Ukraine’s Roshen confectionery Kyiv manufacturing site hit by Russian bombing
The Roshen company, which has a number of sites in its home region, has suffered damage to its manufacturing facilities in a bombing raid. Pic: Shutterstock
Just a week before it is due to appear at the major ISM event in Cologne, reports have emerged that Ukrainian-based confectionery group, Roshen’s facilities in Kyiv suffered damage in a bombing by Russian forces, writes Neill Barston.
According to local news outlets, the reported drone incident happened on 24 January, with one woman said to have died in the incident and several others injured as part of a wider attack on the nation’s capital.
The Roshen company is owned by former Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko, who had reportedly seen the brands develop at significant pace since acquisitions in the early 90s that led to their incorporation into a larger international group.
According to the Interfax Ukraine News agency, the ex national leader posted on Facebook on the incident. He is reported to have said: “During the overnight attack, the Roshen confectionery factory was severely damaged. The attackers struck the same point twice.
|A female employee was killed, and many others were injured, including two seriously. This is not a military base or a strategic facility. This is a civilian factory. A workplace. A person who should not have died,”
Concerned residents also took to social media to comment on the incident, observing that there had been notable damage to the Roshen site, though the extent of the impact has not been revealed. Sources close to the business have confirmed the incident, though no formal statement has been released as yet by the company.
Notably, the business is set to appear at ISM in Cologne, Germany, which begins on 1 February in Germany at its traditional Koelnmesse location – there has as yet been no statement from the company indicating it will not attend the key global trade fair in light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The company has been prominent at a number of significant confectionery shows in recent years in spite of extremely challenging war-torn conditions, including appearances at ISM Middle East.
Continued event presence
As our title has previously reported, a number of other Ukrainian firms have taken a similarly bold approach in seeking to attend and exhibit at event despite it now being three years since its country was invaded, and no end in sight for the conflict. The latest round of peace talks took place last week, involving the Ukraine, US and Russian delegates, but no agreement was reached, with Kyiv determined that it should not have to give up any further of its land as part of any deal.
As regards Roshen, the company remains listed as appearing at ISM, with the company presently producing a total of more than 320 confectionery ranges, listing its manufacturing capacity as being 300,000 tonnes a year.
It has become renowned for its range of chocolate, as well as extending its operations into manufacturing gummies as well as cookie series across the group’s portfolio.
The business is set to appear at Hall 10.2 A048- B049 of ISM, with a wider pavilion dedicated to Ukrainian businesses. Our title has approached ISM for comment on the company’s presence.
