Missile strikes on warehouses are threatening Ukraine’s consumer brands

Global Retail // August 10, 2026 Missile strikes on warehouses are threatening Ukraine’s consumer brands By Melissa Daniels Cili Nochi The ongoing war in Ukraine is having devastating consequences for small businesses as Russian attacks hit warehouses and industrial areas.

An independent, Kyiv-based eveningwear startup called Cili Nochi lost its entire new collection when a Russian missile struck and destroyed a logistics and customs facility near Kyiv in July, one of several recent attacks that have targeted major logistics hubs and infrastructure.

Cili Nochi co-founder Anastasia Bobrovska said the brand’s High Summer collection had been prepared for shipment to a New York warehouse. Items were in transit and being held at the facility, owned by shipping company Nova Poshta, when the attack occurred.

“At first, we were trying to understand whether any part of the shipment might have survived, but we were eventually told that the collection had burned and that nothing could be recovered,” she said in a WhatsApp exchange with Modern Retail.

Cili Nochi’s loss is just one example of how Russian attacks on Ukraine’s postal and logistics facilities are disrupting the country’s supply chain operations and the many businesses that rely on it. A social media post from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of an August 5 strike confirmed that at least 17 people died.

He also said that the spate of attacks has hit places like a brewing company and civilian logistics buildings. “The main purpose of the attack was the warehouse premises of civil enterprises; there were also strikes on the infrastructure, the railway station,” he said.

Nova Poshta, a privately held shipping company, said on Facebook that the August 5 attack killed three people, injured eight more and destroyed its facility. “Nova Poshta will compensate customers for the full declared value of damaged shipments and will contact each person to inform them of the details of compensation,” the post said.

Cili Nochi is still calculating the full financial impact from the July attack, including the materials, labor, packaging, logistics and overall retail value the inventory was expected to generate.

“Losing it at the moment it was ready to be sold meant losing not only the physical inventory but also the season and the commercial opportunity attached to it,” she said. The company specializes in “second-skin”-style evening wear, with soft fabrics and draping designed for comfort, and the new High Summer collection was specifically intended to support U.

S. customer growth, Bobrovska said. “Thankfully, no members of our own team were physically injured,” she said. “We are still deeply conscious, however, that attacks on logistics facilities and civilian infrastructure place warehouse employees, drivers, customs workers and surrounding communities in danger.

These are ordinary workplaces filled with people simply trying to do their jobs.” Bobrovska said the war has impacted almost every part of the Ukrainian apparel brand’s operations.

Beyond the impact of missiles and drones, the war has caused issues like electricity outages, interrupted production schedules, delayed deliveries, damaged infrastructure and employees working from shelters.

There are ongoing air raid alarms interrupting everyday activities, and “a constant need to rebuild plans around circumstances outside of our control,” she said. But Bobrovska also said the Cili Nochi team doesn’t want the attack to stop their brand in its tracks, and they’ve adopted a mindset of resilience.

“The collection was destroyed, but the ideas, the skills of the people who made it and the reason we created the brand were not,” she said.

She and Olena Polyvian, the brand’s head of design, are looking at what pieces from the High Summer collection may be able to be reproduced as the season comes to an end, as well as which existing customer orders it may be able to fulfill.

From an operations perspective, she said the brand may consider ways to diversify shipments or split up inventory in the future. But there’s only so much that can be done to limit risk during wartime, she said. “Any civilian facility can still become vulnerable during a Russian attack,” she said.

They’re also already thinking about designing and developing future collections. To help drive sales and immediate cash flow, the brand has been promoting a 20% offer using the code RESILIENCE.

Bobrovska said Cili Nochi wants to focus on its future operations not only for the sake of the company, but also because of the health of the overall Ukrainian business landscape. Paying salaries, paying taxes and driving sales keeps economic life moving during a turbulent time, she said. “Continuing to create and work is one of the ways pe