Government will encourage women to take ‘men’ jobs
Source: Ukraine’s economy ministry
The Ministry of Economy articulated the need to focus on retraining programs for Ukrainians in professions with maximum demand. In particular, it is about women who can master ‘men’ professions.
Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have started a dialogue regarding the development and implementation of business support programs for the recovery of the energy sector and retraining of workers for professions that are more needed in the labor market.
During the meeting with the President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, the Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, noted that there are currently two critically important challenges for the Ukrainian economy: energy problems and lack of labor force.
Another important challenge for the economy is the conscription of specialists to the ranks of the Armed Forces.
‘We now need to pay more attention to retraining programs for Ukrainians in professions that are in maximum demand. First of all, we are talking about women who are already mastering once purely ‘men’ professions,’ Svyrycenko explained.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.