Two Russian Shahed-type drones struck a warehouse belonging to Star Brands, a Ukrainian group of companies that produces food and snacks, in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region. The direct hit on Tuesday morning caused a massive fire and damage to 5,500 square meters of the storage facility.
The strike was part of an overnight assault on Tuesday, Russia launched 110 drones across Ukraine. Out of five drones targeting the Pavlohrad district, three were intercepted by air defense systems. The regional escalation included a Russian FPV drone strike on a civilian bus in Nikopol, killing four people and wounding 16.
Star Brands is currently assessing the financial losses, including the destruction of raw materials and finished goods stored at the site.
“Material losses are a challenge, but people are our main priority,” the management of Star Brands said in a statement on Facebook. The company’s logistics team has implemented an emergency rerouting plan to ensure deliveries to partners and customers remain on schedule despite the destruction of the Pavlohrad hub.
The company reported no casualties among the staff, who were in a shelter at the time of the attack.
Inside the Star Brands Portfolio
Star Brands operated as Snack Production until a 2022 restructuring. The group manages a diverse portfolio of food, hygiene, and logistics businesses. The snack division includes the brands Flint croutons, Chipster’s potato chips, BigBob nuts, and San Sanych sunflower seeds. Its grocery arm, Star Grocery, includes the “Khutorok” brand and operates flour mills, a pasta factory, and a fruit-and-vegetable processing plant.
According to Star Brands’ website, the group faced infrastructure losses as its manufacturing base was in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In April 2025, a strike in the Synelnykove district destroyed two warehouses totaling 6,500 square meters, while an earlier fire in Pavlohrad destroyed an 11,000-square-meter facility. Furthermore, the company’s processing plant near Kherson was occupied, prompting the relocation of equipment to the Volyn region, where a new plant opened in 2024.
From 2022 to 2025, the group invested over Hr.850 million ($19.3 million) to modernize and diversify production despite the scale of destruction. Key projects have included:
- Nearly Hr.400 million ($9.1 million) invested by December 2025 in a new potato chip plant in the Lviv region to optimize logistics and diversify production from the volatile security situation in Pavlohrad.
- Over Hr.19.5 million ($443,000) in 2024 to plant in the Volyn region for juice and preserve production lines.
- The Food Sales distribution direction, despite losing 13 branches in the occupied territories, invested Hr.95.5 million ($2.1 million) in 2025 to open centers in Dnipro and Ternopil.
Star Brands continues to export to more than 30 markets worldwide, including the EU, UK, Canada, and Central Asia. The group maintains partnerships with major international retail chains, including Lidl, Kaufland, Carrefour, and Zabka. The group launched its own logistics firm, Eurogrouptrans, to ensure supply chain resilience and to deliver goods from Ukraine to other countries.