Ukraine's Agriculture Policy and Food Minister Taras Vysotskyi said that logistics centers of all major retail chains — Novus, ATB, Silpo, and Fora — have been destroyed or seriously damaged in recent strikes. He described the current wave of attacks as the most extensive since the start of the full-scale invasion, targeting what he called the 'internal civilian life-support system.'
In 2022, Russia primarily attacked export agricultural infrastructure, and later energy facilities, Vysotskyi said. Now, he said, the attacks are systematic against domestic supply chains. He claimed there is no food shortage yet, but authorities expect prices to rise by about 2.5% due to warehouse destruction, while businesses anticipate a much larger increase.
Dmytro Krymskyi, co-founder of Bureau of Wine, which owns the Goodwine chain, estimated the potential impact on some goods at 15%, according to The Guardian. In a single strike on September 1, the company lost €4 million worth of goods at a warehouse near Kyiv. Krymskyi noted that the problem is not just destroyed stock: companies must rebuild their entire supply system, distributing goods among smaller warehouses, seeking underground facilities, and even considering moving part of their inventory to Poland. Due to constant air raid alerts, employees at one warehouse could work only three to four hours a day.
Russia has also been striking other infrastructure. In recent weeks, logistics centers of online stores and pharmaceutical warehouses have been attacked. At a warehouse of the pharmaceutical company Biokon, three months' worth of medicine supplies were destroyed, after which the company suspended operations. A strike also hit one of the main World Health Organization warehouses with humanitarian aid near Kyiv. So far, there has been no mass hoarding of food, as seen in the first months of the invasion.
Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade said it is 'premature' to decide on restoring logistics centers of marketplaces that, according to the ministry, were damaged by Ukrainian forces. Deputy Minister Roman Chekushov told TASS that the need for restoration will be assessed with companies by the end of the year. 'It is premature to say that 100% restoration of exactly those logistics centers that were is required. Logistics is changing now,' Chekushov said. He added that marketplaces are redirecting logistics flows, using small partner sorting centers, and introducing new facilities. According to Ekho's calculations, Ukrainian forces carried out 48 strikes on marketplace logistics in 25 regions over the three summer months.