The relocation of Ukrainian businesses abroad, which in 2022 took the form of emergency evacuation, is becoming strategic planning to diversify risks, enter EU markets, and ensure business continuity, according to Kateryna Danilova, partner at Barristers Law Firm.
“While in 2022 relocation was often an emergency evacuation, it is now taking on the characteristics of strategic planning with the aim of diversifying risks, entering EU markets, and ensuring business continuity,” she told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Danilova noted that “since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian businesses have kept up their interest in relocation, although it’s changed depending on what’s happening on the front lines and the overall economic situation.”
According to the lawyer’s observations, the information technology (IT) sector is the most active in terms of relocation, due to its mobility, focus on global markets, and minimal dependence on physical assets.
“For IT companies, relocation often means opening offices in EU countries to retain their teams, which also allows them to guarantee continuity and stability of services to their clients and simplifies access to international financial infrastructure. Many companies based in Diia.City are setting up overseas hubs while keeping a significant part of their development in Ukraine,” she said.
In addition, according to Danilova, manufacturing companies in light industry, woodworking, component manufacturing, and the food industry are also very active in relocation.
“The main driver for them is the desire to protect production facilities from physical destruction, bring production closer to European consumers, expand the sales market, etc.,” she said.
Agrarian and processing enterprises are also active in relocation, seeking opportunities to create processing capacities in neighboring EU countries to gain access to the market without logistical complications at the border.
In addition, these are companies in the creative industry, consulting, and marketing, which, like IT, are mobile and actively integrating into the European market.
Commenting on the geography of relocation, Danilova noted that the choice of a relocation country depends on many factors, including geographical proximity, logistics, business conditions, the availability of support programs, the tax climate, and cultural and linguistic similarities.
Currently, the main destinations for Ukrainian businesses are Poland, which leads in the number of relocated Ukrainian companies, and Germany, where Ukrainian businesses are attracted by economic stability, access to the largest EU market, and high purchasing power, although this country is “characterized by a higher level of bureaucracy and tax burden.”
In addition, Ukrainian businesses are relocating to Romania and Bulgaria, which are gaining popularity thanks to, in particular, competitive tax rates and lower labor costs, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which are traditionally attractive due to their cultural proximity and favorable conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia), which are “interesting for technology and innovation companies due to their developed digital infrastructure and favorable investment climate.”
However, Danilova stressed that “it is legally impossible to transfer an employee from a Ukrainian legal entity to a foreign one, as they are different business entities operating in different legal systems,” but in practice, companies use a number of mechanisms.
These include, in particular, dismissal in Ukraine and employment abroad, which is the most common and transparent mechanism, but requires the employee to obtain a residence and work permit in the country of relocation, or a business trip, which is risky for long-term work abroad.
In addition, companies use mechanisms for concluding civil law contracts, where an employee registers as an individual entrepreneur in Ukraine (or as an individual entrepreneur in the country of relocation) and concludes a service contract with a foreign company. This model is flexible but carries the risk of additional taxes and penalties.
Another common mechanism is intra-corporate transfer (Intra-Corporate Transferee), which is used in EU countries that have implemented the relevant EU Directive, which creates simplified conditions for the temporary transfer of key managers, specialists, and trainees within a group of companies. This requires, in particular, the existence of legally related Ukrainian and foreign companies. Another popular mechanism is outsourcing or “leasing” of employees, which involves removing employees from the payroll on condition that they are hired by a foreign company. However, Ukrainian legislation does not contain clear regulatory provisions governing such legal relations.
Commenting on the pitfalls of Ukrainian legislation in the field of relocation, Danilova noted a number of restrictions in the Ukrainian legal field, in particular, currency restrictions, rules for controlled foreign companies (CFC), transfer pricing (TP), as well as restrictions on travel abroad and the movement of assets.
In addition, banking compliance and opening a bank account for a new company in the EU founded by Ukrainian citizens, the complexity of managing a dual structure, the loss of preferential treatment upon the actual transfer of activities abroad, in particular IT companies, which may lose the advantages of the special legal and tax regime of Dnipro.City, as well as adaptation to foreign legislation.
“Relocating a business abroad is an effective tool for minimizing the risks of war, but at the same time it is a complex legal and organizational project. The success of relocation directly depends on comprehensive strategic planning that takes into account all legal, tax, financial, and operational aspects,” she said.
Barristers, BUSINESS, Danilova, ENTERPRISES, LAWYER, RELOCATION
Since the beginning of 2025, Ukraine’s judicial system has shown some progress in the introduction of new technologies, but there are delays in the consideration of cases and the enforcement of court decisions, according to Vitaliy Chayun, a lawyer at the Barristers law firm.
“The war has affected all aspects of the functioning of the courts, from the physical safety of judges to citizens’ access to justice. Despite this, the courts continue to operate, adapting to the conditions of martial law and the requirements of European integration reforms. In the first half of 2025, the judicial system showed some progress in the implementation of new technologies and reforms, but faced a number of problems, such as delays in the consideration of cases and difficulties in the enforcement of court decisions,” he told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Chayun recalled that in 2024, 5.3 million cases were submitted to courts of all instances and jurisdictions, of which 4.4 million were considered by the courts.
“Approximately one million cases remain unresolved. This indicates a significant burden on the judicial system, especially given the conditions of martial law and staff shortages. It can be assumed that the number of cases in 2025 will remain high, given the growth in 2024 and the continuation of martial law,” he said.
Chayun noted that in the first half of 2025, Ukraine’s judicial system “continues to adapt to the conditions of war and reform in preparation for EU accession,” and among the main trends in the work of the judicial system is the introduction of remote court hearings, which allow hearings to be held without the physical presence of participants.
“This is especially important in wartime, when many citizens are internally displaced persons or live in combat zones. Given these challenges, the development of remote court proceedings is becoming a priority task, the implementation of which will ensure the effectiveness of court proceedings and procedural economy,” he said.
In addition, Chayun drew attention to the problem of filling judicial vacancies: in 2025, it is planned to appoint 1,800 judges to local courts, 550 to appellate courts, and 25 to the High Anti-Corruption Court. However, due to the length of the appointment procedures, “the judiciary has been ‘bled dry’ for many years.”
Chae also noted the processes of modernizing court IT systems and creating new specialized courts.
Commenting on the length of proceedings in Ukrainian courts, the lawyer pointed out that they “remain one of the key problems.” “Cases can be delayed for years due to a lack of funding for basic needs such as stamps, envelopes, and stationery necessary to send correspondence to parties to the proceedings,” he said.
According to Chayun, the delays affect “all types of cases, including economic cases, which are often complex due to the large number of documents and parties involved.” He recalled that between January and April 2025, 59,400 cases were pending in courts of various instances against the State Tax Service for a total amount of UAH 413.8 billion. At the same time, 6,900 cases worth UAH 78.7 billion were considered, of which 2,300 cases (including non-property disputes) worth UAH 44.4 billion were in favor of the State Tax Service, and 4,600 cases worth UAH 34.3 billion were in favor of taxpayers.
“Although there is no accurate data on the timing of economic cases in the first half of 2025, delays persist due to court overload and limited funding. It is expected that filling judicial vacancies and modernizing IT systems in the future will help speed up the consideration of cases, but in the first half of 2025, no significant improvements were achieved, and the shortage of personnel in the judicial system only exacerbates negative trends,” the lawyer emphasized.
He also drew attention to a number of problems with the enforcement of court decisions. “The enforcement of court decisions remains one of the most acute problems of the judicial system, as more than half of court decisions remain unenforced. In 2025, a new law on the digitization of enforcement proceedings and the implementation of a strategy to improve the work of the enforcement service are planned to be adopted. This demonstrates the state’s recognition of the existing problems in this area. However, during 2025, problems with the enforcement of court decisions are likely to persist due to the insufficient effectiveness of the enforcement service and a lack of resources,” the lawyer said.
“The Ukrainian judicial system showed gradual progress in implementing reforms in the first half of 2025, but delays in the consideration of cases, limited access to justice due to financial and technical problems, and difficulties in enforcing court decisions remain significant challenges. Lawyers are forced to adapt to these conditions, which requires additional efforts to protect their clients’ rights. Further reforms and support from the state and international partners are critical to ensuring effective and fair justice in Ukraine,” he concluded.
The former chairman of the SBU Ivan Bakanov received a lawyer’s certificate on June 27, 2023 in the Council of lawyers of Poltava region.
The record about it is made in the Register of lawyers, posted on the website of the National Bar Association.
The Verkhovna Rada dismissed him from the post of Chairman of the SBU exactly one year ago – July 19, 2022.
Source: Bakanov Ivan Gennadiyovych Є One Register of Lawyers of Ukraine (unba.org.ua)
Tenants during lockdown have the right to seek for a reduction in rent in court, but this procedure does not really work, Head of Omerta Organized Law Group Yevhen Fedoseyev has said.
“In case of refusal to reduce the rent, the tenant has the right to apply to court for a forced reduction of the rent. After the court decision comes into force, the rent will be reduced by a percentage and for the period that will be indicated in the court decision. But this procedure doesn’t work in practice, with a few exceptions,” he told Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on bill No. 3377 adopted at the final stage by parliament, which offers a mechanism to support tenants during lockdown.
“In order to be able to really reduce the rent or take vacations for the lockdown period, there must be an ideal and detailed lease agreement, which in most cases does not exist. As a rule, the lease agreement is formal,” he said.
Fedoseyev said that in many cases business entities that suspended activities due to lockdown are forced to apply to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for force majeure certificates.
He also said that currently, the regulatory framework does not provide a mechanism for determining the amount of preferential rents, in particular in situations where, due to circumstances for which the tenant is not responsible, the tenant is not able to use the property. According to the Civil Code, the tenant is exempt from payment for the entire time during which the property could not be used by him due to circumstances for which he is not responsible.
The revocation of lawyer monopoly will oversaturate the legal services market, but will not improve their quality, Head of Omerta Organized Law Group Yevhen Fedoseyev has said.
“The legal market will become even more oversaturated. The activities of a lawyer require adherence to high standards and rules of ethical conduct, which in turn eliminates unethical behavior in the process, which can be observed when a person acting under a power of attorney may abuse procedural rights, disrupt court hearings, and in some cases puts pressure on justice and he is not afraid of disciplinary action,” he said.
The lawyer said that one of the duties of a lawyer is to constantly improve his professional level. At the same time, he said that as a result of the abolition of the lawyer monopoly, “justice will open its doors to a wider circle of people who, due to their financial situation, could not turn to lawyers, but no one has canceled the fact that any lawyer will also not perform work for free.”
“An appeal to a layman who does not know the intricacies of accompanying cases will ultimately cost a lot more,” the lawyer said.
According to Fedoseyev, the introduction of the exclusive right of lawyers to represent interests in court or the so-called lawyer monopoly is an important step for a democratic state, which seeks to effectively and professionally protect the rights and interests of its citizens. In Ukraine, the lawyer monopoly was introduced in 2016 on the basis of a bill amending the Constitution of Ukraine.
“The lawyer monopoly has been building in our country for a long time. Previously, the need for a more professional approach to representation and defense in the courts was not an urgent issue. However, over time and the development of a democratic state, professional and, most importantly, effective defense and representation in courts have become a necessity, since many cases were reviewed only on the basis of the procedural errors in the documents,” he said.
Fedoseyev said that a lawyer is a person who is professionally involved in the defense and representation of citizens in courts, during investigative actions, and similar actions. “Imagine that it’s not doctors, but ordinary amateurs who will treat people. Or someone who wants to entrust a heavy operation to a person who is not a professional in this field? Perhaps this is a rhetorical question,” he said.
The lawyer also suggested that lawyers in criminal cases, who will be affiliated with inexperienced lawyers with whom the participants in the criminal process continue to communicate, may suffer from the abolition of the lawyer monopoly.
“Such “lawyers” in criminal cases will be incompetent to advise parties to criminal proceedings, prepare procedural documents on their behalf and the like. The Institute of Civil Lawyers will also lose a lot, because often only an experienced lawyer can observe ethical standards in civil proceedings, prevent conflicts of interest and “wimping out” of the opponent’s position,” Fedoseyev said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Andrew Mac, the head of Ukrainian law firm Asters office in Washington, as his non-staff adviser (by consent). The head of state signed relevant decree on November 5, according to the president’s press service.
Andrew Mac specializes in cross-border transactions involving the U.S., Ukraine and CIS entities being an expert in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and competition law, corporate compliance, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Bribery Act, capital markets and state regulations.
He has deep hands-on experience in coordinating complex cross-border disputes, as well as in advising Ukrainian and CIS businesses in their U.S. partner interactions.
Andrew Mac is a licensed advocate both in Ukraine and the United States. He is a member of American Bar Association and Ukrainian-American Bar Association.
Asters was founded in 1995 as Shevchenko Didkovskiy and Partners and renamed to Asters during rebranded in 2008.
In 2010, Kyiv Post recognized Andrew Mac one of the most influential foreigners in Ukraine.
