Russian businessman Albert Avdolyan is one of at least seven individuals who bought Maltese passports before later being sanctioned by the United States, the EU, or Ukraine for links to Russia’s invasion.
"It has been agreed that the document does not count the assistance provided before its signing," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 27, following talks on the minerals deal in Washington.
"As to additional sanctions on Putin's Russia, I have bipartisan legislation with almost 60 cosponsors that would put secondary tariffs on any country that purchases Russian oil, gas, uranium, or other products," U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said on April 26.
The company does not plan to re-enter the Russian market, but wants to "prevent third-party businesses" from taking advantage of the brand, McDonald's said in a statement.
De Novo CEO Maksym Ahieiev emphasized that there were "no signs of hacking or external interference," and the outage was due to a "combination of technical factors."
Investigators said the vessel had loaded around 5,000 tons of stolen Ukrainian wheat from the Russian-occupied port city of Sevastopol in late 2024 and attempted to disguise its operations by sailing under the flag of an Asian country.
Diia, Ukraine's state mobile application for government services, and online services of several major companies are temporarily inaccessible due to technical failures, the media reported on April 26.
"Ukraine, headed by (President) Volodymyr Zelensky, has not signed the final papers on the very important rare earths deal with the United States. It is at least three weeks late," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
This poses a risk that Kyiv might have to default on the payment of some $600 million ahead of the deadline in late May.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for their fourth meeting on April 25, has reportedly promoted the idea. It has "not found much traction in the White House," and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has opposed it, Politico reported.
According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the parties also discussed "important political aspects" of the long-debated future minerals deal between Kyiv and Washington.
The European Commission is exploring options to legally prohibit EU companies from signing new contracts for the supply of Russian fossil fuels, Reuters reported on April 22, citing an unnamed senior EU official.
Editor’s note: This is issue 22 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly "Ukraine Reforms Tracker" covering events from April 14–20, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks and
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
Standing beside a sleepy village in Ukraine’s central Kirovohrad Oblast, the Zavalivskiy mine lies beneath layers of brown and pink earth, holding some 7.5 million metric tons of graphite ore — the second largest flake graphite mine in Europe. Like many mining companies in Ukraine, Zavalivskiy Graphite has lost
India's imports of Russian crude are likely to hit 2.15 million barrels per day in April, the highest volumes since May 2023, Bloomberg reported on April 22, citing Kpler data.
The energy situation was most critical in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
Maxim Sokolov, the chief executive of Russia's largest state-owned car manufacturing company, said that AvtoVaz itself is expecting a 33% year-on-year drop in Lada car sales in April.
Russian officials discussed the possibility of reviving plans for a Trump Tower in Moscow to entice U.S. President Donald Trump to reset relations, the Moscow Times reported on April 21.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on April 24, the prime minister's office announced on April 21.
"Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week. Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune."
Russia’s coal exports to China were reported to have dropped by almost 7% in 2024 compared to 2023.
Japan's funds will be disbursed over 30 years and directed toward budgetary needs and to support reconstruction and development.
"We are now working in parallel with our and American legal teams and are trying to remove many technical issues to narrow them down to the most sensitive ones that will require a political decision," Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative Taras Kachka said.
Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines has made its first regular flight since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, flying on the Chisinau-Paris route on April 18, the Ain outlet reported, citing the company's press service.
Raiffeisen Bank International has suspended efforts to sell its unit in Russia amid warming ties between Moscow and Washington, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 18, citing undisclosed sources.
The Ukrainian government on April 18 published the text of a recently signed memorandum outlining a pending minerals agreement with the United States.
"It is important that we reaffirm through our agreements the desire of the American people to invest together with the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine," Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.
"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday, next Thursday," U.S. President Donald Trump said on April 17.
"Considering the high level of uncertainty, which has only increased over past months, the NBU will respond flexibly to changes in the balance of risks to the price dynamics and inflation expectations," the central bank's statement read.
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,
The Kyiv Independent’s Business Desk covers the biggest news in business, economics, and tech from Ukraine, as well as global developments that shape the economy of the region.
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