As for the jet fuel:

• Lukoil Aviation Bulgaria
• Breaker Petrol Refinery Blvd Novodar (Romania)
• Thy Opet Aviation Fuels Joint Stock Company (Turkey)
• The Shell Company Of Turkey Ltd
• Tfs Fuel Services Joint Stock Company (Turkey)
• Socar Turkey Petrol Ticaret As
• Tfs Akaryakit H Zmetler Anon M Company (Turkey)

Fuel Pricing

The fuel price structure as of August 2023 is as follow: purchase price – 65%, taxes – 27% (taxes established as tariffs in EUR and excise in UAH), resellers cost and profit – 8%.

Prices for fuel in government-controlled areas in Ukraine you can see below in the table:

Detailed information on fuel prices in both the regions and the distributors is available on minfin.ua’s daily tracker.

Fuel Intelligence

The prominent sources for information on oil processing and supply chains nowadays are, among others:

• “A-95” Consulting Group
• Enkorr (media company)
• Kosatka media

Seasonal Variations

Agricultural (sowing most of the crops in Spring and harvesting them in Autumn), warfare (active campaigns in Summer and Winter and stalemates during impassability of local roads in Spring and Autumn) and climate cycles (use of generators as emergency power supplies both in Summer heat and Winter colds) can cause fluctuations in fuel prices.

Quality Control and Assurance

Fuel quality in Ukraine is regulated by National Standards of Ukraine (ДСТУ) 7687:2015 (for benzine), 7688:2015 (for diesel fuel), EN 589:2017 (for automotive petroleum gas) and 4796:2007 (for Jet-A1 aviation fuel). The National Ecological Inspection of Ukraine was tasked to perform fuel quality control checks, but till the end of martial law they were seized by the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Fuel quality may be inferior when purchasing it from mini-refineries. There may be drastic price changes (such as the return of excise and VAT on fuel) or sporadic accidents even by major fuel distributors.

Quality control laboratories:

• State Owned Enterprise “MASMA”
• Rivne Scientific and Production Center for Standardization, Metrology and Certification
• ASU Certification Centre LLC
• Promstandart Certification Authority LLC
• Kryvyi Rih Scientific and Production Center for Standardization, Metrology and Certification State Owned Enterprise
• Dnipro City Scientific and Production Center for Standardization, Metrology and Certification State Owned Enterprise
• Karti Private Company
• All-Ukrainian Expert Service UkrExpertyza LLC
• Kharkiv Independent Certification Centre LLC
• Rivnestandart LLC
• Universalnaftokhim LLC
• Certification Information Centre Product Certification Authority LLC
• DP Zhytomyrstandart LLC
• Consumer Expertise Institute
• JurEx Expertise and Law Consulting Firm

Disclaimers

Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, official information on fuel has become confidential and is not published in statistical sources: neither production, nor foreign trade, nor storage figures on it are available since January 2022.

Inclusion of company information in the LCA does not imply any business relationship between the supplier and WFP / Logistics Cluster, and is used solely as a determinant of services, and capacities.

Please note: WFP / Logistics Cluster maintain complete impartiality and are not in a position to endorse, comment on any company's suitability as a reputable service provider.

Manual Labour Overview

Ukraine has been subject to demographic stagnation pretty much ever since gaining independence in 1991. A decline in fertility rates through the tumultuous 1990s, the traumaticity of workplaces and brain drain are the main causes for this process. The Russo-Ukrainian war, both in 2014-2015 and in 2022-now has further exacerbated the demographic situation by forcing a large proportion of the productive population to leave home and move to other parts of Ukraine or abroad.

Before the Russian invasion, there were 41 million people living in Ukraine. It is estimated that as of August 2023 over 8 million Ukrainians were abroad, mostly in the EU states. Most of the people who left the country are work-age women and children. According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, 46.36% of the population are males and 53.64% are females. Even before the Russian invasion, it has been challenging to obtain a young workforce (16-25), somewhat easier - nearing retirement (45-55).

Immigration into Ukraine before the war was minimal and usually temporary - for education purposes, it originates from the Middle East, Sahel and Subsaharan Africa. During the war immigration into Ukraine stopped.

In addition to migration from Ukraine, mobilisation to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is the factor contributing to labour shortages. To this end, all males aged 18-60 are barred from exiting the country. Temporary exemptions are present for some categories, such as cross-border humanitarian logistical operations (especially for expeditors towards Europe).

Source: State Statistics Service of Ukraine

Wages and Conditions of Employment

Conditions to employment can be found in the Acacce’s guide thereon on Ukraine.

As of 01 September 2023, the median wage offers in the logistics and transportation sector according to work.ua are the following:

• Loader: UAH 14.5 thsd. / month
• Warehouse inbound worker: UAH 16 thsd. / month
• Hodman: UAH 15 thsd. / month
• Guardsman: UAH 12 thsd. / month
• Packer: UAH 14 thsd. / month
• Warehouse outbound worker: UAH 18 thsd. / month
• Forklift driver: UAH 17 thsd. / month
• Dispatcher: UAH 20.5 thsd. / month
• 1C operator: UAH 15 thsd. / month
• Warehouse head: UAH 18 thsd. / month
• Expeditor: UAH 18 thsd. / month
• Logistician: UAH 22 thsd. / month
• Driver for international shipments: UAH 42.5 thsd. / month
• Foreign economic activity manager: UAH 40 thsd. / month
• Economist: UAH 16.5 thsd. / month
• Analyst: UAH 25 thsd. / month
• Top manager: UAH 42.5 thsd. / month
• Logistical department head: UAH 35 thsd. / month
• Procurement department head: UAH 35 thsd. / month
• National manager: UAH 40 thsd. / month
• Regional manager: UAH 30 thsd. / month
• Project manager: UAH 27.5 thsd. / month

Employment services

Ukraine is host to multiple job search sites:

• Work.ua
• Rabota.ua
• Layboard.com
• Djinni.co
• Dou.ua

Also, Work.ua is host to the list of recruiting agencies, which one can turn to in search of more qualified cadres for available positions.

Telecommunications

Before the war, uttermost Ukrainians had a mobile phone and a cellular network connection: as of the end of 2021, there were 1.36 SIM cards per person with the greatest concentration in the Odesa region and in Kyiv city (2-2.1 SIM cards per person). Over 70% Ukrainians had mobile phones, with the highest penetration thereof being amongst young adults. The trend is reflected through the phasing out of the fixed telephone lines throughout Ukraine. Internet access is available both in cities and smaller settlements; the coverage in areas between cities may be limited outside the major roads.

All types of communication networks throughout Ukraine are well developed and modernised. Though they may be vulnerable to power outages, especially during drone and missile strikes: prolonged lack of electricity disables connectivity in the affected areas until power is restored. Telecommunication providers are working to autonomise the energy supply to their networks with variable success: generators or batteries are installed to network nodes to prolong their longevity once the power is out.

All kinds of communication near the front line are very limited due to infrastructure destruction and electronic warfare.

Ukrtelecom is the national telecommunications operator. Ukrtelecom covers 78% of fixed-line local telephone.

Telecommunications Regulations

The National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and the Provision Of Postal Services (NCEC) is an authority of state regulation in the area of telecommunications. The entity acts according to the Law 1971-IX.

Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems

In December 2022, Ukrainian government/NCEC approved the VHF (Radio Frequency Spectrum) to use security communication network in humanitarian crises areas.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Ukrtelecom is the largest Internet access provider (as well as a fixed telephone provider). In particular, it was serving over 1.1 million fixed-access clients and 661,000 internet clients as of December 2022. The second-largest - Kyivstar - (on par with Vodafone Ukraine) is the largest mobile phone and internet operator offering fixed broadband access. Volia as well is a major player specialising in cable access combined with the TV signal.

Since the crisis, StarLink services are available across the country. 

Some Ukrainian operators still manage to provide services across the frontline into the recently occupied territories, but they are likely to be quickly substituted by Russian-affiliated ISPs (e.g. IVK-Donbass). Starlink has proven itself to be a reliable internet connection provider with secure data flows and portable receivers. Its popularity in Ukraine is steadily growing.

All internet service providers with their consumer ratings and available bandwidths for any specific region are available at 2IP’s dedicated section.

Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)

Ukraine has a triopoly in cellular network operations: Kyivstar, Vodafone (formerly  MTS), and Lifecell. LycaMobile also entered the market, but its client base is tiny compared to the top 3.

Mobile connectivity nowadays consists of a 4G internet network with supplementarily of 3- and 2G in distant localities.

On the occupied territories multiple mobile operators provide connectivity services, namely MTS, MKS for the Luhansk region, Phoenix for the Donetsk region, KrymTelekom for the Crimea, MirTelekom and 7+Mobile for the Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions.

Additional Service Providers

Vehicle Rentals

General details on vehicle renting relations is provided in the dedicated article by Visit Ukraine.

Here’s the list of most well-known personal vehicle rental services in Ukraine:

International:

• Avis
• Hertz
• Budget
• Europcar
• Sixt

National:

• 7cars
• BLS
• Rent95
• Rentalcars
• RentalUA
• Ukr-Prokat

OLX is also a space for a more peer-to-peer approach in car rentals, but caution is advised when using this service for any matter. Taxi parks also offer renting services (probably prudent for constant business use). For that matter Ukrtranspark and Southpark are available.

Auto Transport Operators

According to the Ukrainian statistics bureau (sampled by regional presence):

• Kiev. Kyivpastrans, Kyivske ATP 2240
• Lviv. Lvivske ATP 14631
• Kramatorsk. Kramatorske ATP 11410
• Odesa. PIVNICHTRANS
• Vinnytske ATP 10554. Vinnytsya.
• Zaporizke ATP 12355, Zaporozhye.

Freight Forwarding Companies

The most popular freight forwarders are UkrPoshta (state’s delivery service), Nova Poshta and Meest Express. Foreign forwarders exist as well: DHL and UPS.

A list of more discrete freight forwarders can be found at Clutch’s rating site or on Association of International Freight Forwarders of Ukraine.

Furthermore, the Logistics Cluster Ukraine and is also maintaining a Supplier & Service Providers List, which is available at here