Shopping Centers Amid Sirens: How the War Is Affecting Retail Operations
3 April 17:24
In March, Ukrainian shopping centers lost 4.8 working days due to air raid alerts. The proportion of time during which shopping centers were unable to operate due to air raid alerts amounted to 18.6% of total working hours.
These figures were released by the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
For comparison, in March 2025, this figure stood at 11%, indicating a noticeable increase in the impact of air raid alerts on retail operations.
How the situation changed in March
According to the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, the proportion of air raid alerts during shopping center operating hours remained virtually unchanged compared to February, decreasing by only 0.1%.
However, on an annual basis, the situation has worsened:
- March 2026 — 18.6% of working hours;
- March 2025 — 11%.
At the same time, most other indicators showed a deterioration.
In particular, the following were recorded:
- an increase in the number of air raid alerts;
- more alerts during shopping centers’ operating hours;
- record-breaking durations of alerts since the start of the full-scale war.
Where shopping centers suspended operations most frequently
In March, the regions where shopping centers most frequently suspended operations included:
| Region | Percentage of time under alerts |
|---|---|
| Donetsk Oblast | 85.5% |
| Sumy Oblast | 79.7% |
| Zaporizhzhia Oblast | 49.2% |
| Kharkiv Oblast | 41.7% |
| Chernihiv Oblast | 33.8% |
Compared to February, Chernihiv Oblast has replaced Kherson Oblast on this list.
Total losses since the start of the invasion
According to estimates by the Ukrainian Council of Shopping Centers, since the start of the full-scale invasion, shopping centers in Ukraine have lost an average of 142.4 working days due to air raid alerts.
March 2026 added another 4.8 working days of downtime to these statistics.
Attacks on retail infrastructure
In addition to work interruptions due to air raid alerts, retail properties regularly face direct attacks.
Specifically:
- On April 3, a Russian strike damaged a shopping center in Sumy;
- in February, attacks damaged a shopping center in Zaporizhzhia;
- in July 2025, missiles destroyed the Epicenter shopping center in Kamensk.
Despite this, most retail businesses and HoReCa establishments are trying to continue operating, adapting to the conditions of war.
