Major logistics operator to close another warehouse near Kyiv after Russian attacks

Ukrainian logistics company Berger Cargo plans to close another warehouse in Kyiv region after Russian attacks. The facility is already damaged, and the company sees no guarantees that it will not become the target of a repeat strike.

This was announced by Berger Cargo director and co-founder Valeriy Baranivskyi in an interview with NV Business. Prior to the Russian attacks, the company operated 83,000 sq. m of warehouse space in Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv regions.

In the capital region, Berger Cargo had three facilities. One of them was completely destroyed, two others sustained partial damage. At one location, 33,500 sq. m of warehouse space burned down. In total, as a result of Russian attacks, the company lost over 40,000 sq. m – almost half of its former capacity.

Baranivskyi explained that one of the damaged warehouses near Kyiv will most likely be closed for now. According to him, the facility is currently not needed for operational activities, and security risks remain too high. Clients have already been warned about the possible closure.

At the same time, Berger Cargo does not plan to leave Kyiv region: the company's central office remains here. Instead of a full relocation, the operator is dispersing warehouse capacities and increasing its presence in other regions. In September, the company opened a branch in Chernivtsi at approximately 12,000 sq. m and continues to develop the Lviv direction. Taking into account the new regional sites, the company again operates more than 60,000 sq. m of space.

Baranivskyi estimated the damage from the strikes already inflicted at approximately UAH 65 million. This includes not only the buildings themselves, but also destroyed equipment, IT infrastructure, loaders, racking systems and other fixed assets. At one location alone during a fire, the company lost seven specialized loaders, each worth about €60,000.

After the interview was recorded, Berger Cargo's losses increased. On the night of 22 September, Russian missiles hit another warehouse of the company – in Odesa. The facility's area was 14,000 sq. m. According to Baranivskyi, humanitarian cargo for the southern regions of Ukraine was processed there, and the company did not store commercial goods at this site. A separate estimate of damage from the new strike has not yet been provided.

Russian strikes are already changing the structure of the Ukrainian warehouse market. According to the Berger Cargo co-founder, a shortage of free space has formed in the western regions, and in some regions rental rates have increased up to threefold. Businesses are increasingly abandoning concentration of large stocks in one place and dispersing goods across multiple sites.

Due to longer routes and a new distribution model for cargo, logistics costs may rise by about 10%, according to Baranivskyi. At the same time, he does not expect a shortage of products or medicines: companies are reconfiguring routes, and suppliers can increasingly deliver goods directly to stores, bypassing large distribution centers.

The problem has already reached a national scale. According to government estimates, due to Russian attacks on Ukrainian business the budget may lose at least UAH 70 billion in tax revenues. The Cabinet of Ministers also announced preparation for logistics decentralization and offered affected companies to use available warehouse and production space of state enterprises and the State Property Fund.

In September, the government additionally expanded the military risk insurance program for business and mechanisms to support restoration of warehouse infrastructure. For large logistics projects, compensation of part of the interest rate on loans is provided, and the maximum financing limit for a group of related companies is UAH 1 billion.

Sources: NV Business – interview with Valeriy Baranivskyi, NV Business – strike on warehouse in Odesa, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine – business support