Ilyashev & Partners > Kyiv, Ukraine > Firm Profile

Ilyashev & Partners > Firm Profile

The firm: Founded in 1997, Ilyashev & Partners is one of the most authoritative full-service law offices of the CEE region. We have achieved this by employing leading experts in various law practice areas, innovative thinking and strict compliance to ethical standards in relationships with our clients.

Ilyashev & Partners provides services in almost every practice area to well-known European and American companies, leading Ukrainian companies and financial institutions, government agencies, law offices and consulting companies. With offices in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Tallinn, the firm employs 50 highly professional lawyers.

Corporate: Ilyashev & Partners has extensive experience in corporate law. The firm has advised major international corporations entering the Ukrainian market and has helped Ukrainian companies launch large-scale corporate projects. The firm’s knowledge and experience ensure the expert provision of a full range of corporate law services.

Dispute resolution: Dispute resolution is a key practice area at Ilyashev & Partners. The firm is able to litigate in any court, whether it is a local court, the Supreme Court of Ukraine or international arbitration. Furthermore, Ilyashev & Partners never stops at just obtaining a judgment; the firm also ensures its enforcement.

International arbitration: Ilyashev & Partners has many years of experience in international commercial arbitrations according to all major arbitration rules. Our lawyers are experienced in representation in multi-million dollar investment arbitrations: both according to the specialized ICSID Convention and commercial regulations (UNCITRAL, SCC).

International trade and customs: Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm renders the full scope of legal services in the sphere of international trade law to increase the cost of the client’s business and minimize the risks in the process of conducting foreign economic activities. Key areas – trade protection, WTO and anti-dumping laws, plans of applying regional preferential arrangements, customs law, settlement of disputes, customs law, rules of origin.

Banking and finance: The firm provides highly professional advice on banking, corporate finance, debt collection, investment, property assets and lease, securities. Ilyashev & Partners has successfully represented a large number of leading Ukrainian and international banks; has been recognised for the exceptional work by all international rankings. The firm has outstanding reputation and is definitely one of the top law firms in Ukraine.

Employment: Services in labour law constitute one of the key practice areas at Ilyashev & Partners. The firm provides these services to major companies, trade unions and individuals in particular, government officials, chief executives of industrial companies and representative offices.

Intellectual property: In today’s market, patents, copyrights and processes often matter more than plants or offices. Ilyashev & Partners understands the importance of intellectual property protection for business. IP protection is one of the main practice areas at the firm.

Intellectual property: In today’s market, patents, copyrights and processes often matter more than plants or offices. Ilyashev & Partners understands the importance of intellectual property protection for business. IP protection is one of the main practice areas at the firm.

Antitrust and competition: Ilyashev & Partners provides its clients with a wide range of legal services on various matters of antitrust law in Ukraine and abroad, inter alia, obtaining approvals from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for concentrations and concerted actions, protecting clients from unfair competition, anticompetitive practices of the public authorities, and representing clients in disputes related to possible violations of antimonopoly legislation.

Criminal defence: Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm actively expands criminal law practice in the field of white-collar and other crimes. Our attorneys have extensive experience of cooperation with law enforcement institutions and experience in advocacy that permits to protect and represent clients at all stages of criminal proceedings. The firm has experience in conducting independent financial investigations, including in respect of crimes committed by unscrupulous management bodies of clients.

Agribusiness: Ilyashev & Partners provides professional arrangement of contractual relations which minimizes clients’ risks and losses. The firm has valuable experience in M&A and construction in Ukrainian agriculture sector, as well as in the resolution of various disputes.

Clients: An irreproachable reputation, an unfailing professional approach and the highest standards of work draw many companies and individuals to Ilyashev & Partners’ practice. The firm’s clients range from international corporations to local government bodies.

Lawyer Profiles

Photo	Name	Position	Profile
	Mr Volodymyr Adonin	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mr Mykhailo Churakov	Lawyer	View Profile
	Mr Oleksandr Denysenko	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Oleksandr Fefelov	Attorney at Law, Partner,  Head of Antitrust and Competition Practice	View Profile
	Mr Oleksiy Gorbatyuk	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mrs Valeriia Gudiy	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Dmytro Hruba	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mr Dmytro Hrybov	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Mikhail Ilyashev	Attorney at Law, Managing Partner, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine	View Profile
	Mr Oleksandr Kamsha	Attorney at Law, Insolvency Receiver	View Profile
	Mr Vadym Kizlenko	Attorney at Law, Counsel, Insolvency Receiver	View Profile
	Mr Sergiy Kliestov	Lawyer	View Profile
	Mr Andrii Konoplia	Attorney at Law, Counsel, Insolvency Receiver	View Profile
	Mr Kostiantyn Kryvenko	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mr Oleh Kulyk	Lawyer	View Profile
	Ms Nataliia Kyreieva	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mr Dmytro Lazebnyi	Attroney at Law	View Profile
	Mr Andriy Lytvyn	Attorney at Law, Head of Kharkiv Office, Insolvency Receiver	View Profile
	Mr Roman Marchenko	Attorney at Law, Senior Partner, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine	View Profile
	Mr Ivan Maryniuk	Lawyer	View Profile
	Mr Yaroslav Mudryi	Lawyer	View Profile
	Mr Sergey Nedelko	Attorney at Law, Counsel, Head of Odesa Office	View Profile
	Mr Dmytro Nikulesko	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Mrs Olena Omelchenko	Attorney at Law, Partner, Head of International Trade Practice	View Profile
	Mr Roman Protsyshyn	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Ms Marina Riashchenko	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Oleksandr Rudenko	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Ms Olena Sereda	Lawyer	View Profile
	Ms Kateryna Solodovnyk	Lawyer	View Profile
	Mr Yevgen Solovyov	Attorney at Law, Partner, Insolvency Receiver	View Profile
	Mr Vyacheslav Sytyi	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Andrii Tereshchuk	Counsel	View Profile
	Mr Oleh Trokhymchuk	Attorney at Law, Counsel	View Profile
	Ms Alla Tsymanovska	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Ms Anneta Yakusheva	Attorney at Law	View Profile
	Ms Olha Yaremenko	Lawyer	View Profile

Doing Business In

Ukraine

Introduction

Starting from 05:30 of 24 February 2022, Ukraine imposed martial law on its whole territory as a result of the military aggression of the Russian Federation. On the first day of the full-scale invasion, the President of Ukraine signed the Decrees On the Formation of Military Administrations and On General Mobilization.

During 2022, almost one million people were mobilized into the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, another 14.5 million Ukrainians, mainly women and children, left the country in 2022. Additionally, 4.7 million people changed their place of residence in Ukraine and were registered as internally displaced persons.

The year 2022, marked by the war, was notable for the adoption of normative legal acts that significantly changed the Ukrainian legal framework. During the year, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted 399 wartime laws and regulations.

Businesses in Ukraine had to adapt to working conditions between air raids, energy breakdowns due to the terrorist missile attacks on energy infrastructure, and curfews, amid sharp revenue declines, constant changes in the legal field and a personnel crisis due to migration and mobilization of employees. According to USAID, since the start of the war, 19% of Ukrainian companies were forced to relocate, most of them from the East of Ukraine.

Flexibility in such a situation was the only way for the business to survive. Production chains on the domestic market underwent significant changes. Thanks to international aid in the form of equipment and modern air defense systems, Ukraine is gradually moving away from power outages giving the businesses the opportunity to plan their activities ahead.

Ukraine’s Economy

The Ukrainian government estimates that the national economy fell by about a third after the most difficult year in the country’s recent history. Irreversible losses in industry have already exceeded 30%. According to the Center for Economic Strategy, such an annual decline will be the largest in the entire history of Ukrainian independence.

Some sectors of the economy have been affected much more. The metallurgical industry, historically one of the locomotives of the Ukrainian economy and exports in particular, has suffered some of the most significant losses. The mining and metallurgical complex finished 2022 with a 70% decline in both production and exports as a result of the Russian occupation, the destruction of two large metallurgical plants in Mariupol and the closure of seaports through which products were exported. Other sectors, such as aviation, have completely vanished.

According to the Kyiv School of Economics, by the end of 2022 direct and indirect losses of Ukraine exceed USD 600 billion, of which about USD 138 billion is infrastructure and production destruction.

The Ukrainian’s ability to avoid the most negative and pessimistic scenarios was due to the unprecedented support of partner countries and the fact that citizens and businesses have learned to live in the harsh conditions dictated by the war. Throughout 2022, Ukraine received more than USD 30 billion in grants and concessional loans. This aid is expected to reach USD 38 billion in 2023.

Business Environment

Ukraine’s possible EU accession

The prospect of EU accession is one of the key changes that improved the business climate in Ukraine. On 4 October 2022, the OECD Council recognized Ukraine as a potential member and started an initial dialogue on accession.

The prospect of EU membership is an important driver of reforms: preparations for membership will require the completing a comprehensive transformation of all areas. Thanks to the candidate status and movement towards membership, the business climate in Ukraine will approach the conditions of the EU countries.

Cancellation of duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports

In May 2022, the EU introduced a duty-free trade regime with Ukraine for a period of one year. The abolition of customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports gave Ukrainian manufacturers the opportunity to more widely present their products on European markets. The same right of duty-free export for Ukrainian products is provided by Canada and Great Britain. During the war, Ukrainian manufacturers were able to sell almost USD 37 billion worth of products abroad. The main export goods with a share of about 13% are sunflower oil and corn, which were exported by sea thanks to the grain agreement. It is expected that the duty-free trade regime will be extended for another year.

Transport visa-free regime with the EU

On 29 June 2022, Ukraine and the EU signed the Agreement on Road Freight Transport, also known as the “transport visa-free regime”. The agreement abolishes the need for Ukrainian carriers to obtain permits for bilateral and transit traffic to EU countries and allows to avoid stopping the export of Ukrainian products through road checkpoints. The agreement also provides for measures to simplify the recognition of driver’s documents. The agreement has been extended until 30 June 2024.

Export logistics

One of the main consequences of the Russian invasion was an almost complete change in the country’s export logistics. This was caused by the capture and blockade by the enemy of most of the seaports, through which almost 75% of Ukraine’s total trade passed, which is 120 million tons of cargo per year. And while the Black Sea grain corridor has started to work for agricultural market, the situation remains critical for the metallurgy. In the absence of the same export opportunity that the Ukrainian agribusiness was provided with through the Black Sea grain deal reached through the mediation of the UN and Turkey, metallurgical exports fell by 62%.

In July 2022, the European Commission made changes to the indicative maps of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), including Ukrainian logistics routes. This decision contributed to the implementation of the “Paths of Solidarity” initiative regarding the export of Ukrainian agricultural products and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Tax benefits and regulatory policy

From the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion into Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its committees actively began working on wartime legislative acts in the economic sphere.

In the economic sphere the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also adopted a number of laws, in particular:

• introduced monitoring of existing and potential threats to the national security of Ukraine in state banks, state-owned enterprises, and companies (No. 2182-IX);
• simplified the mechanism for obtaining state funds by business entities for compensation of losses related to martial law (No. 2175-IX);
• provided protection in the field of intellectual property during martial law (No. 2174-IX).
• introduced a new type of sanctions – confiscation of assets owned by individual persons or legal entities, whose actions posed a significant threat to national security, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine (No. 2257-IX);
• determined the conditions for relocation processes of enterprises under martial law (No. 2468-IX).

In 2022, a total of 46 laws in the field of finance, tax and customs policy were adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine since the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine.

The shock experienced by the business from the start of the war was softened by introducing tax benefits and easing reporting requirements. The Ukrainian Parliament passed two laws that postponed the taxes payments and reporting, introduced a moratorium on all types of tax audits, and exempted those who could not pay taxes on time from liability.

Starting from 1 March 2022, land fees (land tax and rent for state and communal land plots) were abolished. This rule will expire on December 31 of the year following the year in which martial law is lifted.

In June 2022 the Verkhovna Rada introduced tax incentives for industrial parks. The said incentives provide for the exemption from VAT and import duties on importation of new equipment (without the right to leasing or use by third parties), exemption from income tax throughout a ten-year period (if the tax amount is invested in production) and the right of local self-governing bodies to establish preferential property tax rates and land fees.

Confiscation of private assets of the aggressor and its supporters

Ukraine has become the first country to define on a legislative level the possibility of applying the sanction of confiscation of private assets of the aggressor and its supporters. On 2 May 2022, corresponding amendments were made to the Law of Ukraine On Sanctions according to which assets are subject to confiscation for actions that posed a significant threat to the national security, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine (including through armed aggression or terrorist activities) or significantly contributed (including through financing) to the commission of such actions by other persons.

The said applies to the assets of people who made decisions or participated in armed aggression against Ukraine, as well as collaborators who supported the occupation administrations and authorities or held referendums or elections in the occupied territories. The second category is represented by the assets of persons who directly contributed to the invasion and persons indirectly related to the war. They include:

• those who expressed the intention and readiness to use their army to promote armed aggression, provided Russia with the use of territory, civil or military infrastructure for the accommodation of its army and supplies, allowed the Russian army to cross its border into the territory of Ukraine;
• big business represented by the companies that over the last year paid over USD 1 million in taxes to the Russian state budget;
• benefactors and donors who made donations to state authorities or the military administration of Russia for more than USD 20.500 (UAH 750.000);
• buyers of Russia Government Bonds in the amount of USD 82.000 (UAH 3 million) per year;
• propagandists and distributors of Russian narratives.

The conditions for confiscation of assets are as follows:

– it can only be applied during the period of the legal regime of martial law;

– preliminary application of sanctions on assets in the form of their blocking.

Confiscation of assets is possible only if these two conditions are present. The legal regime of martial law narrows in time the possibility of confiscation of assets and encourages the state to impose sanctions as quickly as possible.

Ukraine’s partners, who have already imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and froze private Russian assets worth billions, and also introduced a corresponding instrument or are actively looking for ways to confiscate and use these funds.

The Ukrainian practice will serve as an example for future approaches and to confirm or refute the viability of such sanctions as confiscation of assets of persons who promote military aggression, and, accordingly, the possibility of using such tools to effectively prevent wars and compensate the affected countries.

Current Opportunities for Investors

The Ukrainian authorities are doing everything possible to kickstart the investment process in the country’s recovery now, rather than waiting for the end of the war.

In July 2022, Ukraine presented a powerful and comprehensive reconstruction plan at a conference in Lugano. The implementation of this strategy is designed for ten years and has been enthusiastically welcomed and supported by international partners. Ukraine sets itself an ambitious, but quite realistic goal: to make the leap from a transitional to a developing economy by 2032.

A unique electronic platform Advantage Ukraine has already been created to attract foreign investors to the Ukrainian economy. The platform includes more than 500 investment projects and opportunities in 10 sectors of the economy. After the registration on the platform each potential investor will receive comprehensive information about investment opportunities, specific projects and the benefits that it will have from investing in the economy of Ukraine.

In particular, Ukraine is expecting private investments in defense, agriculture, IT, renewable energy, gas production and storage, development of logistics, construction, and more. Ukraine offers facilities for construction that can be located in industrial parks, tax benefits, financing from international financial organizations and coverage of credit risks.

According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, as of December 2022 Advantage Ukraine platform Ukraine has received more than 500 applications for future investments in the country.

Forecast for 2023

In 2023, Ukraine will focus on meeting the requirements for its accession to the EU. Entrepreneurs are waiting for the tax system and customs reforms and hope for the rapid and effective reformation of a judicial system and a real fight against corruption. There are high expectations for implementation of the National Recovery Plan, which is estimated at USD 750 billion.

The key risk to the functioning of the Ukrainian economy in 2023 will be a decline in production and an increase in unemployment. Investment development of the country will be difficult due to war risks, withdrawal of labor resources to the ranks of the armed forces, energy terror, and logistical problems.

Focus On

Dispute Resolution in Ukraine

Despite the unprovoked war launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in 2022, the Ukrainian courts have adapted to the administration of independent justice even in the face of air bombardments and relentless air raid alerts.

Under the circumstances, the top priorities for the legal business were to maintain timely and stable communication with clients and keep control over legal processes, some of which were temporarily stopped or put on hold, and some continued despite the surrounding conditions. After May 2022, business activities in Ukraine began to recover and legal processes began to intensify, taking into account the requirements and challenges of martial law in Ukraine.

Although the Ukrainian legislation provides that the introduction of martial law in the country or in its separate territories does not affect the process of administration of justice, however, in fact, with the beginning of a full-scale war the judicial system was in a state of adaptation to wartime conditions and continues to improve the relevant processes nowadays.

According to the orders of the Chairman of the Supreme Court “On Changing the Territorial Jurisdiction of Court Cases Under Martial Law” the territorial jurisdiction of cases for some courts in Ukraine has changed due to the impossibility of administration of justice by them for objective reasons during the period of effective martial law or for emergency reasons. Thus, the consideration of certain proceedings has started from scratch.

In general, it can be noted that the judicial system of Ukraine has adequately responded to challenges and conditions that resulted from the outbreak of an unprovoked war. Many court proceedings switched to online regime, participation in court hearings has increasingly moved to the format of video conferences between the parties, and many procedural aspects have started to be solved online, even compared to the quarantine period of 2020-2021.

The judicial system of Ukraine reacted very quickly to the ongoing war situation and adopted a number of quite noteworthy court decisions, which should be described in more detail.

As pointed out by the Supreme Court in its Resolution of 14 April 2022, in case No. 308/9708/19, as a result of commitment of an unprovoked and full-scale act of armed aggression against the Ukrainian state, as well as numerous acts of genocide of the Ukrainian people, the Russian Federation is not entitled to further invoke its judicial immunity, thereby denying the jurisdiction of the courts of Ukraine to consider and decide cases on compensation for damage caused by such acts. Thus, the Supreme Court confirmed that the aggressor country does not have any legal right to use its judicial immunity in cases related to recovery of damages.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court only supplemented its vision of the legal situation with the judicial immunity of the aggressor state and indicated that the judicial immunity of the Russian Federation is not applicable due to the violation by it of the state sovereignty of Ukraine, and therefore, the Russian Federation cannot exercise its sovereign rights protected by judicial immunity. Thus, Russia has no reason to invoke immunity to avoid liability for damage to property. This legal opinion was set forth by the Supreme Court in its Resolution dated 18 May 2022, in case No. 760/17232/20-c.

As follows from the above decisions of the highest court of Ukraine, court cases for the recovery of damages caused by illegal military aggression of the Russian army can be considered by the courts of Ukraine, and claims under such cases are not limited by any legal restrictions.

But the Supreme Court was not only concerned with cases that focused on compensation for damages caused by the military aggression. The Supreme Court also paid attention to issues related to corporate disputes, namely the determination of the fair price of shares of a joint-stock company during the squeeze-out procedure.

The Chamber of the Court for Consideration of Corporate Disputes has reached a conclusion on what can still be considered a fair value of a share during a mandatory acquisition procedure. The term “fair value” does not mean a certain particular amount of money, but the observance by the issuer (supervisory board) of the statutory procedure for determining the market value of shares, which provides for the need to select the highest value if the market value can be calculated using different approaches and methods, in the absence the decisive influence of the majority shareholder on the decision of the supervisory board, which elects the subject of appraisal activity and approves the market value of the shares determined by such subject. In case of a squeeze-out, the share value should not be the average market (exchange) value, but the highest value that exists on the market and is determined by an expert using various methods, and this is the value that should be considered fair. This legal conclusion was set out by the court in a Resolution dated 15 June 2022, in case No. 905/671/19.

In addition to the circumstances of martial law, the consequences of the quarantine imposed by the government of Ukraine, which was introduced in response to the Covid-19 epidemic in 2020, are also reflected in judicial practice. The Supreme Court considered a dispute that was directly related to the introduced anti-quarantine measures and the ban on business inspections by the tax authorities.

As the Supreme Court indicated in its resolution the moratorium on conducting tax audits during the quarantine period, expressly stipulated by paragraph 52-2 of subsection 10 of section XX of the Transitional Provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine, and the specified norm regarding restrictions on scheduled audits, was in force, and its validity has not been canceled. In case  audit was carried out contrary to the legislative prohibition, such circumstances entail the unlawfulness of tax notices-decisions adopted as a result of such an audit. This legal conclusion was set out by the court in a Resolution dated 01 September 2022, in case No. 640/16093/21.

It must be pointed out that the provisions of paragraph 52-2 of subsection 10 of section XX of the Transitional Provisions of the Tax Code of Ukraine have been suspended for the period of martial law in Ukraine.

It is worth paying attention to the court practice that was formed with the participation of attorneys of Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, which relates to the eligibility of considering a dispute under a sale and purchase agreement in ad hoc arbitration.

As the Supreme Court noted the current legislation of Ukraine does not contain an imperative prohibition (does not limit the subjective limits of arbitrability) regarding the possibility of transferring, by agreement of the parties, to the consideration of an international commercial arbitration dispute arising from sales contracts the parties to which are an individual persons and a non-resident legal entity, a dispute arising between a legal entity and a citizen of Ukraine from the contract of sale, taking into account the agreement reached between the parties, could be referred to the ad hoc arbitration court. This resolution of the Supreme Court was adopted on 12 January 2023, in case No. 824/83/22.

Ilyashev and Partners Law Firm once again managed to prove the legitimacy of the consideration of such disputes by the arbitration court, and properly secure the interests of the client.

Press Releases

Court Allows Creative Group Not to Repay Debt to Russian Creditor

Ilyashev & Partners Supports Opening of Terre des Hommes’ Ukrainian Branch

Ilyashev & Partners Represents All Members of the International Group of P&I Clubs

Ilyashev & Partners Successfully Defends the Interests of Association of Glass Producers in an Anti-Dumping Investigation on Imports from Belarus

Ilyashev & Partners Advises the International Humanitarian Organization AVSI Foundation

Ilyashev & Partners Achieves a Positive Decision for Clients in a Bankruptcy Case worth over UAH 1 billion

Ilyashev & Partners Defends Hotel Salute in a Dispute with the National Bank of Ukraine

Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm defended the interests of Hotel Salute in the case of foreclosure of its buildings through sale at public auction.

Ilyashev & Partners Protects Ferrexpo’s Ownership in Ferrexpo Poltava Mining in the Supreme Court

Roman Protsyshyn and Marina Riashchenko Entered the List of Arbitrators of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association

lyashev & Partners Ranks Number Two Among the Leading Ukrainian Law Firms in 2022