Russian strikes caused Ukrainian businesses around €6.9 billion in direct losses in 2024

Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky told BBC Ukraine in an interview that Russian strikes caused Ukrainian businesses direct damages of around €6.9 billion in the current year.

According to Koretsky, more than 1 million square meters of warehouses, production facilities, and logistics spaces have been destroyed or damaged.

“Despite this, the economy is functioning,” the prime minister said.

The government is transferring state-owned premises to businesses for the relocation and dispersal of warehouses and production facilities. The current state budget allocates 18 billion hryvnias to subsidize interest rates under the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” program. Koretsky also noted that vessels entering Ukrainian ports cannot obtain international insurance due to excessively high risks, and so the state has taken on partial compensation for losses.

According to calculations by the Forbes Ukraine analytics department, from early July through August 6, Russia destroyed more than 400,000 square meters of warehouses and logistics complexes. On the night of August 5, warehouses belonging to Novus, Epicenter, Rozetka, Silpo, and other companies were damaged. Rozetka estimated its losses in the billions of hryvnias. The EVA retail chain estimated losses from the destruction of its distribution center in Brovary at approximately 1 billion hryvnias. As of September 14, in Kyiv and the Kyiv region alone, no fewer than 500,000 square meters of warehouses had been destroyed since July — nearly a third of the market, according to Forbes Ukraine data.

The government announced its first decisions following a meeting with retailers on August 5. On August 6, Koretsky said that the Ministry of Economy, ARMA, and the State Property Fund would prepare a list of state-owned premises available for warehouse use within three days. He also announced a meeting with the National Bank of Ukraine and banks on the issues of credit support and a war-risk insurance mechanism involving international partners. That same day, the government amended the terms of the “5-7-9%” program for agricultural producers, reducing the interest rate on working capital loans from 15% to 10%. Subsequently, the Ministry of Economy announced the preparation of loans at 10% for large businesses. On September 4, regional military administrations introduced round-the-clock “single windows” for businesses and will assist in establishing reserve warehouses.

Ports also came under attack. Since July 22, no vessels have entered the ports of Greater Odesa — for the first time since July 2022, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. Shipowners themselves refused to enter the ports. Deputy Minister Andriy Kashuba noted in an interview with Forbes Ukraine on August 4 that 90% of Ukrainian exports pass through the sea.