Today's Contents
Reporter's Notepad:
- Ukraine lawmakers consider zoning reform to accelerate development approvals: CMS
Just The Facts:
- Kremlin says it awaits Ukraine's response to proposal of direct talks, May 8-10 ceasefire
- Ukrenergo reaches agreement on debt management for its $825 million in green bonds
- Naftogaz names Sergii Koretskyi, head of subsidiary Ukrnafta, as its new CEO
Here's What They Think:
- Politico: An 'ugly' deal for Ukraine was predictable
- The Conversation: Putin's proposed three-day ceasefire is a ploy, but Ukraine can't refuse
Sober Second Thought:
- Cost of managing Chornobyl exclusion zone rose 9% to $55.6 million last year, DiXi Group reports
Rebuilder's Social
- Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko lauds governance reforms, TAS Agro plants 150 hectares of hemp and KSE Institute hosts a group of Swedish investment scouts.
Dear subscribers,
A quick note to say URN will not publish tomorrow or Friday for the May 1 holiday. We'll return to our regular publication scheduled on Monday, May 5. Enjoy your day off, for those of you celebrating.
In today's newsletter, we feature another contribution from our partnership with top 10 global law firm CMS. Today, CMS Ukraine covers for URN a critical issue related to bureaucracy in the construction process - an issue that will attract increasing attention as the reconstruction starts in earnest.
The following article is reported by CMS Ukraine staff, with editing by URN.
Ukraine lawmakers consider zoning reform to accelerate development approvals: CMS
Ukrainian lawmakers are weighing legislative amendments that would allow detailed plans of a territory (DPTs) to directly establish functional zones, a move aimed at accelerating the development process.
If approved, the amendments could make it easier for investors and developers to initiate projects, boosting reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, which investors complain are weighed down by excessive bureaucracy.
Currently, functional zoning and designated land use must be defined through higher-level planning documents such as a territorial community’s Comprehensive Spatial Development Plan, a settlement’s Master Plan, or a territorial Zoning Plan.
These documents typically cover large areas and require a lengthy, often bureaucratic, approval process. As a result, developers face significant delays in aligning project plans with zoning requirements.
Functional zones determine the permissible categories of land use—such as residential, public, or industrial—while designated use specifies allowable activities within those zones. Generally, the designated use must comply with the applicable functional zone, although during martial law, Ukraine temporarily relaxed this rule to enable more flexible changes.
The proposed legislative change would effectively restore the legal position that existed before January 2025, when DPTs could establish functional zones directly. The removal of this option at the start of the year created a bottleneck for new development projects.
The reform comes as Ukraine seeks to unlock billions of dollars in foreign investment and donor support tied to its reconstruction. Investors have repeatedly flagged bureaucratic delays as key obstacles to scaling up operations in Ukraine.
CMS is a top 10 global, full-service law firm with 75 offices and over 4,800 lawyers worldwide, and is the largest law firm in Europe. CMS Ukraine, with 8 partners and over 30 domestic and internationally qualified lawyers, offers a full-service practice with unparalleled knowledge of the Ukrainian market. As part of the CMS Rebuilding Ukraine initiative, the team supports the National Recovery Plan, advises on legislative changes, and helps businesses navigate reconstruction and war-driven challenges.
Call for Expertise
If your company has Ukraine-specific expertise in logistics, government relations, construction, ESG, agriculture, finance, telecommunications, infrastructure, human resources, lobbying or many other topics of potential interest to investors, consider collaborating with Ukraine Rebuild Newswire.
Contact founder Adam Brown at adam.brown@ukrainerebuildnews.com.
For questions related to daily news, story suggestions, scoops and other newsy matters, please message URN newsroom chief Valentina Bajic at valentina@ukrainerebuildnews.com.
Now, on with the other headlines of the day ...
Kremlin says it awaits Ukraine's response to proposal of direct talks, May 8-10 ceasefire
Photo by Random Institute / Unsplash
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that it is still unclear whether Ukraine will join in the recently announced temporary Russian ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8, May 9, and May 10, during the days marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War II.
"It was President Putin who repeatedly said that Russia is ready, without any preconditions, to start the negotiations process," Peskov said, as reported by Reuters. "We have not heard a response from the Kyiv regime so far."
Peskov said it was "very difficult to understand" whether Ukraine would join the ceasefire.
Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation that the proposal was "another attempt at manipulation," calling instead for a ceasefire which is "immediate, full, and unconditional - for at least 30 days to ensure it is secure and guaranteed."
"We in Ukraine never wanted a single second of this war – and we have always said that we are ready to work as swiftly as possible with all partners who can help establish peace and guarantee security," he added.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said in its assessment that the Kremlin is preparing to receive foreign dignitaries for the Victory Day and "Putin likely seeks to avoid the embarrassment of Ukrainian strikes during these celebrations."
"Putin appears to be opportunistically declaring ceasefires during major religious and military holidays in order to force Ukraine to accept the ceasefire or risk appearing intransigent to the West," it added.
Ukrenergo reaches agreement on debt management for its $825 million in green bonds
Ukraine's state-run energy transmission system operator Ukrenergo said it has reached an agreement on the terms of a a liability management transaction for its outstanding $825 million sustainability-linked bonds.
The deal on the 6.875% guaranteed bonds due 2028 was reached with an ad hoc group of bondholders representing approximately 40% of the outstanding notes and bondholders outside the ad hoc group, who together represent more than 45% of the outstanding bonds.
The buyback option involves raising $430 million on international capital markets under financing guaranteed by a development finance institution, Ukrenergo said in a press release. These funds will be used to finance the buyback of bonds through a non-modified reverse Dutch auction, with a maximum price set at 65.125% of the bond's face value, plus accrued and overdue interest as of the closing date.
Under the exchange offer option, bondholders will be able to exchange bonds for new unguaranteed notes due 2031 issued by Ukrenergo with 8.5% coupon and a semi-annual amortization schedule from June 2028 to December 2031.
"I am very pleased that an agreement has been reached on a voluntary, mutually beneficial restructuring of the notes," said the acting chairman of Ukrenergo's board, Oleksii Brekht.
"The restructuring of the company's notes shall allow the company to prioritize critically important reconstruction and recovery efforts to make Ukraine’s power grid more resilient and robust," he added.
Richard Deitz, president of VR Capital Group, a group of the ad hoc group, said the agreed terms "represent a balance between the legitimate commercial expectations of the holders of Ukrenergo's notes and the needs of Ukrenergo to carry out the capital expenditures necessary to continue to provide its critical services throughout Ukraine."
Ukrenergo was advised by White & Case LLP and Rothschild & Co, while the Ad Hoc Group was advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
Naftogaz names Sergii Koretskyi, head of subsidiary Ukrnafta, as its new CEO
Ukrainian oil and gas company Naftogaz said it has appointed Sergii Koretskyi, the current head of its subsidiaries Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, as the firm's new CEO, effective May 14.
Koretskyi has led Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta as CEO since 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he held managerial positions at Continuum Group, WOG and Idealist Coffee Co.
"With his combination of successful experience in both the SOE and private sectors, we are confident that Mr. Koretskyi will lead Naftogaz with great effectiveness through both the current wartime challenges and the coming post-war economic expansion," the release said.
The current acting CEO of Naftogaz, Roman Chumak, will resume his responsibilities as the company's CFO.
Commenting on the appointment, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said via a LinkedIn post that it was "a clear example" that the corporate governance reform in Ukraine is yielding positive results.
"Thanks to corporate governance reform, the process was fully transparent. The selection was made by an independent supervisory board with both Ukrainian and international experts involved," she said.
Naftogaz considered 62 candidates for the CEO role, including 46 international, 12 Ukrainian, and 4 internal applicants.
Politico: An 'ugly' deal for Ukraine was predictable
An unfavorable agreement for Ukraine to end the war with Russia was to be expected and it means that Putin's aggression will be rewarded, his army won't be held accountable for its terrible actions, and Ukraine will be the punished party, Jamie Dettmer, an opinion editor at Politico Europe, wrote in a commentary.
Without a US-backed security guarantee, the ceasefire deal will be as meaningless as the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which promised to protect Ukraine's borders and independence in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, Dettmer argued.
The Conversation: Putin's proposed three-day ceasefire is a ploy, but Ukraine can't refuse
Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest ceasefire proposal is unlikely to be a genuine step toward peace or lead to any lasting progress, but Ukraine has to play along, Natasha Lindstaedt, professor in the Department of Government at the University of Essex, wrote in an op-ed for The Conversation.
With US support for Ukraine uncertain and President Donald Trump yet to approve any military aid since taking office, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has little choice but to back a ceasefire deal, Lindstaedt wrote.
Cost of managing Chornobyl exclusion zone rose 9% to $55.6 million last year, DiXi Group analysis says
The cost of managing the Chornobyl exclusion zone rose 9% last year to UAH 2.31 billion ($55.6 million), the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management said.
Costs in 2023 totaled UAH 2.11 billion, which also marked a 13% increase over 2022, when spending totaled UAH 2.04 billion. The Ukrainian government has planned to allocate UAH 2.71 billion for managing the Chornobyl exclusion zone in 2025, the Ukrainian think tank DiXi Group said in a research note.
A majority of the money - UAH 1.4 billion, or 60.6% of the total - was directed toward maintaining the decommissioned power units of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, as well as the Ukryttia facility, which is the protective structure built over the remains of reactor four.
Another UAH 0.44 billion, representing 19% of the expenditures, was spent on preserving environmentally safe conditions within the exclusion zone and the nearby zone of mandatory resettlement.
UAH 0.43 billion, or 18.6% of the total, was allocated to the decontamination, transportation, processing, and disposal of radioactive waste. These funds also supported construction at the Vector facility, a specialized site within the zone designed to centralize and secure radioactive waste management operations.
The remaining UAH 0.04 billion (1.8%) covered other essential activities, including the preservation of ethnocultural heritage in areas affected by the Chornobyl disaster, administrative oversight of the zone, and measures to protect the population from radiation exposure, according to DiXi Group.
Social Media Posts
Feasibility Study on Moldova Freight Terminal
Egis in Ukraine, the local unit of the global construction engineering company, posted that work is continuing on a feasibility study for the intermodal freight terminal in Chisinau, Moldova, which is meant in part supporting logistics for reconstruction in Ukraine.
"In April, our team conducted the first technical visit to Moldova," Egis said, adding that one of the objectives of the project is "improving logistics and reducing congestion at border crossings with the EU and Ukraine."
Governance Reforms
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted that the process of appointing Sergii Koretskyi to CEO of Naftogaz offers a "clear example" of governance reforms in Ukraine.
The CEO was selected "through an open competition, supported by an international executive search firm. The long list included 62 candidates: 46 international, 12 Ukrainian, and 4 internal applicants.Thanks to corporate governance reform, the process was fully transparent."
Swedish Investment Scouting
KSE Institute, the Ukrainian think tank associated with the Kyiv School of Economics, recapped a visit it hosted by a series of representatives of Swedish companies from the fields of engineering, construction, medical technologies, energy and more, to discuss investment in Ukraine.
Visitors included Business Sweden, Sweco, Siemens Energy, AddLife AB, Independent Business Group, Jordkraft, Midsummer, Eversheds Sutherland, Östkontoret and Alfa Laval, the institute said.
TAS Agro Plants Hemp
Anton Zhemerdieiev, deputy CEO of Ukrainian agricultural holding TAS Agro, reposted that his company is launching its first 150 hectares of industrial hemp production, opening doors to eco-friendly production, cutting-edge technologies, and international collaboration.
"Industrial hemp is not just a crop — it is a game-changing resource that can revolutionise textile, construction, bioplastics, and many other industries, offering sustainable, natural, and high-performance materials."
Improved Customs Rating
The European Business Association, which represents major international businesses operating in Ukraine, applauded the results of a new survey showing that businesses gave the highest approval rating to Ukraine's customs service in a decade.
The overall dynamics indicate a gradual improvement in the interaction of business with customs. However, further development requires maintaining the pace of reforms and solving certain systemic problems that remain relevant for a significant part of companies.
URN Daily: Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank for sale? And US seeks to cancel $4.7 billion of Ukraine's debt
