This Country Will See McDonald's Reopen After Nearly 6 Months Of Restaurants Closing

McDonald's will reopen some restaurants in Ukraine after closing them nearly six months ago due to the Russian invasion.

In a system message to employees obtained by Restaurant Business, McDonald's said on Thursday that locations would be opened in phases in Kyiv and western Ukraine after the chain had consulted with officials, suppliers, and security specialists in the region.

It was unclear at the time of writing exactly how many restaurants would reopen in Ukraine under the new plan or what the timeframe for reopening was, but when McDonald's pulled out of the country in February, it had 109 locations.

In the message to employees, which came from Paul Pomroy, senior vice president of McDonald's International Operated Markets, according to Restaurant Business, he said the company would begin working with suppliers over the course of the next few months to bring products to restaurants to make the locations ready to start serving customers and get workers back on site. Pomroy also added that improved safety procedures would be implemented at the restaurants.

Pomroy continued by saying that Ukraine workers "have expressed a strong desire to return to work and see our restaurants in Ukraine reopen," the news outlet said. McDonald's has been paying about 10,000 workers since it closed the Ukraine restaurants nearly six months ago.

Pomroy also said that opening the McDonald's restaurants would represent a return to normalcy for Ukraine and could help restart its local economy.

"The belief that this would support a small but important sense of normalcy has grown stronger," Pomroy said. "And Ukrainian officials have advised that businesses resuming operations will support the local economy and the Ukrainian people."

Not only did McDonald's close its restaurants in Ukraine due to the invasion, but it also closed 850 locations in Russia in March. It eventually sold the locations to a Siberian franchise operator. McDonald's said the closure of the Russian restaurants cost the company about $55 million per month, the Associated Press reported.