Ukraine has secured $690 million in grant funding from Japan and Canada under the G7’s ERA mechanism, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported.
“The funds have been transferred to the general fund of Ukraine’s state budget and will be directed toward financing priority government expenditures, including pension payments and social support programs for the population, such as housing and utility subsidies,” the ministry said in a statement.
The grant financing includes:
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$544 million — contribution from the Government of Japan
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$146 million — contribution from the Government of Canada
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$0.8 million — funds from the PEACE in Ukraine Trust Fund
The ministry noted that this is the first tranche from Japan and the final tranche from Canada provided under the Group of Seven Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration for Ukraine mechanism, with a total volume of $50 billion.
Russia’s external government debt reached $61.97 billion as of February 1, 2026, the highest figure in the past 20 years, according to data from the Ministry of Finance of Russia, reported by The Moscow Times.
As of January 1, 2006, Russia’s external public debt stood at $76.5 billion, but by 2007 it had fallen to $52 billion and in the following years did not exceed the $60 billion mark.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia estimated the country’s total external debt at $319.8 billion as of January 1, 2026. According to the regulator, it increased by $30 billion over the year, or 10.4%, driven by the revaluation of liabilities due to the strengthening ruble, as well as new borrowing.
In addition to external debt, the Russian government also carries significant domestic debt. Between 2023 and 2025, it rose by 13 trillion rubles, reaching 38.5 trillion rubles.
Authorities plan to borrow an additional 3.98 trillion rubles in 2026, 3.79 trillion in 2027, and 4.57 trillion in 2028. As a result, total domestic public debt is expected to grow by 15.2 trillion rubles over three years, reaching 53.7 trillion rubles.
The United States has issued a general license to Reliance Industries Ltd, allowing its refinery to purchase Venezuelan oil directly without violating sanctions. This was reported by Reuters, citing its sources.
The license is expected to accelerate Venezuela’s oil exports and reduce crude costs for the operator of the world’s largest refining complex.
The general license permits the purchase, export, and sale of Venezuelan-origin oil that has already been extracted, including the processing of such crude.
According to one source, direct purchases of Venezuelan oil will help Reliance replace Russian crude in a cost-effective way, as heavy oil from Caracas is sold at a discount.
As the publication notes, Indian refineries — including Reliance — are avoiding purchases of Russian oil for April delivery and are expected to stay away from such trades for longer, according to sources in the refining and trading sectors. Compliance with the embargo on Russian energy imports is intended to help New Delhi secure a trade agreement with Washington.
U.S.-based company Axiom Space, which supplies spacesuits for lunar missions for NASA and is building a successor to the International Space Station, has raised $350 million in new funding. This was reported by CNBC.
The funding round was led by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and Type One Ventures, with participation from Hungarian IT company 4iG and 1789 Capital, whose partner is Donald Trump Jr..
CEO Jonathan Siertin told reporters on Thursday, February 12, that Axiom Space — now valued at more than $2.5 billion — plans to use the funds to develop spacesuits and the first two modules of its commercial space station.
Axiom Space has long worked closely with SpaceX to launch astronauts on private and government missions to the ISS before its planned decommissioning in 2030.
That same month, NASA signed a contract with Axiom Space for its fifth private mission, scheduled to launch in January 2027.
Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy may acquire all foreign assets of the Russian oil company Lukoil, which has come under U.S. sanctions. This was reported by Reuters, citing sources.
According to the report, a preliminary agreement of intent was signed in late January amid what sources described as “intense competition with rivals.” Midad Energy has agreed to purchase Lukoil’s assets in cash and place the funds in a special account until receiving approval from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to finalize the transaction.
At the same time, Reuters’ sources noted that there are no guarantees Washington will authorize the sale of Lukoil’s assets to the Saudi company. Both Midad Energy and Lukoil have declined to comment on the potential deal.
Against the backdrop of sanctions and mounting economic problems, companies in Russia have begun reporting losses on a massive scale. From January to November 2025, 18,200 organizations posted losses totaling a record 7.5 trillion rubles, according to Russian media citing data from Rosstat.
For comparison, business losses amounted to 7 trillion rubles over the same period in 2024 and 4 trillion rubles in 2023. The share of loss-making companies last year reached its highest level since the pandemic year of 2020, at 28.8%.
According to Rosstat, the largest losses were recorded in manufacturing (particularly oil refining and metallurgy), wholesale trade, and mining (especially coal, oil, and natural gas). Developers, transport machinery manufacturers, and light industry enterprises are also experiencing serious difficulties.
A major factor behind the growing number of loss-making companies has been the economic slowdown: while Russia’s GDP grew by 4.3% in 2024, growth fell to just 1% in 2025. At the same time, the extractive sector has been hit by sanctions as well as by the strengthening ruble, which has hurt exporters. In trade, the downturn has been driven by high inflation, which has reduced consumer demand.
The main negative consequence of rising corporate losses is a тормлення economic development. Investment conditions deteriorate, innovation activity declines, and the competitive environment narrows — with large state-backed companies playing an increasingly dominant role.
Experts warn that widespread corporate losses could lead to a deeper sectoral downturn, a rise in debt defaults, and even bankruptcies.
The United States is actively increasing corn exports and strengthening its position in key markets — particularly in the European Union — gradually displacing Ukraine. This was stated by Viktoriia Blazhko, Head of Editorial Content and Analytics at ASAP Agri, in a comment to Latifundist.com.
Between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, the United States increased corn shipments to the EU by 6.5 million tonnes, while Ukraine reduced exports by 7.5 million tonnes. The sharpest decline in Ukrainian supplies was recorded in Italy, Netherlands, and Portugal.
At the same time, in 2025–2026 the United States secured its presence in several markets through trade agreements with fixed volumes and the removal of barriers — notably in Japan, South Korea, and countries of Southeast Asia. In the EU, a framework agreement on “balanced trade” is also creating more favorable conditions for American suppliers.
According to Blazhko, the current changes show signs of a structural shift in trade flows rather than seasonal fluctuations.
The only major market where Ukraine is currently expanding exports and facing little competition from the United States remains Turkey. At present, about 75% of Turkey’s corn imports are supplied by Ukraine, and further dynamics will largely depend on Turkish demand.
Countries of OPEC+ are planning to resume boosting oil production as early as April, according to Reuters, citing three sources within the oil cartel.
According to the sources, the decision will be discussed ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on March 1, involving Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, and Oman.
The move is linked to rising tensions around Iran and higher oil prices.
Resuming production increases would allow OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and the UAE to regain market share, while other members of the OPEC+ alliance — such as Venezuela and Russia — face difficulties expanding output due to Western sanctions. In addition, several issues are constraining production growth in Kazakhstan.
From April to December 2025, the eight OPEC+ members raised oil output quotas by about 2.9 million barrels per day, roughly 3% of global consumption. The planned monthly increases scheduled from January to March 2026 were suspended because of seasonal demand weakness.
On February 1, the eight OPEC+ members — a group producing around half of the world’s oil — agreed to maintain the pause in output increases in March due to seasonal factors.
Ukrainian companies have received the first permits to export weapons. This was announced by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
He recalled that controlled arms exports are about both national security and the development of Ukraine’s defense industry, opening the door to new security alliances and expanded international partnerships.
“The President of Ukraine set the task of opening exports of Ukrainian weapons in a controlled format. We are fulfilling it. The Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control has resumed its work and held a meeting for the first time in eight months,” Umerov wrote.
Following the meeting, Ukrainian enterprises received their first permits to export controlled goods. Umerov stressed that all decisions are under state oversight and with the unconditional priority of meeting the needs of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
“Today, Ukraine’s defense industry production capacity exceeds $55 billion. In areas such as drones, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance, our capabilities already surpass domestic procurement volumes. Coordinated exports make it possible to attract investment, scale production, and launch new technologies for the Ukrainian army,” he emphasized.
He added that Ukraine’s defense sector has proven its effectiveness during the war.
“Now our task is to turn this experience into long-term industrial strength and a component of shared security with our partners,” the NSDC secretary concluded.
Основний продукт OpenAI, чат-бот ChatGPT, знову демонструє стабільне зростання аудиторії, перевищуючи 10% за місяць. Як повідомляє CNBC, про це співробітникам компанії повідомив генеральний директор OpenAI Сем Альтман. За його словами, наразі ChatGPT щотижня використовують понад 800 млн людей, а вже цього тижня компанія планує запустити нову модель чат-бота.
Окремо Альтман відзначив вибухове зростання Codex – інструменту OpenAI для програмування. За минулий тиждень його аудиторія збільшилася приблизно на 50%. Codex напряму конкурує з Claude Code від Anthropic, який за останній рік здобув широку популярність серед розробників. Нещодавно OpenAI представила нову модель GPT-5.3-Codex, а також окремий застосунок для комп’ютерів Apple.
OpenAI вже найближчим часом офіційно розпочне тестування рекламних оголошень у ChatGPT. Раніше компанія заявляла, що рекламні блоки будуть чітко марковані та з’являтимуться нижче відповідей чат-бота. В OpenAI також наголошують, що реклама не впливатиме на зміст відповідей. У довгостроковій перспективі компанія розраховує, що рекламні доходи забезпечуватимуть щонайменше половину її виручки.
Паралельно Сем Альтман і фінансова директорка OpenAI Сара Фрайар активно працюють з інвесторами напередодні завершення нового раунду фінансування, який може сягнути $100 млрд.
