Ukraine News Updates - August 7, 2025
Ukraine and Japan Hold Economic Recovery Forum in Tokyo
On August 4, 2025, Ukraine and Japan held their first Economic Recovery Forum in Tokyo, organized by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in cooperation with Ukraine's Ministry of Economy. The event focused on energy, infrastructure, agro-processing, and business conditions during wartime. The forum resulted in 29 agreements covering agriculture, infrastructure, technology, and innovations, including a trilateral UNIDO declaration on industrial policy, housing finance cooperation through Japan's NEXI, and cold supply chain development with Fujita Corporation.
Three Nordic Countries Invest $500M in U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have committed $500M to jointly finance a new NATO initiative providing high-priority U.S. weapons to Ukraine. The funding will be channeled through NATO's Support and Procurement Agency mechanism to purchase weapons from the U.S. market based on Ukraine's priority requirements list. Denmark contributed approximately $80M, Sweden $275M, and Norway around $135M. This initiative follows the Netherlands' earlier €500M PURL package and builds on the July 2024 U.S.-NATO agreement enabling American weapons deliveries to Ukraine funded by European allies.
Ukrainian Developers Unveil New Combat Ground Drone Zmiy Droid
Two Ukrainian miltech companies, DevDroid and Rovertech, have developed the Zmiy Droid 12.7, a reconnaissance and strike ground robotic complex. The system combines Rovertech's "Zmiy" platform with DevDroid's Wolly 12.7 combat module. Key features include armor protection, mine resistance, up to 50km range, a silent electric motor, 700kg towing capacity, and M2 Browning 12.7mm machine gun capability. The drone incorporates AI for target detection and tracking, ballistic calculators, optical surveillance systems with thermal imaging, and DevDroid's proprietary Droid Box software for flexible control.
NBU Predicts Single-Digit Inflation by Year-End
Ukraine's National Bank forecasts inflation will drop to single digits by late 2025, reaching 9.7% for the year before declining to the 5% target by 2027. Economic growth will slow to 2.1% in 2025, then accelerate to 2-3% annually. The central bank will maintain its 15.5% key rate until Q4 2025, with rate cuts beginning only when sustainable disinflation is assured. Budget deficit will remain substantial at 22% of GDP in 2025, financed through international aid and non-emission sources.
Ukraine Implements DELTA Combat System Nationwide
Ukraine's Defense Minister Denis Shmyhal signed an order implementing the DELTA digital combat system across all levels of the Defense Forces. The system provides real-time battlefield visibility, operation planning, and information sharing between units, brigades, and allies. DELTA has been combat-tested during Kyiv's defense, Black Sea Fleet operations, and Kherson liberation. The platform supports over 2,000 daily enemy target engagements and includes AI modules for automatic enemy equipment detection.
Ukraine Investment Congress 2025
The third Ukraine Investment Congress 2025 in Kyiv attracted 4,857 participants from international investors, banks, developers, and government institutions. The event focused on Ukraine's investment attractiveness, geopolitical changes, banking project assessments, and private investment protection mechanisms. Key sectors discussed included alternative energy, defense dual-use projects, construction materials production, and urban development. The congress featured the launch of Ukraine's first security fund, "Verum One," and presented new investment instruments.
Ukraine Boosts Drone Investment with $216M
Ukraine's Defense Ministry redirected $216M to strengthen drone capabilities following the Supreme Command decision. $193M supports "Drone Line" project units and newly formed unmanned systems units, while $23M goes to anti-drone protection for evacuation routes. Elite drone units destroyed 22,700 enemy targets in the past month alone. Additionally, the Netherlands' partnership provides €837M bank guarantees for Ukrainian drone manufacturers, while Ukraine expects €400M from partners this week for domestic drone production.