Kim believes that Ukraine needs to change the lending conditions for large businesses affected by the war

Kim proposes changing the lending conditions for large businesses in frontline regions. Photo: NikVesti

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, believes that Ukraine needs to change its approach to lending to large businesses affected by the war. According to him, these problems are systemic for enterprises in frontline regions.

He spoke about this on the Economic Truth podcast.

Vitalii Kim noted that the relevant issues are already being brought before the government to create better conditions for businesses to operate. In particular, he is trying to help the company AgroFusion resolve its lending issues so that it can continue its operations and pay taxes.

According to him, the company pays around 600 million hryvnias in taxes every year and provides jobs. At the same time, it cannot obtain a loan of 600 million hryvnias to cover damaged or lost assets due to banking requirements.

«Restructuring and the asset coverage ratio prevent funds from being released. Consequently, a 600 million hryvnia loan is not being granted. As a result, we risk losing those very 600 million in taxes. We have now discussed this issue with Svyrydenko. We propose changing the approach: to take into account not only assets but also the taxes paid by the business. If a company pays 100 million hryvnias in taxes, it should be granted aid or a loan of the same amount so that it can continue to operate and pay these taxes,» added Vitalii Kim.

He recalled that the company previously had four modern factories, three of which were lost in the occupied territories. Currently, only one factory in the Mykolaiv region is operational, having been successfully restored.

«It was a world leader in the supply of tomato paste. The company had four state-of-the-art factories, three of which were lost in the occupied territories. One factory in the Mykolaiv region has been restored. But the debt burden from those three factories is too great, and they cannot refinance it — they simply do not meet the necessary criteria. This is the problem I am currently trying to resolve with the National Bank,» says Vitalii Kim.

As a reminder, since the start of the full-scale invasion, three AgroFusion plants in the Mykolaiv region have been destroyed. Plans to resume operations were set for 2023. According to the company’s founder, Serhii Sypko, tax revenues from the enterprise have fallen eightfold, and the number of employees has decreased significantly.

The company had also previously reported difficulties in securing international funding to rebuild the destroyed plants due to the lack of appropriate mechanisms among lenders.

In 2025, it emerged that during the occupation of the Snihurivka community, Russian troops had hidden AgroFusion’s products and equipment at the premises of a local businessman, who was later found guilty of collaborating with the occupying forces.