The company Philip Morris Ukraine is considering the possibility of compensating for losses after russia's missile strike on the Kharkiv factory within the framework of available international compensation mechanisms.
This was stated in an interview with Forbes Ukraine by the company's financial director, Serhii Kalnoochenko.
On the night of January 30, 2026, a russian missile attack destroyed the Philip Morris Ukraine warehouse located at the company's factory in Kharkiv. This is the third attack on the manufacturer's business since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion.
The first hit was in May 2022 in an administrative building at the Kharkiv factory. The second was the hit of drone debris in a warehouse in the Lviv Region in October 2025.
As previously reported by the Kharkiv State Emergency Service, as a result of the attack in January 2026, a fire broke out with an area of over 5,000 sq. m., and building structures suffered significant damage.
"The assessment of the scale of losses is still ongoing. Preliminary, they amount to USD 16 million - this is the building and all the raw materials stored in the warehouse," Serhii Kalnoochenko said.
According to him, no insurance company undertakes to cover war risks in Kharkiv and the region in the volumes necessary for a tobacco company, which is standard practice in the market in wartime.
"Therefore, the losses that we incurred actually remain the company's losses. We are also considering the possibility of compensating for losses within the framework of available international compensation mechanisms," he said.
As reported, the company suspended production in Kharkiv due to security risks at the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion in February 2022.
Before the full-scale war, Philip Morris Ukraine produced 20 billion cigarettes per year in Kharkiv. The products were sold in Ukraine and exported to more than 20 countries, including Japan, Israel, Georgia, Egypt, and EU countries.
Due to the suspension of production in April 2022, the manufacturer began importing products to Ukraine. In the same year, the company temporarily switched to cigarette production at a partner's factory in Kyiv.
In June 2023, Philip Morris Ukraine announced investments of more than USD 30 million in launching a new production facility in the Lviv Region, and opened it in 2024. 250 employees from Kharkiv were relocated to work at the new factory.
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