A McDonald’s warehouse, a foreign-invested factory, a drug plant: Russia’s strikes hit business

What happened

On September 25–26, Russian attacks damaged or destroyed several civilian business sites in Ukraine, including facilities linked to international companies. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia keeps widening its campaign of escalation: “American and other businesses, data centres, internet providers — all of ordinary life is simply a target for Russia.”

A McDonald’s partner’s warehouse

The most prominent case was a warehouse in Brovary district, Kyiv region, used by a logistics partner of the US fast-food chain McDonald’s. According to Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko, it was a food warehouse with refrigerated storage. It was hit first at around 03:00 on September 25 and again later that day. The second strike started a fire, and the part of the facility where food was stored burned down completely.

“There was no military facility here whatsoever — the warehouse stored food products,” Tkachenko said. The State Emergency Service said the fire took nearly a day to put out, as rescuers repeatedly had to retreat to safety during air raid alerts. No one was killed or injured.

McDonald’s itself, as reported by UNN, confirmed that a warehouse of its logistics partner had been hit, said its restaurants were operating as usual and added that it was still assessing any impact on operations.

Other strikes

• Kromberg & Schubert, Zhytomyr region. On September 25, this foreign-invested company, which makes wiring systems for global carmakers, was attacked for the second time in a week, regional governor Vitaliy Bunechko said. Preliminary information indicated no casualties.
• Darnytsia, Kyiv. On the morning of September 26, Russian forces again struck the pharmaceutical manufacturer’s plant, which had already been hit on September 23. No one was injured. The company asked people not to share photos or videos of the site so the enemy cannot assess the damage.
• Auchan Bilychi, Kyiv. Overnight on September 26, the hypermarket was damaged in an attack. No one was hurt, but the store has closed until the damage is assessed and repaired.
• Sushiya. The Japanese-cuisine restaurant chain said its warehouse, with all its stock and packaging, was destroyed in an attack on September 25. Its restaurants and delivery service remain open, and the company is working to restock quickly.

Kyiv’s response

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded on September 26 to the double attack on the facility serving McDonald’s. “Russia’s relentless attacks are destroying the daily lives of Ukrainians, harming businesses, jeopardizing jobs, and undermining international investment. This proves that Russia does not want this war to end. It wants the whole world to pay the price for its terror,” he wrote on X. Sybiha urged partners to maintain and intensify economic pressure on Russia to reduce its ability to keep fighting.

Zelensky said Ukraine’s long-range capabilities and international sanctions must work together to bring “concrete consequences for Russia”.

Why it matters

Each of these strikes is about more than damaged buildings. The targets included a food warehouse, a pharmaceutical plant, a hypermarket and a maker of car components, meaning jobs and goods people rely on every day. Sybiha links the attacks directly to foreign investment, saying they jeopardise jobs and undermine international investment in Ukraine. And the fact that both Darnytsia and Kromberg & Schubert were hit for a second time shows these are not isolated incidents.

What next

The companies are counting their losses and rebuilding their supply chains, while Kyiv is using the attacks to argue for new sanctions. Whether partners respond will help determine how costly continuing the war becomes for Russia.