Ukraine Reforms Tracker Weekly — Issue 31
Editor’s note: This is issue 31 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly “Ukraine Reforms Tracker” covering events from June 17–June 24, 2025. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs.
The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission.
Benchmarks and soft commitments with the IMF
NABU detective wins contest to lead Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security
On June 24, the recruitment commission selected National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) detective unit head Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi as the next director of Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security (BES), following a vote by the commission’s three international members.
Tsyvinskyi has served at NABU since 2015 and currently leads its detective division. He is known for his key role in the “Clean City” operation targeting corruption in Kyiv city’s land and budget sectors.
No other candidate secured the legally required support from the commission’s international members. As a result, Tsyvinskyi’s name alone will be submitted to the prime minister and the Cabinet of Ministers must finalize the appointment within 10 days.
Ukraine’s Cabinet moves to add Hr 412 billion for defense, Hr 449 billion in total in major 2025 budget revision
Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved amendments to the 2025 state budget to allocate an additional Hr 412.4 billion ($9.9 billion) for defense spending, amid a widening fiscal gap in the security sector.
The total proposed adjustment increases expenditures by Hr 448.8 billion ($10.8 billion), while cutting other programs by Hr 51.3 billion. Net spending would rise by Hr 397.5 billion ($9.5 billion).
To balance the revision, the government plans to raise Hr 147.5 billion ($3.5 billion) in additional revenue and borrow another Hr 250 billion ($6 billion) through debt operations.
The draft legislation is expected to be submitted to parliament shortly.
Obligations to the EU
Ukraine passes long-delayed ARMA reform
After months of political delays, the Ukrainian parliament has passed bill #12374-d on reforming the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) in its entirety, with 253 votes in favor.
The law introduces new requirements for the agency’s leadership, mandates a selection process involving international experts, and strengthens transparency in asset management and transfer controls. Passage of the reform is a key benchmark under the EU’s Ukraine Facility program and unlocks a 600 million euros ($701 million) disbursement.
However, implementation will be delayed. Yuliia Tymoshenko and members of her Batkivshchyna faction have submitted a resolution to block the law, preventing the speaker of parliament from signing it until July 15.
However, no votes were held on other legislative commitments under the program that were due by the end of Q2. The next parliamentary session is scheduled for July.
Other key economic issues
Ukraine’s vice prime minister formally named as corruption suspect
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have served a formal notice of suspicion to Vice Prime Minister and National Unity Minister Oleksii Chernyshov, accusing him of abuse of office and accepting improper benefits.
Chernyshov announced his visit to NABU in a Facebook post earlier the same day. He is linked to an ongoing investigation into a Kyiv real estate development case involving land allocations
As NABU claims, “a Kyiv-based property developer was obliged to give the state a share of the future apartments proportionate to the value of the land received from a state-owned enterprise. To minimize this share, the land and buildings on it were undervalued by nearly five times, with the discrepancy between this appraisal and the market value exceeding Hr 1 billion ($24 million).
As a “reward” for successfully setting up the scheme, the developer provided substantial discounts on apartments in completed residential complexes. With these discounts, the price per square meter ranged from Hr 1,000 ($24) to Hr 8,000 ($192), while the minimum market price was around Hr 30,000 ($720) per square meter.
The Kyiv IndependentVolodymyr Ivanyshyn