Mykola Yakymenko,
Head of the Development Department of the Arricano Group of Companies in Ukraine

For almost four years, Ukrainian business has been operating in a full-scale war. Despite all the obstacles and numerous challenges, Arricano shopping malls continue to operate, performing the functions of critical infrastructure of cities, providing jobs to thousands of Ukrainians and supporting local communities, partners and team. And the company's top managers continue to share their experience in overcoming crisis situations.

As a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation (a missile strike on January 8, 2024), the building and premises of the Sun Gallery shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih were damaged.

Damage and destruction were of different nature and criticality, depending on the distance from the point of impact. The blast wave almost completely destroyed the structures of curtain walls (facades) on one side of the building, almost all engineering systems and partially engineering equipment, parts of interior and exterior decoration structures, roofs, windows, stained-glass windows, doors and other elements of the building were also damaged. The premises of our partners, tenants, as well as their equipment and goods, also suffered damage of varying degrees.
You do not face such challenges every day, so for a prompt and professional response to a crisis situation, the Arricano team has developed an action plan in key areas, taking into account the company's capabilities and all legislative, legal, technical, organizational and financial conditions:
1. Safety of life, health of people and property.
2. Analysis and implementation of legislative requirements.
3. Damage assessment and repair and restoration works.
4. Financing of repair and restoration works.
5. Schedule for the resumption of the work of the shopping mall for visitors.

1. Safety
For the safety of people, from the date of arrival, the shopping mall was closed for visitors and access for all other persons was significantly limited. According to the expert report on the possibility of access to the premises of the shopping mall, the complex building was divided into zones with varying degrees of risk and the possibility of passage/stay in part of the premises was limited:
 Zone 1 — unlimited access;
 Zone 2 — access for personnel for the purpose of maintenance and repair of equipment and systems;
 Zone 3 — access only for the purpose of clearing debris from construction waste and dismantling hazardous parts of finishing materials.
To preserve the property of the shopping mall and tenants, additional security resources were involved. For example, from the side of the destroyed facade, where access to the premises from the street was opened, we installed round-the-clock security.

2. Legislation
Given the specifics of the issue and the experience of other developers who previously faced such consequences, we did not have any special difficulties in understanding the sequence of actions and obtaining the necessary documents. There were some delays with the registration of the shopping mall in the register of damaged property, given the insignificant experience of local authorities in such matters.

3. Repair and Restoration Works
Specialized expert companies, equipment maintenance service companies and other specialized contractors were involved in the technical inspection of building structures, engineering systems and equipment. According to the results of the technical survey, we divided the damage into two categories: critical and non-critical.
Critical damage was attributed as a result of which the technical condition of the building, its individual structures or systems was assessed as unsuitable for normal operation. Until the restoration of serviceability, such buildings, structures and systems can be used in a limited mode of operation.
Non-critical damage includes damage that does not affect the safety of operation in general and can be eliminated by local repairs, for example, repair of internal doors, suspended ceiling, garbage collection, restoration of lighting.
Taking into account the technical features of the shopping mall construction project in two stages, which, in fact, are technically and structurally autonomous blocks with their engineering systems, we had the opportunity to restore and open the shopping mall for visitors in stages, taking into account the category of damage and the access area to which the premises are assigned.
Work on the restoration of critical damage was completed in May 2024. All other non-critical works on local restoration of finishing were completed in February 2025
In parallel with the reconstruction of the shopping mall, our tenant partners carried out work to restore their premises.

4. Financing
From the very beginning, we had a clear position on the restoration of the shopping mall, so the issue of financing the restoration work was also relevant.
This project was financed entirely at the own expense of the Arricano Group. Also, the bank that lends to the specified facility supported our proposal for the prompt start of restoration work and provided a grace period for fulfilling obligations under the loan agreement.
The total investment in the restoration of the Sun Gallery shopping mall amounted to UAH 79.4 million.

5. Start of the Shopping Mall
The opening of the shopping mall took place in parts and in stages, taking into account certain zones. This made it possible to resume the work of the hypermarket in a month, in early February 2024, and the shopping mall was fully opened to visitors in June 2024.