The state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" sold 91. 4 thousand New Year trees, generating 16.5 million hryvnias in revenue. The highest demand was recorded in the Volyn and Rivne regions, and the lowest in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions.
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation announced the elimination of 45,000 paid places in universities, which is about 13% of the total. Universities are sharply increasing tuition fees, and the state is depriving students of preferential loans.
President Zelenskyy stated that information policy is not a priority for Kyrylo Budanov. He also mentioned that there is no deputy for economic affairs yet, but Oksana Markarova and Chrystia Freeland will join the Presidential Office as advisors to work on Ukraine's recovery, economic issues, and investments in particular.
Ukraine's international reserves grew by 30. 8% in 2025, reaching $57.3 billion, the highest figure in the entire history of independence. This was made possible by record financial support of $52.4 billion from international partners.
Nadiia Leshchyk familiarized herself with the investigation into the activities of the illegal school at the "Holosiivska Pustyn" monastery and sent a letter to the State Service for Quality of Education regarding an unscheduled inspection of general secondary education institutions, and also appealed to certain institutions and law enforcement agencies.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba is promoting Ihor Zelinskyi's candidacy for the head of the State Aviation Service without an open competition, despite the planned resumption of selections. This decision raises concerns due to Zelinskyi's questionable management background, as he previously contributed to the exclusion of Il-76 aircraft from the Ukrainian register.
In the first 11 months of 2025, Ukraine's IT sector contributed $5. 97 billion to the budget, which is 2.4% more than in 2024. However, this is still 3% less than in 2021, and almost 10% lower than in 2022.
The Trump administration has informed Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, that the country must expel China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba, and grant the US an exclusive partnership in oil production. This is a condition for increasing oil production, as Venezuela's existing tankers are already full.
International financial institutions predict a prolonged slowdown of the Belarusian economy until 2026 due to sanctions and dependence on Russia. GDP growth of 1.4–1.8% and inflation of 7–7.5% are projected under the baseline scenario.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has amended the procedure for conducting electronic auctions, which will allow NEC "Ukrenergo" to buy electricity from NNEGC "Energoatom" at a forecasted price. This is aimed at reducing costs in the electricity transmission tariff for industry and curbing its growth.
In 2025, the State Employment Service provided jobs for over 315,000 people, and a total of 640,000 Ukrainians used its services. During the year, 192,000 vacancies were posted, 63.3% of which were filled.
President of the European Council António Costa will visit Paris on January 6 to participate in a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine. Leaders will summarize peace and security talks and agree on further support steps.
In 2025, over 260,000 Ukrainians, including 17% children, received psychosocial and psychiatric care. Services were provided at all levels of medical care, from family doctors to specialized Mental Health Centers.
Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba has nominated Ihor Zelinsky for the position of head of the State Aviation Service, seeking to avoid an open competition. This comes ahead of the planned resumption of competitions for key government positions in the summer.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Chrystia Freeland, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, as a non-staff advisor on economic development. She has significant experience in attracting investments and implementing economic transformations.
Following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in early 2026, international creditors have intensified their struggle to recover Venezuela's $150-170 billion foreign debt. The main players are China, Russia, bondholders, and energy giants, while restructuring is complicated by US sanctions and a lack of cooperation with the IMF.
According to the results of 2025, Russia's foreign trade continued to degrade due to falling world energy prices and oil production quotas. The share of fuel and energy goods in exports decreased to 54.9%, and imports of investment goods decreased by 8.7%.
American Democrats accuse the Trump administration of misleading them about its true intentions in Venezuela, stating that they were promised no military intervention. Senators are demanding a plan from the White House for governing the country after a night assault on Caracas and the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has attracted over $6 billion for the development of the domestic defense-industrial complex in 2025. These funds came through international programs, direct purchases by partners, and profits from frozen Russian assets.
In 2025, Ukraine raised over UAH 569 billion from the sale and exchange of domestic government bonds at auctions, and in total, since the beginning of martial law, this figure has reached almost UAH 2. 03 trillion. The portfolio of war bonds owned by individuals and legal entities as of January 1, 2026, reached the equivalent of UAH 181.6 billion.
In Prykarpattia, a law enforcement officer was notified of suspicion of large-scale fraud. He appropriated 2.7 million hryvnias of state aid intended for the father of a fallen National Guard servicewoman who died defending Azovstal.
A new quarter of the "Veteran Sports" program has started in Ukraine, providing veterans with UAH 1,500 to pay for gyms. Applications are accepted until January 20, said Mykhailo Fedorov.
The acting head of the internal control department of the Zakarpattia customs was detained for organizing the illegal import of luxury watches without paying customs duties. The official received 3,850 US dollars for importing watches worth over 3.2 million UAH.
The US dollar started 2026 with a strengthening after last year's difficulties, while the yen approached a 10-month low. Traders are awaiting US economic data to forecast changes in interest rates this year.
The share of oil and gas revenues in Russia's budget will decrease to 23% this year, compared to 50% a few years ago. The reason is the war against Ukraine and sanctions that force Russia to sell oil at significant discounts.
In Bashkortostan, payments for signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense have been increased again from 500,000 to 1 million rubles. New payments will take effect on January 1, 2026, despite previous reductions and budget problems.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has vowed to defend the island's sovereignty, citing China's expansionist ambitions. This came after Beijing concluded live-fire military exercises off Taiwan's coast.
A program of one-time assistance of 6,500 hryvnias has been introduced in Ukraine for the most vulnerable categories of the population. The total number of applications submitted is 463,671, of which 385,170 have been approved. The state has financed over 381,346 applications for a total of over 2.5 billion UAH.
Starting today, the salaries of pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical staff in Ukraine will increase by 30%. The State Budget for 2026 allocates 64.6 billion hryvnias for salary increases.
In 2026, the salary requirements for granting deferrals to employees of critically important enterprises will change, increasing to 21,617. 5 hryvnias. This is due to an increase in the minimum wage, which will be 8,647 hryvnias from January 1.
