The European Commission plans to provide a draft negotiating framework to the European Union member states next week as the next step in talks over Ukraine's accession to the union, Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said during a trip to Kyiv. "For next week, we are preparing
S&P Global cut Ukraine's long-term foreign currency credit rating and warned that it expects the country to default on its external commercial obligations as the war drags on at least through the year and government spending remains extremely high. "The rating action reflects our belief
The Swiss Parliament has narrowly approved a measure that would allow the use of frozen Russian assets held in the country to help fund the reconstruction of Ukraine, the AFP news agency has reported. The Council of States, the upper house of Switzerland's parliament, voted 21 to 19
The US Department of State and the US-based think tank German Marshall Fund (GMF) will collaborate to help redesign and rebuild up to three war-ravaged Ukrainian cities, the State Department announced. The program, to be called Ukraine Cities Partnership (UCP) for Sustainable Urban Recovery, will take the form of a
The UK is willing to lend Ukraine all frozen Russian assets held in Britain on the understanding that Russia will be forced to pay reparations when the war is done, said UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron. "There is an opportunity to use something like a syndicated loan or a
The European Commission has joined growing calls for the European Investment Bank (EIB) to scrap its restriction against funding defence projects in a push to bolster the fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EIB, which has extended €1.7 billion in financing for Ukraine repair and reconstruction projects
Skoda and Dacia thrived in the transition from communism to capitalism, while the Yugo crashed in infamy and the Trabant disappeared in a cloud of exhaust. As far as Eastern European vehicle history goes, Ukraine's boxy Luaz jeep appeared to die from neglect amid the chaos. However, like
Palantir, the US tech firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, has agreed to supply the Ukrainian government with big data and artificial intelligence technologies to help with land mine clearance. Under the agreement, Palantir will digitize Ukrainian demining operations, automate mine clearance operations up to 2033, help set demining priorities
The UK government's development finance arm, British International Investment (BII), will start offering up to £250 million in financing to private sector companies for reconstruction projects in April, the Ukrainian government said. The financing package, authorized by the UK government last June, marks the BII's first
David Malpass, who served as president of the World Bank until last year, has become senior adviser to investment management group Chicago Atlantic for its Trident impact investing strategy for Ukraine. Malpass, who has worked with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials repeatedly during his four-year tenure at
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has established a full-time presence in Kyiv with a staffer moving into the US Embassy and will strengthen that presence soon, a senior agency official said. "We have a presence at the embassy since January, which is new for the DFC, where
An insurance facility that has enabled ships to carry grain out of Ukraine via the Black Sea despite war-related risks is expanding to include all other products, one of the facility's organizers said. The expansion, which excludes war-related goods, is already in effect but a formal announcement will
Marsh McLennan and the Ukrainian government are working to cut the cost of insuring business travelers by about 80% with a plan to be carried out in the first half of this year, said an official of the insurance broking giant. "Getting cover costs about $1,200 per day
Ukrainian investment firm Dragon Capital has leased out all of the newly built warehouse space in its industrial park in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv as prospective tenants lined up to compete for space despite the ongoing war, a company official said. Days after announcing the availability of 14,
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech to the European Parliament that profit generated from some $300 million in Russian assets frozen by Western nations should be used to buy weapons for Ukraine. The comment deviates from the common position that such profits, predicted to total
US companies are likely missing out on contracts to rebuild Ukraine and support its fight against Russia due to overly aggressive State Department travel advisories, warn a former senior CIA official and the ex-head of BP’s Global Intelligence and Analysis team. The State Department's blanket warning against
