Press Releases

Asters acted as a Ukrainian counsel for JSC Ukrainian Railways in the successful restructurings of loan participation notes issued by Rail Capital Markets plc in the total amount of USD 895 million (one in relation to its USD 300 million 7.875%. loan participation notes due 2026 and another in relation to its USD 594.9 million 8.250% loan participation notes due 2024) ...

Asters acts as a legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in connection with its EUR 10 million financing for Grain Alliance Group, a Swedish-owned large-sized agricultural holding in Ukraine that cultivates around 60,000 hectares of land. The loan will be used to improve and expand export capacity for grain, which was disrupted as a result of Russia's large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine ...

Asters acted as a legal counsel to the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank in connection with its up to EUR 8 mln financing to LLC "Real Estate Development Centre" for the construction of a four-star hotel in Lviv, Ukraine. The loan will be used for the construction, equipping and commissioning of a 128-room hotel under the 'Novotel' brand, an international mid-range brand for business and leisure travellers ...

Asters has joined the initiative of the United Nations Global Compact Network Ukraine and signed the Memorandum of Joint Action on Anti-Corruption in Ukraine. The initiative aims to create a transparent business environment that will help to stimulate the development of the economy, companies, and society. Asters' business activities are based on an Anti-Corruption Policy that meets the requirements of Ukrainian legislation, national and international anti-corruption standards ...

Asters became the first Ukrainian law firm and one of 11 companies that took part in educational program Climate Ambition Accelerator led by the United Nations Global Compact. Asters Counsel and Head of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Practice Anzhelika Livitska took part in the educational program ...

On 29 September 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine registered the Bill No. 8087 "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Urgent Measures to Strengthen Cyber Defence Capacities of State Information Resources and Critical Information Infrastructure Facilities" (the Bill) ...

Asters acted as the local Ukrainian counsel to PrivatBank (the Bank) in two parallel arbitration proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) brought in 2017 by UK SPV Credit Finance plc (the Issuer) and Madison Pacific Trust Limited (the Trustee) concerning enforcement of Eurobonds issued in 2010 for US$ 200 million and 2013 for US$ 175 million ...

Asters team assisted the charitable foundation Olson Family Trust with the first part of humanitarian mission in Ukraine. The goal of the mission is to help Ukrainian army and citizens during the wartime in the following directions: 1) delivery of humanitarian aid (food, medicines, personal items, children's products) to the frontline zones. 2) evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from the war zone to the western part of Ukraine as well as arranging housing for them ...

On 1 September 2022, 11 new state building standards (hereafter – "SBS") which significantly changed regulation on safety of buildings and structures, resistance and stability, energy efficiency, barrier-free accessibility, environmental requirements, fire safety aspects came into force. The new SBS are listed below: Structures of steel silos with a corrugated wall for grain. Basic provisions of SBS 2.6-221:2021 (https://www.minregion.gov.ua/.../dbn-v.2.6-221_removed ...

Asters secured a landmark victory for two leading Chinese construction and engineering companies Power Construction Corporation of China, Limited and Powerchina Huadong Engineering Corporation, Limited ("Powerchina") in the challenge of the security measures granted by the Kyiv Court of Appeal in assistance to arbitration proceedings pending before the Dubai International Arbitration Center ("DIAC") ...

Asters successfully defended interests of PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank in terms of assets, before the Supreme Court that on 26 July 2022 overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances and dismissed the claim of Triantal Investments Ltd, the PrivatBank's former shareholders, to declare illegal and cancel the order of the National Bank of Ukraine regarding the inspection of PrivatBank, that preceded its nationalisation ...

On 23 June 2022, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine acting on behalf of the State of Ukraine filed the first part of Ukraine’s substantive submissions in its application before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, to address the damages caused by the violations committed by the Russian Federation over the first phase of full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ...

Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Partner and Co-Head of International Arbitration and Cross-Border Litigation at Asters, has been appointed to the working group on the development and implementation of international legal mechanisms to compensate the damage caused by Russia's war against Ukraine. The working group was established by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 18 May 2022 ...

Asters' Counsel and Head of Construction, Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Anzhelika Livitska and other experts joined relevant committees of the European Business Association (EBA) and the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine (CBU) in their work to develop laws introducing deregulation measures for the martial law period and for the period of restoration and rebuild of Ukraine ...

Asters defended interests of PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank in terms of assets, in a court of appeal in a dispute related to the ownership right over the client's head office building located in Dnipro (Ukraine). In November 2020, the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk region upheld the claim of the company connected with the bank's former owners and top management ...

Asters acted as a Ukrainian law counsel to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on EUR 13.7 mln financing to the city of Kryvyi Rih, the largest industrial park in Ukraine with a population of nearly 630,000 people. The investment consists of EUR 10.2 mln of IFC own-account financing and EUR 3,5 mln in blended finance through the Clean Technology Fund ...

Asters has been awarded Law Firm of the Year: Ukraine by The Lawyer European Awards for the second consecutive year. The 2021 ranking highly appreciates the firm's quarantine project that required the review of the firm's strategy combined with the urgent tactics during the challenging times. It also highlights the long-standing commitment of the team mentioning that many of them remain with the firm for over a decade ...

Asters is the first Ukrainian law firm that adapted its corporate website for the use by people with visual impairment. Starting from November 2021 the website includes new options with enhanced contrast and larger fonts allowing users to review content in the most comfortable way. Adaptation of the corporate website is a logical step within Asters barrier-free and inclusion strategy ...

2,944 participants from 7 countries and 20 Ukrainian regions took part in DobroRun 2021, a charity race ("dobro" means "goodness" in Ukrainian) held by Asters and Charity Fund Tabletochki with the purpose to raise funds for helping children with cancer. This year DobroRun was a follow-up of the last year successful debut event. DobroRun's principal feature is its broad inclusivity: anybody can participate at any place and time worldwide ...

As part of its strategic expansion, Asters is announcing the launch of its Nordic Desk. The desk unites Asters lawyers offering legal advice in Scandinavian languages, adapted to Nordic business culture, and with an understanding of the Nordic jurisdictions' legal systems. Asters' Nordic Desk is led by Damien Magrou, who is Norwegian and received his qualification from the University of Bergen. Damien focuses on cross-border M&A, international contracts and transactions ...

Chambers Europe, an influential annual review of the European legal market, recognizes in its 2021 guide 23 Asters' lawyers – the largest number in a single Ukrainian law firm. Asters is the only Ukrainian law firm recognized by the research in all surveyed practices. Asters' recognitions have been highlighted in the 2021 guide in the following way: Asters' Banking & Finance "market-leading team with a longstanding reputation" is ranked in the highest Band 1 ...

Asters is the first Ukrainian law firm to sign the Declaration for Gender Equality and Prevention of Domestic Violence. The initiative is implemented in Ukraine by UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund) and the Center for Corporate Social Responsibility Development ...

Asters has acted for Intreprinderea Mixta "Zernoff" S.R.L., a leading Eastern European manufacturer of spirits and strong alcoholic beverages, on its acquisition of Ukrspyrt's assets. The deal marks the first privatization of the Ukrspyrt assets by a foreign investor. The privatization valued the relevant Ukrspyrt's assets at UAH 120 million making it the first largest privatization transaction of Ukrspyrt assets ...

Asters has successfully defended Dr. Anders Aslund, a well-known Swedish-American economist, diplomat and leading international expert on Ukraine's economy issues, in a defamation dispute with Igor Kolomoisky, former co-owner of PrivatBank, in the Kyiv Court of Appeal. The claimant asked Court to compel Dr. Anders Aslund to retract public statements reported by him, on alleged fraudulent actions of Igor Kolomoisky leading to billions in losses for PrivatBank ...

Asters acted as a Ukrainian law counsel to International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in connection with EUR 30 million loan to Ukrgasbank, as it seeks to boost financing of sustainable energy and energy-efficient projects, including those developed by small and medium enterprises. IFC is supporting Ukrgasbank, the fourth largest bank in Ukraine by assets, on its way to privatization, which will be the first for a large state-owned bank in Ukraine ...