All articles
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Twenty Years of a Farmland Sale Ban: Ten Laws That Extended the Deadline
In Ukraine, most farmland could not be sold from 2001 until July 2021. This article traces, through the text of the laws and the court's ruling, the "shares" of land distributed to farmers in the 1990s, the laws that repeatedly rewrote the deadline, the 2018 European Court of Human Rights ruling that found a violation of property rights, and the law of 2020.
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30.95 Billion Cubic Meters Underground: Is Ukraine’s Gas Storage Really “Europe’s Largest”?
Ukraine has 12 underground gas storage facilities, with a total capacity of 30.95 billion cubic meters according to the operator, Ukrtransgaz. Against what list does "Europe's largest" actually hold true? This article looks, using publications and legal texts as of September 2026, at the rules for the "customs warehouse" arrangement under which foreign companies store gas, and the target and results for the winter of 2026.
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Gas Made from Farm Leftovers: Ukraine’s Biomethane and Its Export Rules
Biomethane, made from livestock manure and crop residues, can be sent through the same pipelines as natural gas. Ukraine sent its first shipment to the EU in February 2025, and a government agency states that as of February 2026, total exports had exceeded approximately 11.2 million cubic meters. This article looks, using the text of the law and government publications as of September 2026, at the legal definition, the conditions and transitional measures for exports, and the figures for the number of plants and "potential," which differ between sources.
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The App Is “Monobank”; the Bank Holding the License Is Universal Bank
Monobank, which describes itself as "Ukraine's first branchless banking service," is a retail product of Universal Bank JSC. This article looks, using publications as of September 2026, at the licensing and supervisory structure, the number of depositors and the bank's ranking by assets according to National Bank statistics, how the claim of being the "largest online bank" is compared, and how the donation feature Banka works.
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Childcare Leave Benefit Pays 67% of Wages: The 13% Top-Up and 10% Shorter-Hours Benefit Added in 2025
In Japan, an employee can take childcare leave until their child turns one, and employment insurance pays 67% of pre-leave wages (50% from day 181). This article covers the 13% top-up for parents who both take leave and the 10% benefit for shorter working hours, both new since April 2025, conditions for fixed-term employees, the working-arrangement measures that started in October 2025, and the order of procedures (as of September 2026).
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Kosen: Five More Years of Study After Junior High, at 58 Schools With 56,000 Students
Japan's "colleges of technology" (kosen) are schools that junior high school graduates enter and attend for five years (five years and six months for the merchant marine course). As of May 2026 there are 58 schools with 56,249 students. This article covers entrance eligibility, the school's history since 1962, the associate degree, advanced courses, transferring into university, third-year entry for international students, and the tuition support payment available only to first- through third-year students (as of September 2026).
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The “Father of Futurism” Lands at Tsuruga, 1920: Painter Davyd Burliuk’s Two Years in Japan
In October 1920, painter Davyd Burliuk, born in Kharkiv Province, arrived by ship at Tsuruga. From "the First Exhibition of Russian Painting in Japan" in Tokyo to life on Ogasawara and a co-authored book with young Japanese painters, this article traces his roughly two years in Japan through research into contemporary records and encyclopedias.
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дорогий Becomes дорожчий: Comparative and Superlative Forms in Ukrainian
In Ukrainian, "more expensive" is дорожчий and "most expensive" is найдорожчий, formed by changing the shape of the adjective itself. This article sets out the rules in §104 and §20 of the 2026 State Language Standard, irregular forms like кращий and гірший, the words ніж, за, and від used to say "than," and a comparison table showing what changed across successive editions of the orthography.
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From Taiho’s Father to Shishi and Aonishiki: Ukraine in the Sumo Association’s Records
The father of Showa-era yokozuna Taiho was a man born in a Ukrainian village. As of the September 2026 tournament, two active wrestlers give Ukraine as their birthplace: maegashira Shishi and ozeki Aonishiki. Drawing on the Japan Sumo Association's records and research tracing Taiho's father through Sakhalin's archives, this article sets the three men's records side by side.
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авторка and директорка: Feminine Job Titles in Ukrainian
Ukrainian forms nouns denoting women by adding a suffix, as in автор (author) → авторка and директор → директорка. First made an explicit rule in the 2019 orthography, the pattern was carried over into §32 of the 2026 State Language Standard. This article sets out the four suffixes involved, how the 1993 edition differed, and how the dictionaries and encyclopedia describe the pattern, with comparison tables.