Russia’s attacks cut Kyiv’s warehouse capacity by 34%, pushing vacancy below 1%

لماذا يهمّ ذلك

The destruction of logistics infrastructure has created a severe shortage of storage space and pushed up operating costs for businesses. Companies displaced by the war are seeking replacement premises, while new construction is largely replacing destroyed warehouses rather than materially expanding supply. The shortage affects logistics operators, wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers of everyday goods, potentially constraining the recovery of supply chains.

ماذا حدث

Competitive warehouse supply in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast recovered to its pre-war 2021 level of about 1.6 million sq m by the end of June 2026. By August, intensified Russian missile attacks on logistics infrastructure had reduced the total to 1.05 million sq m, a 34% decline. Vacancy fell to 1%, and queried rents rose 10% from the beginning of the year. The effective rate for premium dry warehouses increased 8% to $5.7 per sq m per month, excluding VAT and operating costs.

Demand was driven by companies seeking premises to replace warehouses lost in attacks. In July and August, 82% of lease agreements were related to business relocation caused by hostilities, while 18% supported expansion. Logistics operators accounted for 42% of rental activity, wholesale and retail businesses for 38%, and fast-moving consumer goods companies for 20%. Some large companies distributed inventories among several warehouses, including facilities in western Ukraine.

كيف تصفه المصادر الأوكرانية

Ukrainian reporting focuses on the scale of damage to logistics infrastructure and the concentration of losses in Kyiv Oblast. It also examines the consequences for warehouse availability, rental affordability and business relocation, as well as the broader loss of high-grade warehouse capacity since the beginning of the full-scale war.

الخلفية

Ukraine had 4.2 million sq m of class A and B warehouses before the full-scale invasion. From February 2022, 2.1 million sq m, or 50% of that total, was destroyed. New construction compensated for 38% of the losses, adding about 800,000 sq m and leaving approximately 2.9 million sq m on the market.

Before the war, Kyiv Oblast had 2.2 million sq m of warehouses, of which 1.5 million sq m was destroyed. Sixty percent of the region’s warehouse losses occurred during the first eight months of 2026, when Kyiv Oblast lost more warehouse capacity than during the previous four years of war combined. The demand for premises is expected to remain high through the end of 2026 as businesses replace lost facilities, although new supply may partially ease the shortage without fully compensating for the destroyed capacity.