‘Miserable and impossible’: food scarce in Kyiv as Russia targets supply chains

Supermarket shelves in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, are only half-filled due to Russia's targeting of supply chains, forcing residents like 68-year-old Valentyna Sveshnikova to worry about the rising cost of goods, including cured sausages. The Russian strikes on food warehouses and logistics supply chains in several Ukrainian cities have left empty shelves and a risk of price increases.

The temporary truce that allowed US negotiators to pass through the city ended abruptly, resulting in jets and missiles raining down on the capital, killing two people. Despite the challenging situation, shoppers remain resilient, with Dariya Malyukova, 40, stating that she will not change her shopping habits. The agrarian policy and food minister, Taras Vysotsky, warns that food prices could rise by 2.5%, while Dmytro Krymskiy, co-founder of Bureau of Wine, anticipates an even higher increase of up to 15%.

One of his warehouses was destroyed by a Russian strike on September 1, resulting in a loss of €4 million in stock. Krymskiy's company is exploring various options to mitigate the impact, including relocating warehouses to neighboring countries, using underground storage facilities, and diversifying stock across multiple smaller sites.

Krymskiy believes that prices may rise by around 5%. The strikes are the third time in recent years that Krymskiy's warehouses have been targeted, with previous attacks in 2022 and July 2023. The recent aerial attacks have limited warehouse staff's ability to move stock, reducing their workdays to three to four hours. The attacks come at a crucial time for Ukraine, as the city faces daily drone and missile strikes, destroying key infrastructure and causing multiple casualties.

Russia has also targeted e-commerce logistics hubs and medical supplies. A warehouse belonging to the pharmaceutical company Biokon, which stored three months' worth of medicines, was hit recently, resulting in the destruction of medicines and the suspension of operations. The agrarian policy and food minister, Vysotsky, states that all leading supermarket chains' logistics hubs, including Novus, ATB, Silpo, and Fora, have been destroyed or severely damaged by the strikes.

Vysotsky describes this wave of attacks as the most significant since the start of the full-scale invasion, emphasizing that Russia is deliberately targeting the civilian life support system to destroy Ukraine's internal logistics.