Category: Ukraine

Kinstellar has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to FMS-Wertmanagement AoR, a German federal institution established to wind up the risk positions of Hypo Real Estate Holding, in connection with the sale of debt owed by a shopping mall in downtown Kyiv under a USD 140 million credit facility agreement.

According to Kinstellar, “the loan had the benefit of an extensive security package that included pledges over the shares, assets, revenue streams and bank accounts of the property companies.”

The Kinstellar team in Kyiv was led by Counsel Andriy Nikiforov and included Counsel Oleg Matiusha, Senior Associates Ganna Kalinichenko and Oleh Andreikiv, and Associate Viktoriia Pysmenna.

Kinstellar did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Former Dynasty Law Head of Office Denys Kytsenko has joined Eterna Law in Kyiv as Partner and Head of Bankruptcy and Restructuring.

According to Eterna Law, Kytsenko has “successfully led a number of outstanding cases, representing major International and Ukrainian banks as creditors.” The firm describes him as having, in addition, “strong experience in restructuring, national tax, IP and labor litigation.”

Before joining Dynasty Law in January 2017, Kytsenko was a partner and Head of Litigation at Integrites. His experience also includes time with Sibkedr Ltd., Enetia Ltd., Asters, and Generali PPF. He graduated from the Zaporizhzhya Institute of Law in 2000 and holds a PhD in international law from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Avellum has advised Investment Capital Ukraine, ICU,  on the sale of its stake in several alternative energy projects in Ukraine it jointly developed with the VR Capital Group to its JV partner.

The transaction involved the Kamianets-Podilskа solar power plant in the Khmelnytskyi region of Ukraine with a capacity of 64 MW, the Solar Capital plant in the Kherson region with a capacity of 35 MW, and several power plants in the Mykolaiv region with a total capacity of 127 MW.

ICU is an independent asset management, private equity, and investment advisory firm specializing in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe. The VR Capital Group is an alternative asset manager with assets under management in excess of USD 4.5 billion. Its principal offices are in London and New York, and its advisory affiliates are regulated by the U.S. SEC and the U.K. FCA.

The Avellum team was led by Partner Yuriy Nechayev and included Associates Dmytro Symbiryov and Maryna Buinytska.

Former ILF Senior Associate Ivan Bondarchuk has joined Evris as Head of Energy Law and Natural Resources.

Bondarchuk has over six years of experience in the areas of energy markets, energy efficiency, and alternative energy. He had worked at the ILF Law Firm since January 2013. He graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 2013 and then received an LL.M. in Energy Law in 2015. He also holds a 2018 Master of Laws in Energy and Environmental Law from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.

Ukraine’s Evris law firm, which opened in 2017, has opened its first foreign office — a representative office in Singapore.

According to a statement on the Evris website, “Singapore is ranked as the world’s easiest place to do business by the World Bank. Singapore is also a strategic location for many international companies and a massive regional hub for global commerce, finance, transportation, and legal services. Having a sound financial system and a stable political environment, Singapore offers an excellent springboard to expand business in Asia. Many global corporations chose to locate their headquarters in Singapore because of benefits like attractive corporate tax rates, availability of funding, talented workforce, flexible immigration policies for expatriates, advanced infrastructure, low crime rate, etc. That’s why our team decided to open a representative office in Singapore.”

The office will managed by Counsel Liubomyr Muzhyk, who has recently relocated to the Southeast Asian island city-state. According to Evris, “Muzhyk deals primarily “with the closure of significant transactions related to the transition of real estate due to the conclusion of economic contracts, the protection of the rights of creditors in the recovery of mortgaged property in extrajudicial order, and also gives legal advice on protecting the legal integrity of the business.”

Vasil Kisil & Partners has announced that it, on October 1, 2019, it will be joined by the “lawyers and attorneys of the Nazar Kulchytskyy & Partners Law Firm.”

According to VKP, “Nazar Kulchytskyy will run such practice areas as White Collar Crimes, European Court of Human Rights Case Law, and Personal Data Protection.”

Nazar Kulchytskyy has been the head of his eponymous law firm since 2013, after spending the previous year as the Government Agent of Ukraine before the European Court of Human Rights, representing Ukraine. According to VKP, “while holding this office, he prepared the position of the Government in more than 500 cases before the European Court of Human Rights, in particular, represented Ukraine at oral hearings on Lutsenko v. Ukraine, Tymoshenko v. Ukraine and Oleksandr Volkov v. Ukraine.” From 2007 to 2012, Nazar was the Head of the Office of the Government Agent of Ukraine for the European Court of Human Rights. 

Coming with Kulchytskyy are Ukrainian lawyers Andriana Kulchytska, Markiyan Bem, Anastasiia Nekrasova, Oksana Kravchenko, and Marko Holovach.

“We are happy to welcome a new partner, Nazar Kulchytskyy, and his team,” commented Vasil Kisil & Partners Managing Partner Andriy Stelmashchuk. “Nazar’s professional experience will give a new stimulus for the growth of European Court of Human Rights case law and personal data protection practices and enable us to raise the bar even higher in terms of the service quality we deliver.” 

“We appreciate high standards, impeccable reputation and 27-year history of Vasil Kisil & Partners,” said Kulchytskyy, of the move. “I am sure that the synergy of our knowledge, practices and expertise will bring success for legal protection of clients.”

Integrites has successfully represented the interests of the Ukrainian state enterprise Ukrkhimtransamiak, an ammonia pipeline operator, in arbitration proceedings against Russian chemical giant Togliattiazot worth over USD 190 million.

According to Integrites, “the case, stemming from a long-term contract for ammonia transit through the territory of Ukraine, was referred to arbitration under the Rules of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2017. [Ukrkhimtransamiak] initiated these arbitral proceedings, while Togliattiazot filed several cross-claims. Both parties sought revision of the contractual tariff for ammonia transit through the Ukrainian part of the “Togliatti-Odessa” pipeline.

“The negative outcome of the dispute could have affected the global ammonia market,” Integrites explained, “because the ammonia pipeline has no market equivalent and remains the major means of transportation of ammonia produced and exported by Togliattiazot (i.e. about 11% of global ammonia exports).”

The firm reports that it “secured an unprecedented award revising the transit tariff sought by its client [and] also helped the client defeat all cross-claims with economic effect exceeding USD 180 million.”

The Integrites team was supervised by Partner Olena Perepelynska and included Senior Associate Krystyna Khripkova and Associate Anastasiia Iliashenko. 

“The case proved to be challenging and requiring analysis and application of not only the Civil and Commercial Codes of Ukraine,” commented Perepelynska, “but of many provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine, CIS customs convention, Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and many other Ukrainian laws and international treaties. Both the nature and complexity of the case make it unique among those considered by the ICAC.”

Editor’s Note: According to Integrites, “on September 3, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Kyiv Court of Appeal and dismissed the appeal of Togliattiazot.”

On October 6, 2022, Integrites announced that it had successfully represented Ukrkhimtransamiak against Togliattiazot before the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the matter of the full recovery of the main debt and default interest, as well as a partial recovery of legal costs. The firm’s team included Partners Olena Perepelynska and Serhii Uvarov, Senior Associate Daria Ganzienko, and Associate Dariia Zyma.

Former Nobles Partners Artem Nagdalian and Roman Shulyar have joined Marchenko Partners in Kyiv.

Nagdalian’s practice focuses on privatization, banking and finance, securities, corporate law, and capital markets. He spent the past two years as a partner at Nobles, and was a partner at Phenomena for the five years before that — the last four as Managing Partner. He has also worked with Baker McKenzie, as Director of Deutsche Bank AG, and as a Vice President of Credit Suisse First Boston. He received his J.D. from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University and an LL.M. from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

Shulyar focuses on banking and finance, debt restructuring, and currency regulation. He, like Nagdalian, spent from 2012 to 2017 as a Partner at Phenomena before moving to Nobles in 2017. He also has experience at Chadbourne & Parke, as a paralegal at Shevchenko Didkovskiy & Partners, and in-house with Arsenal-Center LLC. He received his B.A. and Master’s degrees from Kyiv International University.

According to Oleh Marchenko, “this expansion is a natural step for the firm, as we were looking for opportunities to grow and provide more diverse services, while adding more value for our existing and future clients.” And Roman Shulyar added that, “Marchenko Partners is well-known in the market for top-notch expertise and uncompromised quality of legal services. We are enthusiastic to become a part of the firm and confident that our clients will benefit from this winning combination.”

“The expansion is encouraging. It strengthens our current market position and creates prospects for future growth,” said Partner Oleksandr Aleksyeyenko. “Both Artem and Roman have an impressive track record and their reputation is remarkable. We share the same vision for our future, which is crucial for us.”

“There is a strong match in our values and vision for our future,” added Marchenko Partners CEO Mariia Taras. “All partners are committed to providing efficient and high-quality services to clients in the areas of our expertise. Moreover, practicing law in a challenging environment, we are committed to integrity in our dealings and the rule of law. The combination will benefit both our clients and our people, while we remain open for future opportunities to develop and grow.”

Sayenko Kharenko has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the EBRD on its grant of an up-to EUR 5.3 million financial package to Bank Lviv under the EBRD’s Women in Business Programme.

The package consists of a four-year loan of up to EUR 4.3 million extended in Ukrainian currency for on-lending to women-led micro, small, and medium-sized companies. It will promote women’s entrepreneurship and participation in business by assisting with access to finance, know-how, and technical advice.

In addition, the EBRD will provide EUR 1 million limit to Bank Lviv under the EBRD Trade Facilitation Programme to stimulate international and regional trade.

According to Sayenko Kharenko, “the EBRD’s Women in Business Programme is specifically focused on women-led small and medium-sized businesses. The EBRD provides access to finance through credit lines to local banks dedicated to developing women-led SMEs, alongside business advice to help businesses become more competitive. The programme also offers training, mentoring and other support to enable women entrepreneurs to share experiences and learn from each other.”

Sayenko Kharenko’s team was led by Counsel Igor Lozenko and included Associate Vira Pankiv and Junior Associate Vladyslava Mitsai.

Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance Amsterdam have advised the Netherlands Development Finance Company, the Green for Growth Fund, and the Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credits on EUR 37.8 million financing to Scatec Solar for the construction of a 54 MWp solar PV plant in the community of Bohuslav, in the Kyiv region of Ukraine. Integrites and Triniti advised Scatec Solar on the transaction, which closed in July 2019.

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), a Dutch development bank, acted as mandated lead arranger, original lender, and facilities agent. The Green for Growth Fund participated under FMO’s B Facility, and the Norwegian Guarantee Institute for Export Credits, a Norwegian export credit agency, provided a partial unfunded credit guarantee to FMO with respect to financing of the construction, maintenance, and operation of the Bohuslav plant.

The Redcliffe team was led by Managing Partner Olexiy Soshenko.

The Integrites team was led by Partner Igor Krasovskiy and included Senior Associates Olena Savchuk and Yuriy Korchev and Associates Alina Trofimova and Viktoriia-Anna Oliinyk.

As reported on 10 July 2019, Integrites has advised Scatec Solar on the construction and financing of six PV plants in Ukraine.