Economy
Volkswagen is set to cut nearly 20,000 jobs in Germany by the end of 2026
The German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG plans to make 19,000 staff redundancies at its plants in Germany by the end of 2026.
There are plans to allow Ukrainians to invest tax-free via special accounts
Bill No. 15314 has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, proposing the introduction of personal investment accounts for individuals who are residents of Ukraine.
Demand for loans shows no sign of slowing down: the business portfolio has grown by a third
Lending to businesses and households in Ukraine continues to grow at a rapid pace despite the war and the difficult economic situation.
A new approach will be taken to monitoring the shadow economy in Ukraine
The Cabinet of Ministers has set up an inter-ministerial working group on the formalisation of the economy. It will coordinate the drafting of measures to combat shadow schemes in specific sectors.
The head of the customs service has identified the main threat to Ukraine’s budget
Orest Mandziy, Head of the State Customs Service, has stated that the greatest risk to the budget at present is not traditional smuggling, but ‘grey imports’ involving the falsification of commodity codes and the under-declaration of customs value.
The Ministry of Economy has explained how it plans to tackle the staff shortage
In Ukraine, there is both a labour shortage and a significant pool of people of working age who are not officially in employment.
Philip Morris on the illicit tobacco market: isolated raids by the State Security Service are not enough to solve the problem
Every year, Ukraine loses around 38 billion hryvnia in tax revenue due to the illegal market for tobacco products and vapes, and most of the retail outlets closed down by law enforcement agencies resume trading within a week. Isolated raids and searches are not enough to tackle the black market in this sector.
The government has spent 96% of the budget reserve fund in three months
In the first quarter of 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 96.3% of the annual allocation for the state budget’s contingency fund. The Audit Office has warned of the risk of a shortfall in funds for unforeseen expenditure by the end of the year.
The empire of fake luxury: the state is losing billions of hryvnias due to the incompetence of the Economic Security Bureau and the tax authorities Investigation
Whilst the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine (ESBU) reports on its fight against smuggling and the promotion of a level playing field for business, the Ukrainian market has been flooded with counterfeit global brands. Hermès bags, Dior shoes, Rolex watches and Graff jewellery are sold via Telegram, Instagram and showrooms in central Kyiv. Such goods enter the country illegally, and payments are made outside the scope of tax control. The result is billions in losses for the budget and legitimate businesses.
Mercedes-Benz is to collaborate with a drone manufacturer that supplies Ukraine with interceptor drones
The German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz plans to enter into a strategic partnership with the Munich-based start-up Tytan Technologies. The company is known for developing interceptor drones and already supplies such products to Ukraine.
Ihor Dobrovan, former head of SMIDA, has been appointed head of Prozorro.Sales
The Supervisory Board of JSC “Prozorro.Sales” has appointed Igor Dobrovan as the company’s new chairman of the board. He succeeds Serhiy But, who had led the company for 3.5 years.
In May, Russia recorded its highest outflow of cash from banks in 30 years
The amount of cash in circulation in Russia rose by 381.2 billion roubles in May. This was the highest figure for that month since records began in 1995.
