Disclaimer: The Counteroffensive team urges you to eat fast food in moderation. And no, this isn’t a sponsored post! In fact, the corporate offices of McDonald’s Ukraine declined to comment or cooperate at all for this article.

The smell of burgers. A Happy Meal with a cool toy. A McFlurry for dessert. A carefree childhood. No war, power outages, or missiles overhead.

This is the picture that McDonald’s paints for many Ukrainians. Reopening its Ukrainian storefronts in September 2022 was a massive event — a speckle of joy amidst the war.

“It’s nostalgia and a kind of return to childhood, to times when you’d come with your parents for a quick bite — those are wonderful memories,” said Vitalii Lazarenko, an employee at one of Kyiv’s McDonald’s locations.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion, McDonald’s completely suspended its operations in Ukraine due to uncertainty about the future and concerns for employee safety. But by September 2022, it began to seem like Ukraine would sustain its fight, and the chain gradually began to resume operations.

In 2025, the McDonald’s network in Ukraine expanded by 12 restaurants, a rate of opening restaurants that surpasses previous year. The chain now counts 120 restaurants, exceeding the pre-war number of 109.

After the mass Russia’s attack on January 8, when Kyiv lost most of its heat and electricity, McDonald’s has also become an invincibility point, as people can come here to work, use their wifi, or recharge their devices.

One McDonald’s, near Lukianivska metro station in Kyiv, was hit by shrapnel recently - making it possibly the most war torn McDonald’s in the world. This is also the oldest McDonald’s in Ukraine.

McDonald’s was one of the first foreign chains in Ukraine when it opened its first store here, symbolizing the final fall of the Iron Curtain and integration into the global economy. For many Ukrainians, it’s a cultural touchpoint, a point of commonality with the United States.

McDonald’s restarted operations on September 20, 2022, after 7 months offline due to the invasion. It may seem silly, but at the time, it was seen as a point of celebration.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively worked on talks with McDonald’s and even the U.S. officials to reopen its restaurants in Ukraine. “This is primarily a signal to the international business community that it is possible to operate in Ukraine, even under wartime conditions… Ultimately, this is part of Ukraine’s recovery,” Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of foreign affairs at that time, said on his Facebook when McDonald’s announced its gradual reopening.

Ukrainians, as they always do with both bad and good news, reacted with jokes and memes.

When the restaurant was gradually renewing its operation, Vitalii got a job there.

“I just needed some extra income. I thought I’d work for two weeks, buy everything I had planned… There was a huge number of visitors because everyone missed McDonald’s, everyone missed burgers,” Vitalii said.

Ukrainians initially became familiar with the American fast-food chain in 1997, when the first restaurant was opened in Kyiv.

In the days following the opening, lines stretched for dozens of meters. About 30,000 people visited McDonald’s on the first day. It was not just about a new fast-food brand — it symbolized that Ukraine was finally open to the Western world, and the Soviet Union no longer limited its connection.

All the popular Western things felt glamorous for Ukrainians, who just opened to the outer world. That’s why visiting it felt like a holiday and a special occasion.

Ukrainians have many fast food chains now, both domestic and foreign. But McDonald’s remains incredibly popular.

Vitalii’s path to McDonalds was certainly random. He has been obsessed with TV shows, anime and video games since he was about 12. Even when he turned 27, his adoration for cosplay (a hobby in which people dress up as their favorite characters from movies, video games, TV shows) only grew. The turning point in his love for cosplay was when he made his first costume and attended Comic Con in 2021 — the largest comics and cosplay festival in Ukraine, uniting tens of thousands of people with similar interests.

“I was inspired that all the people are the same kind of geeks, just like me — talented, dreamers, [with] very interesting personalities. I really loved this celebration of geek culture, this atmosphere where anyone can feel part of a festival of their passions,” Vitalii recalled.

Vitalii promised himself that he would not stop at Comic Con and would make it a more permanent hobby. The next cosplay costume he created was Spider-Man, which is one of many costumes he shared on his social media.

This hobby led him to McDonald’s in September 2022. His passion is a costly one – so he needed money at that time. His friend who worked there told Vitalii that the restaurants were just starting to reopen and faced a staffing shortage.

In September 2022, three restaurants opened in Kyiv, but only for delivery. Then, the doors actually opened and people were able to come and eat. Huge lines of people gathered near reopened spots waiting for hours to have a nostalgic burger that they had last tasted during a time of peace.

Myroslava, Managing Editor of The Counteroffensive, had a birthday at the period of McDonald’s reopening and it was a big birthday present for her.

“I began joking with my husband that if it opens before my birthday, I want a cake made of burgers or a mountain of burgers — basically, I begged him to bring me those burgers…He told me that he stood in line at McDonald’s for two hours because there were so many people, and he was already cursing those burgers, but as we know — a woman’s wish is law,” Myroslava told.

Recently McDonald’s had a huge attention from visitors again due to collaboration around an American cultural phenomenon. Now, you can order meals and receive a toy related to the U.S. sitcom ‘Friends’ – meaning figures of Rachel, Ross, Joey, Chandler and Phoebe are available for Ukrainians.

(The Counteroffensive also has an article about Ukrainians’ obsession with the ‘Friends’ television show).

Vitalii confessed that the Ukrainians are so obsessed with the show that they asked to buy caps that were part of workers’ uniform and said ‘McDonald’s - Friends’.

Even though the popularity of the restaurant remains high, war affects how and when you can visit. As soon as an air raid alert goes off, all the visitors are evacuated and the work stops.

“I’m a pretty stress-resilient person. I felt like I was in my element [from the very first day],” Vitalii said.

At first, Vitalii handled various tasks. He worked in the kitchen and as an assistant to the cooks.

“Sometimes I go up and ask people how they’re enjoying the restaurant, and it even lifts their mood. They’ll say things like, ‘Seriously, thank you, you just made my day,’” Vitalii said.

It was this attention to guests that earned him the role of hospitality specialist. His main responsibility is now to create an environment that enhances the customer experience.

Vitalii’s favorite memory about McDonald’s is his 8th birthday celebration. Though his recollection is foggy, he still remembers the party hosts. He also recalls a special tram car, which used to serve as a tram on Kyiv roads, but became entertainment for kids’ birthdays at McDonald’s, as it was remade and decorated for special occasions.

Many establishments in Ukraine have already gotten used to air raid alerts as part of everyday protocol, something one has to learn to adjust to. Most establishments do not close and continue working if the attack is not nearby.

Not McDonald’s. Each time the sirens sound, McDonald’s locations stop their work and evacuate visitors to the nearest shelter.

This safety policy is one of the reasons that McDonald’s is still closed in Kharkiv, a city in the north east of Ukraine. Kharkiv suffers from strikes on a near-daily basis, sometimes even before the air raid alert sounds.

Kharkiv citizens share on social media that they are ready to go to another city just to have their favorite combo.

McDonald’s near the Lukianivska metro station in Kyiv, the oldest one in Ukraine, has become one of the restaurants hit most frequently by Russian attacks.

As of February 2025, the restaurant has already been damaged five times due to Russian strikes.

On the night of January 8, most of Kyiv citizens were left without heat or electricity during the most brutal winter weather in recent years, when temperature at day can drop to –15°C.

McDonald’s became one of the places that turned into an invincibility point for people. Vitalii says there are a lot of people coming to his spot to work on their laptops.

“We fully support people coming in to charge their devices and rest after difficult nights of shelling,” Vitalii said.

NEWS OF THE DAY:

By Oksana Stepura

Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands.

TRUMP’S TEAM “BOARD OF PEACE” EXPANSION: The Trump administration is considering expanding its “Board of Peace” for Gaza to serve in global hotspots like Ukraine and Venezuela. While the board was originally formed to oversee Gaza’s post-war transition, officials are now proposing it as a mechanism to monitor and guarantee a 20-point peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

The group has been called a “substitute for the UN” and the original board intended for Gaza has still not been fully realized and many details are yet to be clarified. The board is expected to be formally unveiled at the World Economic forum in Davos.

CHINA STOPPED BUYING RUSSIAN ELECTRICITY: As of this January, China has stopped importing electricity from Russia because Russian energy prices have risen above China’s domestic rate.

This mark is part of a continuing decline of Russia-Chinese trade in 5 years which began in 2025.

RUSSIA FAKES TERRITORIAL GAINS TO SWAY PEACE TALKS: Russian military officials are falsely claiming control over Kupyansk to influence peace talks and pressure the U.S. into accepting a peace deal on the Kremlin’s terms, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

While Moscow claims it has seized the city, visual evidence and even pro-Russian military correspondents confirm that Ukrainian forces maintain control over most of the city and surrounding areas.

CAT OF CONFLICT:

Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure have taken out heating for many in Ukraine – including Oksana’s Mary, who, despite her luscious fur, is so cold that she has to sleep in a bathrobe.

Stay safe out there.

Best,
Nastia

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