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Russian attacks on food warehouses raise shortage risks in Ukraine
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Russian attacks on food warehouses raise shortage risks in Ukraine

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Russian attacks have damaged food warehouses belonging to major retailers in Kyiv and Odesa, a PepsiCo plant in Mykolaiv, and Auchan facilities near the capital.
  • Ukraine’s agriculture minister said about 90% of food logistics managed by retail chains had been destroyed, while officials said they did not expect a major food shortage.
  • Shoppers in Kyiv and Kharkiv reported intermittent shortages of flour, salt, sugar, water, drinks and sauces, although stores generally still carry essential goods.

Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s food distribution network have left some supermarket shelves noticeably thinner, with basic goods such as flour, salt and sugar among the items shoppers say are hardest to find.

Since Saturday, strikes have damaged warehouses belonging to ATB, Ukraine’s largest retail chain, in Kyiv and Odesa. A PepsiCo plant in Mykolaiv and Auchan warehouses near the capital were also hit. Novus and Fozzy, two other major retailers, are among the companies reorganizing their logistics as attacks have intensified since early August.

I see that some products are missing. For example, one day the shelves with soft drinks are almost empty and a week later they are full again. However, there is no flour, salt or sugar, or very little.

— Olena SemeniakA Kyiv resident described changing supplies and shortages in some supermarkets.

Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said about 90% of the food logistics operated by retail chains had been destroyed. He warned that the damage could grow as air defenses struggle against continuing attacks by faster jet-powered Russian drones. Government officials, however, have insisted that Ukraine will not face a major food shortage.

Sometimes the shelves with water and other drinks are half empty, and at other times it is the shelves with sauces such as ketchup.

— Raya PeretiatkoA Kharkiv photographer described intermittent shortages in local stores.

The effects vary by location. Supermarkets in Lviv, in western Ukraine, remain well stocked because no major attacks have so far targeted the city’s retail facilities. In Kyiv and areas closer to the front, where millions of people continue to live despite daily attacks, consumers have noticed more disruption.

Olena Semeniak, a 32-year-old advertising worker in Kyiv, said supplies changed from one day to the next. Drinks could disappear from shelves and return a week later, she said, while flour, salt and sugar were sometimes unavailable or scarce. In Kharkiv, just 25 kilometers from Russia, photographer Raya Peretiatko reported similar gaps affecting water, other drinks and products such as ketchup. She said the situation was not catastrophic and that essential goods remained available, though some Ukrainians are building household food reserves ahead of winter.

For now, I have not panicked and I do not plan to hoard.

— Raya PeretiatkoPeretiatko said essential goods remained available despite keeping a small reserve at home.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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