In June 2025, the main difficulties faced by Ukrainian businesses during the wartime period remain unchanged. This is evidenced by the results of a regular monthly survey conducted by the Institute of Economic Research among enterprises from various regions of the country.
This is reported by Finway
Key Barriers for Business
The most pressing issue for companies for several months in a row has been the labor shortage. Although in June this indicator slightly decreased (from 63% in May to 58%), the lack of personnel is still the most frequently mentioned barrier to conducting business.
In second place is hazardous working conditions. The share of enterprises citing risks to the lives and health of employees has risen to 53% (up from 47% in May). This problem has particularly intensified for medium and large companies, as well as in regions bordering combat zones. In the Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, over 80% of enterprises consider working in hazardous conditions a serious obstacle.
Third place is occupied by rising prices for raw materials and goods. This factor remains relevant for 47% of respondents, although it has fallen to third place behind labor hazards compared to the previous month.
In fourth position is decreased demand: this time, 33% of companies reported it, up from 27% in May, indicating a growing problem.
The number of complaints about power outages has significantly decreased: this factor dropped from 8th to 10th place (from 7% to 4%).
Business Response to Security Risks and the Role of the State
According to experts from the Institute of Economic Research, companies operating in frontline regions are increasingly considering not only economic but also security challenges. The growing share of enterprises that cite hazardous conditions as the main obstacle demonstrates the complex reality of operating in wartime, especially for those who cannot relocate production or change their business model.
“The share of enterprises that cite hazardous conditions as the main obstacle is increasing — this reflects the realities of doing business in wartime, especially for companies that cannot relocate production or change their operational format.”
Interestingly, factors such as corruption and pressure from law enforcement agencies did not make it to the main list of problems, indicating their lesser impact on businesses compared to security and economic barriers.
From March to June 2025, the business perspective on the role of the state has changed little: the largest share of respondents (45% in June compared to 44% in March) views the government as a regulator. At the same time, the proportion of those who see the state as an obstacle to business has slightly increased (from 23% to 25%). The level of uncertainty has somewhat decreased — the share of responses “Difficult to answer” has dropped from 22% to 16%.