The European Commission expects the first tranche of the loan to Ukraine to be disbursed in the second half of the year

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Mykhailo Drapaty as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He will replace Oleksandr Syrskyi once the personnel decisions have been formally finalised.

The Hungarian party Fidesz has stated that the public prosecutor’s office carried out searches at the office where its servers are housed. The party has accused the government of attempting to obstruct its activities.

Kesh Patel, Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, may visit Russia this autumn. According to Politico, the trip is currently being planned, and the details are still subject to change.

The Vatican is prepared to host a summit that could help bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The date of the talks and the list of participants have not yet been agreed.

NATO countries are facing an acute shortage of cotton, which is needed to manufacture explosives for artillery munitions.

"Ukrnafta", in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is preparing to build a modern combined-cycle gas-fired combined heat and power plant with a capacity of around 250 MW.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has completed the first review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility programme for Ukraine. The decision paves the way for the immediate release of approximately $690 million.

The real cost of living in Ukraine should be at least 11,000–12,000 hryvnias per month. However, there are currently no plans to raise it to this level in the near future due to the constraints on the state budget.

From 1 August 2026, the electricity tariff for households will remain unchanged. Household consumers will continue to pay 4.32 hryvnias per kilowatt-hour, regardless of their monthly consumption.

Between 13 and 17 July, the National Bank sold 1.074 billion dollars on the interbank foreign exchange market. This is 203.09 million dollars, or almost a quarter, more than the previous week.

PrivatBank has added a new service to its ‘Privat24’ all-in-one app. Entrepreneurs can now manage their finances, accounting and mandatory payments directly from their smartphone.

The Ukrainian Defence Forces have introduced an updated mechanism for calculating additional financial allowances for military personnel. The new rules set out which allowances are payable for different types of combat missions, who is eligible to receive them, and how participation in such missions will be verified

The National Bank of Ukraine has announced the expansion of its banknote series and the introduction of a new 2,000-hryvnia note into circulation. It will enter circulation on 4 September 2026

The funds from the EU loan and grant will be used to purchase up to 22 modular gas-fired boiler houses with combined heat and power (CHP) units, as well as a further five CHP units for existing boiler houses.

In 2026, Ukraine expanded the list of citizens who will automatically receive a one-off cash payment ahead of Independence Day. Most recipients do not need to make a separate application to the Pension Fund