Today's Contents
Just The Facts:
- Ukraine to work with Japan to develop Japanese-Ukrainian industrial parks, automotive cluster
- Knauf secures 20-year license to extract gypsum at deposit in Ukraine's Ternopil region
- Ukraine's gas transmission system operator agrees with European counterparts on Ukraine–EU Hydrogen corridor
- Kormotech aims to increase production by 22% with USAID grant
- US-based defense tech firm Shield AI opens Kyiv office, starts drone training
- Court cancels Avtomagistral-Pivden's $38 million overpass reconstruction contract with Odesa City Council
- South Korea's TYM to ship 20 tractors to Ukraine as reconstruction aid
Here's What They Think:
- Richard Verma: Biden admin saw support for Ukraine as strategic investment
- E-International Relations: Stalemate most realistic, least risky outcome of Ukraine war
- Wilson Center: Ukraine can boost its ties with West by adopting flexible energy system
Sober Second Thought:
- Russian victory over Ukraine could hike US defense spending by $808 billion over five years, American Enterprise Institute study finds
Dear subscribers,
We're looking at an eventful week ahead. Today marks both the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States and the start of the panels, talks and other events in Davos. We expect lots of news.
Ukraine Rebuild Newswire will be covering the events in Davos closely, particularly at Ukraine House Davos, the Ukraine pavilion co-organized by the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF), the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Horizon Capital.
Check out the Ukraine Rebuild Newswire Events Calendar for a list of some of the Ukraine House Davos events we plan to cover this week. We will also keep a close eye on the Ukraine angle as Trump takes office and signs an expected flurry of executive orders.
With such important events expected to make headlines, we plan to open up the URN Daily Premium Newsletter to URN's free subscribers for the week, starting with tomorrow's edition.
Thanks for your attention,
Adam Brown
Ukraine to work with Japan to develop Japanese-Ukrainian industrial parks, automotive cluster
Ukraine and Japan have outlined plans to deepen economic and industrial collaboration, focusing on joint enterprises, investment, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
The talks were held between Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy Andriy Telyupa and Japan's Embassy Minister Yuji Tokita on Jan 16.
A key outcome of the discussions is the establishment of joint Japanese-Ukrainian enterprises in energy, industry, humanitarian demining, and critical materials, said Telyupa, adding that Ukraine's priority is the development of industrial parks with Japanese firms.
Plans for a Japanese business mission to Ukraine in 2025 were announced, with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) playing a central role. The mission will include the creation of an automotive cluster involving Ukrainian and Japanese companies.
Collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will expand, focusing on the production of heavy machinery, humanitarian demining equipment, and school buses. The parties target producing 500 buses in 2025.
Ukrainian businesses expressed a strong interest in Japanese production equipment to scale up local industries, Telyupa noted. Officials also positioned Ukraine as an attractive platform for Japanese companies seeking access to the EU market.
Japan reaffirmed its commitment to fostering direct cooperation between companies from both countries, with a spotlight on opportunities at Expo 2025. Additional mechanisms to attract Japanese businesses to Ukraine will be explored, including collaboration with UNIDO to establish joint enterprises.
Collaboration between Ukraine and Japan will be showcased at the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine (URC-2025) in Rome, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy said in a press release.
In December, Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Hiromasa Nakano announced the establishment of a Coordination Council for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which will include Ukrainian and Japanese businesses.
In 2024, Japan's budgetary support to Ukraine has totalled $4.2 billion.
Knauf secures 20-year license to extract gypsum at deposit in Ukraine's Ternopil region
German company Knauf won the auction for a 20-year special permit for gypsum extraction at the Skoviatynske deposit in Ternopil region in Ukraine.
The State Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine held the auction, which attracted two bidders, with Knauf offering UAH 121.05 million ($2.87 million), while the second bidder Kamianets-Podilskyi offered UAH 120.55.
The auction was held on Jan 16 on the state-run Prozorro.Sale platform, according to a regulatory filing published on the platform.
The Skoviatynske deposit covers an area of 115 hectares, with an estimated total gypsum reserves of 43.9 million tons, Komersant reported.
The German building materials manufacturer Knuaf is investing €150 million to build its second factory in Ukraine, Dmytro Kysylevskyi, deputy chairman of Ukraine's parliamentary committee of economic development, said earlier this month via Facebook.
Ukraine's gas transmission system operator agrees with European counterparts on Ukraine–EU Hydrogen corridor
LLC Gas TSO of Ukraine, the country's gas transmission system operator, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with several European companies to implement the Ukraine–EU Hydrogen Corridor, a comprehensive hydrogen value chain initiative.
Munich's regional energy utility Stadtwerke Munchen, Vienna's energy utility Wien Energie, Germany's transmission grid operators Open Grid Europe and Bayernets, the Czech natural gas transmission system operator Net4Gas and its Slovak counterpart Eustream, renewable energy investor CWP Global, and green hydrogen development company Hydrogen Ukraine were among the signatories.
The initiative seeks to develop renewable power and hydrogen production in Ukraine while enabling its transportation through existing pipelines to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany for distribution to these countries after 2030, the TSO said in a press release on Thursday.
In 2023, the EU and Ukraine signed a MoU on a strategic partnership on biomethane, hydrogen, and other synthetic gases. The newly formed consortium is "the logical next step" towards its implementation, as per the statement.
"The initiative not only strengthens Ukraine’s position as a key energy partner to Central Europe but also promises significant benefits for the Ukrainian people by creating jobs, fostering economic growth, and supporting the country's transition to a sustainable energy future," the TSO said.
The 2023 MoU between the EU and Ukraine builds upon the REPowerEU Plan that the European Commission (EC) rolled out in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 20200. The plan envisages 10 million tons of EU renewable hydrogen production and 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen imports by 2030. To support this ambition, the EC has committed to support the development of three major hydrogen import corridors, including one with Ukraine.
Kormotech aims to increase production by 22% with USAID grant
The USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine has awarded Kormotech a grant, which the Ukrainian pet producer will use to increase production in the country by 22% and create 30 new jobs.
"This grant for medium and large enterprises is an opportunity to strengthen our export capabilities by acquiring Ukrainian-made equipment," said Kormotech COO Igor Paranyak, without disclosing the size of the grant..
He added that Kormotech will use the grant to purchase loading and packaging equipment, as well as a data-printing machine.
The grant will help Kormotech in expanding its annual production capacity at its Ukrainian dry food plan to 55,000 tons from 45,000, the dogs and cats food producer said in a press release.
In 2024, Kormotech reported a turnover of $152 million and increased export share to 31% of total sales.
USAID's program supports businesses in Ukraine by enhancing their competitiveness domestically and internationally.
US-based defense tech firm Shield AI opens Kyiv office, starts drone training
Shield AI, a US-based defense technology firm co-founded by former Navy Seal Brandon Tseng, has begun training with Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) and opened an office in Kyiv.
The training will prepare the USF for deploying V-BATs to the frontlines. The drones are a next-generation vertical take-off and landing unscrewed aerial system designed for electronic warfare environments.
The system has proven successful in deep-penetration targeting missions in GPS- and communications-denies conditions, Shield AI said in a press release.
V-BAT was recently used in maritime operations in the Black Sea, proving its ability to accomplish long-range missions across both land and sea.
"V-BAT is the most cost-effective, strategic targeting drone there is," said Shield AI's President and Co-founder Brandon Tseng. "In Ukraine, it has targeted strategic Russian surface-to-air missile systems while GPS and communications were jammed."
Shield AI — which was founded in 2015 — is working to establish Hivemind, an AI pilot which has so far flown F-16 jets, VTOL drones, and three quadcopters.
Court cancels Avtomagistral-Pivden's $38 million overpass reconstruction contract with Odesa City Council
The Economic Court of Odesa has cancelled the UAH 1.6 billion ($37.9 million) agreement between the Road Department of the Odesa City Council and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC for the reconstruction of the Ivanivskyi overpass.
The court found that at the time of the agreement the Odesa City Territorial Community's budget lacked allocated funds for the overpass reconstruction in 2022-2023, making the financing unreasonable and in violation of the Budget Code of Ukraine.
The Road Construction Department of the Odesa City Council conducted open bidding for the project without a budget allocation, according to the court filing.
Despite the department's legal authority and awareness of the violations, the council failed to address the breaches or protect state interests during the procurement process, the court found.
In June 2024, the court supported the Malynovska Prosecutor's Office, which claimed the tender process was flawed, Intent reported.
At the beginning of 2021, the inspection of the overpass found the bridge to be "inoperable." By the end of the year, the Odesa City Council announced the tender for reconstruction of the bridge.
South Korea's TYM to ship 20 tractors to Ukraine as reconstruction aid
South Korean tractor manufacturer TYM held a ceremony on Jan 17 at its Okcheon factory to send 20 tractors and their attachments to Ukraine in an inaugural shipment.
The equipment — provided as humanitarian aid — will be shipped in the coming days and will be distributed among different Ukrainian communities and enterprises.
The tractors are meant to help boost Ukraine's efforts to rebuild critical infrastructure facilities destroyed by Russia, the Ukrainian embassy in South Korea said via Facebook.
For the last three years, TYM Corporation has been the largest private donor of tractor equipment to the Ukrainian embassy.
On Jan 16, TYM's competitor Daedong began full-scale export of tractors to Ukraine with the shipping of the first 20 units of its mid-to-large tractor models. The shipment was made under a three-year agreement to export tractors worth KRW 30 billion ($21.5 million) to Ukraine, which was signed in November last year.
Richard Verma: Biden admin saw support for Ukraine as strategic investment
The administration of the outgoing US President Joe Biden saw supporting Ukraine not as charity but as a strategic investment in US economic and national security, Richard Verma, outgoing US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, wrote in an op-ed for the Foreign Policy. That effort, involving $20 billion in US loans and international collaboration, aligns Ukraine's future with the EU and global economies, he said.
Verma noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine is both a military and economic assault, targeting Ukraine's infrastructure, economy, and people, emphasizing that Ukraine has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with its economy growing by 5% in 2023 and projected to expand further, supported by international aid, EU membership talks, and private sector innovation.
E-International Relations: Stalemate most realistic, least risky outcome of Ukraine war
The war in Ukraine profoundly impacts the future of Germany and Europe, with three possible outcomes: a Russian victory, a Ukrainian victory, or a prolonged stalemate. Each scenario carries distinct risks, from heightened nuclear escalation to ongoing instability, but a stalemate with a territorial compromise may offer the most realistic path forward, balancing peace efforts with Ukraine's sovereignty, Hans-Georg Ehrhart, a senior research fellow at the University of Hamburg, wrote in an op-ed for the E-International Relations.
Germany must adapt to these challenges by increasing defense spending, advancing European integration, and supporting Eastern European stabilization while avoiding a hegemonic role, Ehrhart noted, adding that the need for NATO's cohesion and US involvement remains critical, as does exploring coexistence with Russia to minimize long-term conflicts and safeguard European security.
Wilson Center: Ukraine can boost its ties with West by adopting flexible energy system
Ukraine can strengthen its ties with the West and enhance regional stability by adopting a flexible and decentralized energy system following the destruction caused by the Russian invasion, Andrew Favorov, co-founder of Ukraine Future Business Council, and Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of Energy Industry Research Center, wrote in an op-ed for the Wilson Center.
The authors argued that there are lessons to be learned from the destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure which provide an opportunity to rebuild better. For this to happen, the partnership between American investors, Ukrainian innovators, and US government agencies like the DFC and USAID will be crucial, they wrote.
Russian victory over Ukraine could hike US defense spending by $808 billion over five years, study finds
A Russian victory over Ukraine could increase US defense spending by $808 billion over five years to confront an emboldened Russia along NATO's expanded 2,600-mile border, according to a study by the American Enterprise Institute.
By contrast, the US Congress has appropriated $175 billion in aid to Ukraine since 2022, with $112 billion allocated to the Department of Defense—less than 14% of the projected cost of a Russian victory, the authors noted.
The report highlights that US military assistance to Ukraine primarily benefits domestic industries, as most funds are spent on weapons production within the US. It underscores that aiding Ukraine helps deter further Russian aggression, thereby avoiding a potential NATO-Russia conflict that would demand extensive American resources.
The authors warn that a victorious Russia would likely pursue an aggressive posture, stationing forces along NATO borders, including Belarus and the Baltic states. Moscow's control over Ukraine would provide added economic and industrial capacity, enabling it to pose a significant military threat to Europe and destabilize global security.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the international community has provided various forms of assistance to Kyiv. The study emphasizes that while other nations have contributed, American support remains pivotal to sustaining Ukraine's defense capabilities against Russia's military advancements.
The report identifies several potential consequences if US aid ceases. Ukraine's military efforts would falter due to a lack of resources, enabling Russia to consolidate its control and expand its influence in Europe. This scenario could increase the risks of further conflict, drawing NATO and the US into larger defense commitments.
The study outlines that a post-victory Russia could develop advanced military capabilities, including unmanned aerial systems, tactical electronic warfare, and interlocking air defense systems. These developments would require NATO and the US to significantly bolster their military presence and infrastructure in Europe.
By presenting a detailed cost analysis, the study seeks to inform US policymakers about the financial and strategic implications of ongoing support for Ukraine. Its conclusions emphasize the economic and security benefits of aiding Kyiv compared to the heightened risks of inaction.
Social Media Posts
Davos 2025
Ukraine House Davos announced in a LinkedIn post the formal start of four days of talks, panels, speeches and networking focused on the situation in Ukraine at a pavilion alongside the international component of the Davos events in Switzerland.
The Jan 20 opening event will feature comments from Ukraine House Davos Executive Director Ulyana Khromak, Horizon Capital CEO Lenna Koszarny, and others, followed by a discussion titled "Aligning Interests: The US, Ukraine and a Path to a Just and Sustainable Peace."
Sustainable Rebuilding
Sergiy Kovelenkov, CEO of sustainable building materials developer Hempire, posted a photo update on a project 30 kms from the frontline, where a local building is being rebuilt using only Hempire sustainable materials.
400 Claims for Loss of Loved Ones
Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, executive director of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (RD4U), announced that 400 damage claims for the loss of family members were submitted in the first two days of submissions.
A technical issue forced the organization to pause acceptance of submissions shortly after last week's announcement that submissions were open. Kliuchkovskyi said the issues were resolved over the weekend.
McDonalds Hit
Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, posted a photo of a McDonald's outlet in central Kyiv that was hit over the weekend by a Russian missile. All staff had been evacuated due to an air raid siren and nobody was injured.
URN Daily: Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank for sale? And US seeks to cancel $4.7 billion of Ukraine's debt
