international partners, including the International Monetary Fund, the EU, and the World Bank. Ukraine relies on the cash to support its military and state services functioning.
One of the most scrutinized r
