Kyiv Businesses Close Due to Power Cuts and Nightly Airstrikes
Daily power cuts and nightly airstrikes are forcing businesses to shut down across Kyiv, where nearly a thousand commercial ventures have closed their doors in recent months, franceinfo reported.
Intensified Russian bombardments targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure have made local trade increasingly untenable as customers stay home and offices empty out. The capital’s retail and hospitality sectors face compounded pressure from inflation, security risks, and a severe lack of patronage.
Oleksandr owned seven restaurants in Kyiv just months ago. Today, he runs a single establishment, keeping his doors open by relying on a diesel generator that consumes 20 liters of fuel daily.
“The lack of clientele, inflation, the insecurity because of incessant bombings, power cuts, everything you can imagine at its worst, we are currently living through it,”
Oleksandr told franceinfo.
Empty office buildings surrounding his venue have stripped away his core clientele. Nearby businesses, including a furniture shop, a fishmonger, and a computer store, have permanently closed.
“And there, next door, the store that sold computers also shut down,”
Oleksandr told franceinfo, describing a neighbor who decided to leave the capital entirely.
The restaurateur invested roughly 35,000 dollars into his surviving venue but is now prepared to sell it for 15,000 dollars. Commercial real estate transactions across the capital reflect this wider flight.
“The businesses are relocating to the west of the country,”
Maître Yurkapinos told franceinfo, noting that the region offers greater security for families and an influx of displaced persons from Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Kyiv.
Many displaced enterprises choose to reestablish themselves near the Polish border in Lviv, far from the ongoing strikes on energy grids.