KYIV, Feb 1 – The weighted average vacancy rate in shopping malls in Kyiv almost doubled from 11.5% in 2021 to 21.5% at the end of 2022, Yevhenia Loktionova, the director of the Ukrainian Trade Guild (UTG), told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The increase in vacancy in shopping galleries in Kyiv and most regions of Ukraine is caused by a number of circumstances, all of which are related to the war. Retailers associated with Russia have completely exited the market, while there is not enough assortment of alternative foreign department stores to fill the vacated areas. Some of the large format international operators (Inditex, H&M, IKEA) decided to freeze their work until the end of hostilities," she explained.