Ukraine Residential

Construction

Kyiv Calling has written about residential prices and new construction, but where exactly is the new construction taking place? When I explain that construction has been happening throughout the war in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv, people are surprised. But the damage is not uniform and people in those cities and throughout Ukraine live and work every day. The areas with the most residential construction are shown above. This fits with the concept of the Ukraine Prime Property Fund—investing in residential property in the places that will drive the Ukrainian economy. Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, Lviv and Lviv Oblast, and Odesa will be the largest drivers of housing in the post-war period. They already account for 57.5% of new residential construction starts in Ukraine in 2026.

“Unbreakable” Kharkiv

The Ukrainian government is committing 400 Million hrivnia ($8.95 Million) to repairing 11 apartment buildings that will house nearly 2,000 people in Kharkiv. The apartment blocks are in several areas, including hard-hit Saltivka. The city was home to 38 institutions of higher education and over 300,000 students. Much of the education is now online, but the population living in the city is an estimated 83% of the pre-2022 invasion level. However, many of those are temporary IDP, with a significant portion of refugees yet to return. Still, “Unbreakable Kharkiv”, like much of Ukraine, has shown incredible resilience. It isn’t just repair that is being done. A new master plan for Kharkiv is being developed with sustainable infrastructure, affordable housing, public spaces and revitalizing the economy. The UN4Ukraine program was founded to support Kharkiv and Mykolaiv and to build back better.

War Risk Insurance

There are several coverages available. Industrial projects that qualify through MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) pay premiums based on project and country risk, averaging roughly 1% of insured value annually. The application fee is $5,000 for projects under $25 million in insured value and $10,000 for those $25 million and above; the fee is applied to the premium or refunded if MIGA rejects the project. MIGA's ability to provide coverage in Ukraine is supported by subsidized donor trust funds such as the SURE Trust Fund. The U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) offers political-risk insurance of up to $1 billion. The Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility (URGF), backed by the EBRD, supports international reinsurers, enabling Ukrainian insurers to offer commercial war-risk coverage.

New Manufacturing

Uzhgorod Pharmaceutical

The first stage of Biopharma’s new facility in Uzhgorod is slated to open next month. The company is investing €75 Million ($87 Million) in this stage of the blood plasma processing operation. Construction began in late 2024.

Zhytomyr Factory

A new factory opened last month producing bagasse tableware from sugarcane byproducts. The €5Million ($5.8 Million) Pulp Master plant is the first of two stages and will support 50 jobs in Zhytomyr with a capacity of 50 million units annually. Zhytomyr Oblast is also notable for the level of support that Estonia has supplied in “adopting” the Oblast, which is similar in size and population. Estonia earlier this year completed housing for 36 IDP families in the region. Last year, Estonia and Japan announced another housing project that they will jointly finance in the oblast. Estonia total commitment has been about 3.6% of its GDP to Ukrainian support, the only nation that comes close is Denmark with about 3%. The U.S. supplied no new funding in 2025—0%.

Unilever- Bila Tserkva

Unilever announced a new €20 Million ($23 Million) factory build in 2023 for its line of personal care products. Groundbreaking was in 2024 and the factory opened last year. The entire process took place after Russia’s escalation. The factory sits in the Bila Tserkva Industrial Park.

Energy

Kyivstar Group acquired 6 solar plants in Lviv Oblast totaling 105 MW for UAH3.6 billion ($80.8 million), thereby raising its renewable energy capacity to 118 MW and continuing to advance Kyivstar’s energy resilience strategy.

Notus (Germany) is building a 124 MW Odesa wind farm project with a cost of €231.4 million ($383 Million). Construction is in process and is expected to be completed early in 2027. EBRD, IFC, Swedfund and BIO are lenders with the latter two taking subordinated positions in a strong move to support Ukraine’s energy needs.

Retail

Polish retail giant Pepco is opening 4 new stores in Ukraine, including in Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Mukachevo, and Ternopil. The chain focuses on household goods and clothing, has stores across Europe and serves tens of millions of customers. The four stores are only the beginning of Pepco’s entry into the Ukrainian market..

Recent Russian attacks have destroyed or damaged facilities belonging to Nova Poshta, Epicentr and other Ukrainian logistics/retail operations.

Infrastructure

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is working with Ukraine to build critical infrastructure. EIB Advisory’s initial project is the “M15” highway connecting Odesa with the Romanian border. Not only does it provide better access for citizens on both sides, but it connects with ports on the Danube River, supporting trade and connectivity. Ukraine and Romania are rebuilding a major border crossing and are considering a new bridge over the Danube at Orlivka, currently served by a ferry.

Moldova

Ukraine + Moldova +Romania

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are doing more than damaging infrastructure. They are shifting the region’s economic gravity- and making Moldova far more important to Ukraine and the European Union.

Kyiv and Chișinău have agreed to move more Ukrainian grain by rail through Moldova and on to the Romanian port of Constanța. One corridor may eventually handle 4.5 million metric tons a year, or about 10% of Ukraine’s grain exports. The EU’s Solidarity Lanes have already carried 226 million tons of Ukrainian exports since the full-scale invasion, about 102 million tons of it agricultural. The European Commission sees these routes as part of Ukraine’s integration into the EU.

Moldova sits smack dab in the middle of it.

The country connects southwestern Ukraine to Romania and the EU, and its Giurgiulești International Free Port on the Danube connects to the Black Sea. What was seen as a disadvantage- a small landlocked country- is turning into a 21st century strategic position.

This goes beyond transport. A bloc is forming.

Moldova, Romania and Ukraine have memorialized their cooperation in the Odesa Triangle, covering security, energy, infrastructure, cybersecurity, countering Russian disinformation, and European integration. Moldova is not only a market of 2.4 million people. It sits directly between Ukraine’s enormous potential- heading into reconstruction- and the European Union. Romania is the gateway into the EU. Moldova is the bridge to Ukraine.

The war has pulled Moldova and Ukraine decades forward- in cooperation and in European money for infrastructure. Railways, border crossings, logistics facilities, electricity grids, trade corridors are being rebuilt. And with both countries moving toward EU accession all this becomes ordinary European trade infrastructure.

The case for Moldova has been low labor costs, low tax rates, Free Economic Zones, and incentives. Now it is also location. Moldova is the catalyst connecting the EU to Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Russian leadership, the creator of horrific suffering and unintended consequences (they now have a demographic time bomb, the economy may crater, both Sweden and Finland have cast aside neutrality and are in NATO), set out to isolate Ukraine by destroying its ports. Instead a new corridor is arising, running Ukraine and Moldova straight into the European economy.

Odesa Triangle Nations

Holodomor

Awareness of the Holodomor in Ukraine helps explain to a visitor the history that every Ukrainian lives with-the repeated attempts from Moscow to suppress Ukrainian independence, culture, language, and national identity. In 1932–33, Soviet Dictator JV Stalin engineered a famine that killed 3.5–5 million Ukrainians, with some estimates even higher. Grain and other agricultural products were taken from the countryside and exported by the Soviet government to help finance its program of rapid industrialization, even as people starved and were shot for trying to feed themselves. The Kremlin confiscated food, punished entire villages, restricted movement, and prevented starving people from leaving in search of food. This coincided with Stalin’s broader attack on Ukrainian intellectuals, cultural institutions, and Ukrainian nationality and language.

Historian Timothy Snyder places the Holodomor within the broader regional history in his landmark book Bloodlands. He describes the territory between Germany and the Soviet Union- Ukraine at its center- where genocidal policies of Stalin’s Soviet Union and Hitler’s Nazi Germany overlapped. Opposing ideologies, but both murdered millions. Between 1933 and 1945, some 14 million non-combatants were killed in this region. Ukraine endured the Holodomor, Stalinist terror, was the scene of the Holocaust by Bullets, Nazi occupation, deportations, and the destruction of 1000s of villages. Robert Conquest’s The Harvest of Sorrow, published decades earlier, was one of the books that first brought the Ukrainian famine to international attention.

This is not the first time rulers in the Kremlin have sought to destroy Ukrainians, their national identity, and their independence.

Contact with questions or if there is a subject you would like to read about- Bruce

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No. 3 · August 7, 2026

Ukraine

New Construction

Most people imagine Ukraine as a zone of urban devastation from one end to the other. But that is not the case in a country nearly the size of Texas. Despite the human losses and tremendous damage, Ukraine recorded over 30,000 new apartments with completed construction in the first quarter of 2026. As a market participant with deep ties in Kyiv real estate tells me “The market is alive.” Prices are similar or slightly stronger than a year ago in Kyiv (up 3.80%) and Lviv.

Ukraine’s use of AI via the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector (USESC) has streamlined permitting, cutting digital reviews to as few as five working days. There has been a surge in approvals, driving a record-breaking volume of new construction projects as of mid 2026. Most are multi-family projects built to strict European material and structural standards. All see that when the war ends, residential will be at a premium in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa. But those aren’t the only cities- Uzhgorod, on the Slovakian border is growing and Vinnitsiya, Chernivtsi, Ivano- Frankivsk, and Zhytomyr (among others) are attractive cities for development.

It is not only builders that are working to provide housing, Habit For Humanity and Ukrainian authorities are working together to repurpose unused civilian infrastructure into homes for IDP. In Kalush, 48 apartments were built from an unused school.

Zhytomyr

Ukraine’s Leadership In Digital Infrastructure

Diia - "the state in a smartphone" -is Ukraine's e-governance app, Because of the war, most don’t think of Ukraine as a digital governance leader. However, through the app, Ukrainians carry legal-equivalent digital documents, such as passports, driver's licenses, tax IDs, - change their residence, pay taxes, register a business in minutes, and sign with an e-signature. There is a even a tab for reporting destroyed property. In the most recent UN E-Government Survey (2024), Ukraine placed first in the world on e-participation and fifth on online service delivery, up from 102nd in 2018. A state that sits in people’s pockets can’t be destroyed when a building is hit.

Company Formation

Setting up a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Ukraine is a digital process that usually takes 3- 10 working days. The first step is to prepare company details- the name, stating the business activities, providing a local legal address, and naming a director (who will need a Ukrainian tax identification number if they are a foreigner). When ready, applicants file for official registration through a notary or the State Registrar. Then it is registered with the state, tax authorities, statistics service, and pension fund, all is done in no more than 3 business days. State registration fees usually are under $100 USD and hiring local legal counsel to handle the process usually costs $500 to $1,000 USD. The final step is a streamlined bank procedure to open a corporate bank account and, if necessary, registering for VAT.

Cherkasy Oblast

Cherkasy Oblast sits in central Ukraine along the Dnipro River and is home to about 1.1 million people, with the city of Cherkasy at about 270,000. Located in Ukraine’s чорнозем (chernozem)-literally “black earth” -belt, it is a leading agricultural region, producing corn, wheat, sunflowers, sugar beets, poultry, pork, and dairy. Food processing includes milling, vegetable oil production, and sugar beet refining. The industrial sector includes chemicals, fertilizers, machinery, plastics, and building materials. Good rail, road, and river links provide transportation.

Dairy Manufacturing

Ukraine produces about 6.9 million tonnes of milk annually, but only 3.2 million tonnes come from commercial farms. The country has 1.1–1.2 million dairy cows, but just 385,000 are in modern commercial operations. The opportunity is in larger herds, increased yields, better milk collection, and expanded processing capacity. Cherkasy Oblast has around 46,000 dairy cattle, with a higher share in commercial herds than most regions. However, investment in milking, cooling, storage, and processing equipment is needed to meet EU standards and to increase exports.

Ukraine exported 132,000 tonnes of dairy products in 2025, worth approximately $321 million. Most exports are butter, cheese, milk powder, condensed milk, and whey. Under its dairy strategy through 2035, the government plans to develop 100 industrial dairy farms, build 40 processing plants, attract $1 billion in processing investment, and increase dairy exports to about $800 million annually.

Cherkasy, will benefit from Ukraine’s reconstruction and modernization. Feed production, existing livestock operations, an experienced workforce, and infrastructure make it attractive for investment in dairy farming, processing, packaging, genetics, and cold-chain infrastructure. As in other oblasts, agri-business in Cherkasy has great potential for foreign investors.

Chemical Sector

Cherkasy has chemical production at scale, including industrial chemicals, plastics, packaging materials, coatings, industrial gases, and construction materials. This includes one of Ukraine’s largest fertilizer producers, part of a legacy industrial base associated with oligarch ownership. As Ukraine continues its economic reforms away from oligarchic control, restructuring, recapitalization, or changes in ownership may create opportunities for investors and industrial partners. Its central location and rail, road, and river links also set Cherkasy as a logistics hub.

Moldova

Moldova Greenfields

Moldova climbed to 18th in the world for Greenfield investment performance, according to the Financial Times’ FDI Intelligence rankings last year. That’s a jump of 19 places in a single year, putting Moldova among the world’s fastest-improving destinations for new foreign direct investment.

We see and hear that manufacturers are seeking production closer to the European market. So, Moldova is attracting interest. Its location, improving governance, competitive costs, and duty-free access to the EU through the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) give it a leg up.

Incentives

Moldova has one of the best manufacturing incentive programs in Europe. Qualifying projects receive support covering up to 75% of eligible investment costs. The standard corporate income tax rate is 12%, while residents of Free Economic Zones can benefit from a 6% rate, and larger manufacturing investments may qualify for temporary 0% corporate income tax, along with VAT and customs-duty exemptions on qualifying transactions. Attractive land, with reasonable prices, near Chisinau and at critical infrastructure locations will soon see development. The EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) is in the process of upgrading infrastructure in Chisinau and across the country.

Russia Burning

Wildberries warehouses have been attacked again and again. This happened most recently Wednesday in Tula. And according to Reuters, Ukrainian strikes have now hit at least 20 Wildberries facilities. Wildberries’ total debt is unknown but may be in the $14–15 billion range. Hundreds of thousands of individual sellers also carry debt they can no longer repay. In other areas there are reports that banks may be exposed due to politically-pressured lending.

Will this lead to a banking crisis? Russians have already withdrawn large amounts of cash from banks this year. As more logistics hubs and inventory go up in flames, what happens to retail trade? Russia is already struggling with inflation. Reports also suggest wheat and other crops are going unharvested because of fuel shortages or high prices.

Wildberries accounts for roughly 50% of Russia’s online retail market, with Ozon holding about 32%. In a startling admission, Ozon has disclosed online that it does not deliver from its Crimean location because it is outside the Russian Federation. And more than 3,100 Wildberries pickup locations have been listed for sale with few takers.

The consequences will show up in logistics, in inflation, retail trade, business failures, and the banking system.

These losses speak to Russia’s ability to continue its fight against Ukrainian freedom and sovereignty. This is not to minimize the impact on Ukraine, where everyday lives are lost, families are shattered forever, businesses and homes are destroyed. Kyiv and other cities have seen nightly shelling in residential areas as Putin’s desperate regime lashes out.

For those who would like to help, Novaukraine is a charity that provides aid to struggling Ukrainian families impacted by the war- their operating budget is in the single digit percentages.

Uncovering Ukraine

Until you spend time in a country, it seems two-dimensional. Even then, first impressions can mislead. Countries with long histories and rich regional traditions have a lot to offer, and the more you learn, the more interesting they become.

Ukraine is that way. Every old photograph, regional custom, folk song or costume adds to the mosaic. The country is more interesting and deeper the more you look.

Recently I found a Substack writer, Darya Zorka, who focuses on Ukraine and Belarus. She shares photographs from early twentieth-century Ukraine, along with the occasional folk song and historical observation. If you’re curious about the country’s history/culture, take a look.

Please contact me with questions, ideas, or something you would like to see covered.

— Bruce

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No. 2 · July 31, 2026

What Lviv Costs

Residential

Apartments in Lviv for new business-class apartments in good areas run about $2,500–3,000 per m² ($232–279 per sq. ft.). Two-bedroom apartments of about 75–90 m² rent for about $1,500–1,700 per month.

Office

Class A space rents for about $15–20 per m²/month ($1.39–1.86 per sq. ft./month) in the Magnus Center in central Lviv with 24/7 access.

Industrial Land

The cost of fully serviced industrial land in Horodok (suburban Lviv) ranges from $150,000 to $350,000 per hectare ($60,700–141,600 per acre). Prices fluctuate based on the capacity of the electricity, high-pressure gas, and whether the plot sits inside an official industrial park or is an independent parcel. Tax Exemptions: Manufacturing investors in registered parks are eligible for 10-year corporate income tax exemptions and zero customs duties on imported equipment. Infrastructure Co-financing: The state utilizes a 50:50 infrastructure co-financing program, with a maximum contribution of 150 million hryvnia ($3.36 million) to build connecting roads and power networks.

As you move toward the Shehyni–Medyka border checkpoint, fully serviced industrial land costs between $250,000 and $450,000 per hectare ($101,200–182,100 per acre). Because this area sits on the main European transit corridor (M11/E40), prime industrial land with active utility networks commands the highest prices in Western Ukraine.

Oblasts

There are 24 oblasts in Ukraine, 1 autonomous republic, and 2 cities with special status, making 27 first-level regions. Oblasts are typically named after the capital city and function mostly as administrative arms of the central government. This week we touch on Vinnitsya Oblast.

Vinnitsya

Vinnytsia lies about 260 kilometers (160 miles) southwest of Kyiv. The oblast is home to approximately 1.5 million people, including 400,000 in the city, and covers more than 26,500 square kilometers (10,200 square miles). It is one of Ukraine’s leading agricultural regions, ranking among the country’s top producers of milk and sugar beets, and is home to Ukraine’s largest flour mill, accounting for about 30% of the nation’s flour exports. Beyond agriculture, Vinnytsia is widely recognized for transparent governance, digital public services, and high quality of life. With modern public transportation, extensive green space, and strong municipal management, it is often ranked as Ukraine’s most livable city.

Nationally, Ukraine exports roughly half of its agricultural production as raw commodities rather than higher-value processed goods. Vinnytsia Oblast is a prime example. One of the country’s leading agricultural regions, it produces large volumes of sugar beets, soybeans, corn, berries, and vegetables, but with the exception of sugar, most of this output leaves the region frozen or raw.

The numbers illustrate the opportunity. Vinnytsia accounts for nearly 8% of Ukraine’s agricultural production, but as just one example, 95% of berries are frozen and exported in bulk rather than processed into juices, jams, or other consumer products. In 2024, Ukraine earned approximately $309 per tonne exporting berries, while neighboring Poland averaged $1,560 per tonne by exporting finished products. Soybeans present a similar opportunity. Recent policy changes have begun encouraging more domestic processing, but investment in processing capacity is far below what is needed.

The primary constraint is not agricultural production or market demand—it is capital. Ukraine’s “5-7-9” program has directed billions of hryvnias into agricultural lending by subsidizing bank interest rates, but loans are capped at UAH 250 million (approximately US$5.6 million). While valuable for producers, the program leaves a gap to finance the larger processing facilities required to move up the value chain.

The same investment gap exists in storage and logistics. Ukraine’s vegetable sector is estimated to be short one million tonnes of modern cold storage capacity, with post-harvest losses reaching 30–60% in poor years as farmers are forced to dump after harvest. So, despite abundant production, Ukraine sometimes is forced to import potatoes and cabbage because domestic storage and processing cannot preserve the harvest.

Beyond the existing shortage, officials expect Russia to target agricultural and storage infrastructure in the coming months, making modern, processing and cold-chain facilities a strategic necessity and a massive post-conflict business opportunity.

Greatest Hits

Wildberries

On July 29, drones struck a Wildberries facility at Tyushevo in Ryazan Oblast, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Moscow. The warehouse was quickly engulfed in flames (video). That same morning, drones hit Russia’s largest oil refinery, owned by Rosneft, also in Ryazan Oblast. The refinery processes 17 million tons annually—about 5% of Russia’s refining capacity—and was set ablaze. Hours later, another strike hit a Lukoil refinery in Perm Oblast, roughly 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Ukraine, that supplies millions of tons of fuel to Russia’s military. All three attacks caused severe structural and technological damage.

Russia’s oil refining capacity had already fallen to a 21-year low before the July 29 attacks. The Kremlin has shown no ability to stop the steady destruction of refineries, fuel storage, and logistics infrastructure. Ukraine is winning the logistics war, and Russia has yet to find an effective response.

Today, July 31st, Ukrainian drones again struck. This time a Wildberries center in Volgograd was hit and an Ozon facility near Kazan. Yesterday strikes were reported on the company’s facilities in Penza and Udmurtia.

Crimea

Crimea is becoming increasingly isolated. Ukraine’s attacks on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov have damaged 129 vessels (video) in July alone. Ferry service has been disrupted across the Kerch Strait, while drone strikes have cut truck traffic through the coastal corridor by more than 70%. Fuel shortages are growing, with gasoline reportedly reaching 380 rubles per liter (more than $16 per gallon). Power outages are common, summer vacations have largely been canceled, and hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled, creating traffic jams stretching up to 10 kilometers at the Kerch Strait Bridge. If Russia cannot reliably supply food, fuel, and ammunition, how long can it sustain its occupation of Crimea?

Could Putin survive the loss of Crimea? Many observers doubt it. Its seizure was the defining achievement of his presidency, and even some supporters are beginning to question the cost—and the purpose—of the “Special Military Operation.”

Entrepreneurship

Think you can’t set up manufacturing in Ukraine until the war is over? Don’t tell Home Essentials CEO Chris Exline.

After Russia’s 2022 invasion, Chris built a chain of furniture rental stores in small and mid-sized cities across western and central Ukraine, offering affordable products to customers with little or no credit history. Starting in Kremenets, Home Essentials has expanded and will increase its footprint to its 6th city in the next month. To support its retail operations, the company also invested in local manufacturing. When Ukraine cut off imports of Belarusian furniture and materials after the invasion, local companies had to find new suppliers.

Chris is about more than profits. He has donated 13,000 mattresses from his factory to the Ukrainian military and is active in the communities where Home Essentials operates, regularly sponsoring family events.

Transportation

Trains

Last week, we provided overland travel times to Ukraine from several European cities. When traveling by automobile, lines at the border are not days-long as in the early months of the 2022 escalation. But it still can consume time. Drivers transiting keep tabs on the times and can choose crossings when traveling from Warsaw. Also, it is possible to avoid the lines, be dropped at the border, cross as a pedestrian, and get transport on the other side. Yahodyn- Dorohusk has both auto and train crossings, but the train schedule on the Polish side to Warsaw and to Kyiv on the Ukrainian side is infrequent. At Shehyni- Medyka, the busiest of the 9 crossings, there is a major train station at Przemysl, Poland about 13 km (8 miles) from the pedestrian crossing. When traveling by train between Warsaw and Kyiv, travel is direct, but trains stop for several hours at the border to change for the gauge and for customs. Traveling between Krakow and Lviv, the border crossing is in Poland at Przemysl Station, so passengers change trains instead.

A new direct train service connects Frankfurt am Main to Przemysł, Poland (with connections to Ukraine) — through Prague with no transfers. Leo Express prices the route at €84.10 for Economy and €167.90 for an Economy Sleeper, with travel time around 20 hours. Given Frankfurt's extensive connections to North America and its central position in Europe, a direct, WiFi-equipped overnight train is a good option for longer business trips where schedules are not set in advance. It is also a signal of the growing number of travelers to Ukraine.

Roads

What is road travel like in Ukraine?
Major highways in western Ukraine are in excellent condition. Service stations are clean, modern, and well-lit, comparable to those found along the American interstate system. More than 18 million square meters of road surface have been repaired this year, although significant damage remains in southern and eastern Ukraine. Business travelers are unlikely to travel in those areas for now. Recent Russian claims that the Kharkiv–Poltava highway had run out of fuel were false; regional authorities confirmed there were no fuel shortages.

Outbound border clearance of drivers is conducted by Ukrainian authorities. Under martial law, most Ukrainian men aged 23 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country, with exemptions for certain categories, including people with disabilities, fathers of three or more minor children, single fathers, and authorized international cargo drivers.

Moldova

Moldova is an emerging manufacturing destination in Eastern Europe. Qualifying companies receive investment incentives covering up to 75% of eligible project costs. There are significant labor cost advantages, too (averaging €3.90–$4.50 per hour, compared to €12.50–$14.40 in Poland). Located between the EU and Ukraine, Moldova has access to European markets. Its rich black earth supports a strong agricultural sector, with substantial opportunities in food processing, renewable energy, manufacturing, logistics, and IT, while EU accession accelerates.

Moldova Business Week 2026 (September 28–October 2, Chișinău)

This year's agenda focuses on European economic integration, investment opportunities, and export of services, with forums, B2B meetings, study visits, and discussions covering manufacturing, IT, construction, energy, logistics, real estate, finance, and infrastructure. For companies evaluating Eastern Europe, it is a great chance to meet decision-makers and discover Moldova's attractive investment environment. This comes on the heels of the EU-Moldova Business Conference June 4, when Marta Kos, EU Enlargement Commissioner, praised Moldova as “the best performer” in the class.

Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP) is Europe's first virtual IT park, offering eligible technology companies a simplified 7% turnover tax, minimal bureaucracy, and the flexibility to operate from anywhere in Moldova. It has attracted nearly 3,000 resident companies from almost 50 countries, making MITP a cornerstone of Moldova's strategy to become a regional technology and innovation hub.

Defense Valley sponsored by the Brave1, originally scheduled for September 16-17, 2026, has been postponed in light of the attack in Kyiv on July 24th that killed more than 12 people and injured over 100.

Every day at 09:00 the People of Ukraine observe a minute of silence to honor military personnel and civilians killed during Russia’s war on Ukraine. One minute- markets, public transit systems, and workplaces go silent to remember.

The Ukraine Memorial Platform tracks Ukrainian heroes killed in defense of their country and civilian deaths resulting from Russia’s war.

If there is something you’d like to read about, contact me.

— Bruce

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No. 1 · July 24, 2026

What Kyiv Costs

Numbers: apartment prices and Class A office space cost in Kyiv this month, and how long transit takes to travel to Ukraine.

Residential: Novopecherski Lypky

Novopecherski Lypky is the gated district that is a benchmark for business-class housing in Kyiv. Unfinished units sell at $2,800–3,200 per square meter (≈ $260–300 per sq ft) — lower floors at the bottom of the range, top floors above it. Finished units run $3,500–4,000 (≈ $325–370 per sq ft), with upper floors and full-amenity units higher. Rental prices for a 3 room of 120 square meters (2 Bedroom apartment with 1,300 square feet) average around $2,500- 2,700/ month. A 1 room, 60 square meter apartment (1 Bedroom with about 650 square feet) rents for about $1,500/ month. The complex offers parking, security, quality food stores, playgrounds, a large sports club, a pet groomer and hair salon, and access to the center.

Construction costs are rising 10–15% a year and lead times are long. Labor shortages, constrained building materials, and planning/ permit times are drivers. New supply will not arrive quickly. Expectations are that those staying abroad will outnumber returnees roughly two to one in the early post-war years, with multinationals, the defense sector, professional services, digital nomads, and tourism driving demand. Also, employment is shifting to Kyiv with depopulation in occupied regions. Apartments remain the major store of wealth in Ukraine.

Office

Class A office space in central Kyiv averages $25- 30 per m² per month (≈ $2.30- 2.80/sq ft per m). The Gulliver Business Center runs $27/m² (≈ $2.50 /sq ft/mo). Buildings with power resilience and proper shelters command the top of the range.

Ukraine: Overland corridors

No commercial flights operate yet; entry is overland. Typical times as of July 2026:

Route Time

Warsaw → Kyiv Train 15- 16 h · Car 11–14 h

Kraków → Kyiv Train 13.5 h via Przemyśl

Kraków → Lviv Train 5.5–6.5 h · Car 6–8 h

Košice → Lviv Car 6–8 h via Uzhhorod

Chișinău → Kyiv Train ~17 h · Car ~9 h

Chișinău → Odesa Car 3–3.5 h via Palanca

Bucharest → Odesa. Car ~9–11 h via Palanca, two borders · ~9–10 h via Orlivka ferry, one border

Chișinău to Odesa is about three hours — an EU-candidate capital without war to Ukraine’s largest port. This is just one of the reasons why visitors should consider Chisinau. Business travelers should take note of the cost arbitrages and access to EU markets.

On longer-term connectivity: Ukraine’s foreign minister spent the spring pitching full membership in the Trans-Caspian corridor, positioning Kyiv’s Black Sea ports as the western gateway of a China–Central Asia–Caucasus–EU route that bypasses Russia. Ukrainian ports moved 82 million tonnes (90 million tons) last year, container traffic was up 66%.

Wildberries on Fire

Over seven days, Ukrainian drones hit eight logistics facilities of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer including its biggest near Moscow and hubs serving St. Petersburg and occupied Crimea. Losses are in the billions of dollars. Wildberries accounts for 3% of Russia’s GDP in merchandise terms and, with competing Ozon, accounts for almost all online retail. The reason for the attacks? Wildberries moved components for drone production and provides soldiers everything from uniforms to drone parts. Hitting the warehouses disrupts the supply channel. The loss is passed down: Wildberries changed its seller agreement earlier this month, before the strikes, to disclaim liability for war damage. Its bank is offering deferrals to merchants whose inventory just burned. That looks more like banking legerdemain rather than relief. So hundreds of thousands of sellers are carrying the war on their working capital, while the company drifts toward life as a ward of the state.

Worth noting for investors: a company can insure a warehouse against drones in Kyiv — MIGA, DFC, Lloyd's, and a state program that began paying claims in May.

Man on the Street

This week, Kyiv changed its military leadership under public pressure. The dismissal of a popular, reform-minded defense minister brought the largest protests since the full-scale invasion began, thousands out, veterans included. The government heard and the president replaced the commander-in-chief with the general the crowds had named. It is the second time in two summers that public pressure reversed a major government decision.

The lesson for outside observers is that almost 4 1/2 years into the war on Ukraine and the largest war in Europe since 1945, civil society holds the government accountable, mid-war and peacefully. This is unthinkable in the nation that seeks to control Ukraine.

Through this, the city has continued to function- people went to work, dogs were walked, and business was conducted as usual.

People of Kyiv: The name of the country to the northeast is rarely mentioned. When a name can’t be avoided, most refer to it as “Muscovia,” -the latinized name of the medieval principality that dominated and annexed its neighbors. Timothy Snyder explains how Muscovia was renamed in the 18th Century.

Next issue: Recent Ukraine and Moldova investment-related events. Upcoming calendar for August/ September.

If there is something you’d like to read about, contact me.

— Bruce

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