In Ukraine, employee job titles should be named exclusively in accordance with the national classifier DK 003:2010 "Classifier of Professions".

Oleksiy Koltok and Oleg Klymchuk have been appointed as Partners with Sayenko Kharenko in Kyiv.

On January 31, 2024, Ukraine’s National Energy and Utilities Services Commission (the Regulator) adopted Resolution No. 232 On Approval of Amendments to the Resolution of the Regulator 1812 dated October 4, 2023 (the Amendments).

On 24 January 2024, the NEURC adopted the Resolution "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC)" (the "Resolution") to bring the secondary legislation in line with the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Restoration and Green Transformation of the Energy System of Ukraine" No. 3220-IX dated 30 June 2023 (the "Law on "Green" Transformation").

The Government of Ukraine introduced draft law No.10449 to the Parliament, aiming to improve certain issues of mobilization, military records and military service. The published version of the draft law is not final, however, as of now, the Government is proposing the following changes to the current legislation.

Integrites' Cross-Border Litigation and Private Client practices Co-Head Dmytro Marchukov has been appointed as a Senior Partner at the firm.

Asters, working with Brodies LLP, has advised the Export Credit Agency of Ukraine on developing a new war risk insurance mechanism for the international export of Ukrainian goods through the Black Sea. Watson Farley & Williams reportedly advised the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. Norton Rose Fulbright reportedly advised arranger Marsh Limited.

Sayenko Kharenko, working with the Italian office of Bird & Bird, has successfully represented the Consorzio di Tutela della Denominazione di Origine Controllata Prosecco before the Ukrainian Competition Authority in a dispute over the misuse of the prosecco protected designation of origin by Ukraine's Tairovo Winery.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised Viseven on an investment from Horizon Capital. Avellum advised Horizon.

Did you know that while only five lawyers worked on ten or more CEE client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in 2022, a total of fourteen lawyers reached that level in 2023? The 2023 leaderboard was led by Milos Felgr of Clifford Chance in Prague, who worked on a remarkable 20 CEELM-reported client matters last year, with Alper Onar of Istanbul’s Aksan Law Firm, who worked on 19, close behind. Fellow Turk Kerem Turunc, the Managing Partner of Turunc, worked on 17 reported deals, while Djordje Nikolic of NKO Partners in Belgrade worked on 16, and Tomasz Rogalski of Norton Rose Fulbright in Warsaw worked on 15.

On 8 January 2024, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine issued the order "On Measures to Reduce Mutual Debts on the Electricity Market" (the "Order"), which sets out the methods for dealing with the situations where market participants have unpaid bills to each other. The purpose of the Order is to stabilize the operation of the electricity market and reduce debts in its specific segments.

Ukraine is actively gearing up for the imminent post-war reconstruction, a major undertaking to restore the infrastructure destroyed by hostilities. An integral aspect of the preparatory measures involves enhancing the legal framework to establish favourable conditions for attracting private investments into the extensive reconstruction.

Avellum has announced the appointment of Andriy Fortunenko, Andriy Romanchuk, and Anton Zaderyholova as Partners, starting January 1, 2024.

Avellum has advised the Kernel Group on the acquisition of 100% of shares in Reni-Oil LLC – a sunflower oil transshipment terminal with a storage capacity of 15,000 tons, in the port of Reni, on the Danube – for a consideration of USD 24.75 million.

Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, particularly its vital components such as energy facilities and seaports, was heavily targeted by Russian missile strikes, causing severe damage. Combined damage to civilian infrastructure and energy industries already exceeds USD 50 billion. Since the beginning of hostilities, 18 airports, at least 344 bridges and overpasses, and over 25,000 kilometers of roads were damaged.

Large energy companies are taking measures to become green in order to meet targets to reduce carbon emissions. The main stakeholders – investors, customers, rating agencies, and regulators – are pushing energy companies to set more environmental, social, and governance goals publicly. For these companies, the “E” in ESG should be the foundation of their strategy.

As Ukraine is fighting off the brutal invasion by the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian M&A market is at its lowest point, at least in terms of the number of deals, since 2000. Still, interesting trends are emerging and there is great hope for a bright future.

The reconstruction of Ukraine – critical infrastructure, housing, hospitals, and social facilities – is already underway. This major effort has been significantly assisted by international support. Ukraine’s commitment to transparency, coupled with specific regulations under martial law, has been instrumental in achieving this progress.