International office presence in Ukraine is gradually recovering, but the structure of demand has changed. Instead of IT companies, which have been reducing their share in GDP and exports, the key growth factor in 2025 is international and joint defense-industry projects that are opening or preparing to open representative, engineering and administrative offices in Ukraine. This follows from Q3 2025 market data and comments from UTG’s strategic consulting department.
Market context: fewer classic international offices, but new players
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The number of international companies and their representative offices in Ukraine has slightly decreased compared to the pre-war period: 616 in 2025 vs. 627 in 2021.
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The outflow of Russian-related businesses that began after 2014–2015 was completed in 2022–2023 — companies with toxic origin were forced out of the market or could not keep operating under Ukrainian or EU structures.
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At the same time, Ukraine has turned into a real testing and localization hub for modern weapons and dual-use systems, which attracted a new group of tenants — defense and security companies.
IT no longer the main offtaker
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The share of IT in GDP fell from 5.42% in 2022 to 3.42% in 2024.
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Exports of IT services also declined: from $7.52 billion in 2022 to $6.38 billion in 2024.
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This automatically reduced demand from the segment that used to absorb the best office space in Kyiv and large regional centers.
Who is coming instead
Ukraine is negotiating or already hosting local structures of major defense-industry groups from:
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Germany (e.g. Rheinmetall, KMW),
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Turkey (Baykar),
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Norway (Kongsberg),
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Latvia (Atlas Aerospace),
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United Kingdom (BAE Systems),
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United States (Northrop Grumman),
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as well as companies from Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Poland.
These companies do not always start with production — many begin with:
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representative / liaison offices,
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project and contract management units,
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small R&D or integration teams,
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support offices for future joint ventures.
For the office market, this is still net demand: these tenants are long-term, security-oriented and linked to defense financing and reconstruction programs.
Why this segment is sustainable
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Security spending will not shrink — Ukraine is moving to long-term defense planning together with NATO and EU partners.
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Possible EU and NATO accession will bring in more international institutions and suppliers to Kyiv and other safe regions.
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Joint production and localization programs require physical presence: certification, ITAR/EU compliance, coordination with the Ministry of Defense and state defense customers.
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De-risking from Russia: a number of European brands that left the Russian market are looking at Ukraine as the future regional base.
Office market dynamics
According to UTG’s 2025 projections:
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New supply: 63,000 sq m in 2025 (vs. 26,000 sq m in 2024).
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Planned pipeline: 234,000 sq m in 2026 and up to 490,000 sq m in 2027 — developers are preparing for a postwar/fast-recovery scenario.
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Vacancy is slowly improving in mid-segment properties:
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Class B: from 21.8% in 2024 to 20.5% in H1 2025.
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Class C: from 14.8% to 14.2%.
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Rents are edging up in those classes:
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Class B: $11.5 → $11.9 per sq m (excl. VAT, OPEX, KP, BOMA).
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Class C: $9.1 → $9.8 per sq m.
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Class A remains the most sensitive to geopolitical risk:
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vacancy about 28.2%,
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rents slightly down $17.5 → $17.2 per sq m.
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This pattern shows: the market is not overheating, but it is getting a new anchor tenant profile — not tech, but defense-related corporates with European parent companies.
Investment angle
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Demand quality is improving. Defense and dual-use companies are usually better capitalized than local SMEs, and many work under international support or export programs.
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Location filtering will persist. Offices will concentrate in relatively safer cities (Kyiv, Lviv, west and center), near logistics and government institutions.
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Product requirements will change. Operators will look for secure premises, backup power, good telecom and the possibility of restricted-access floors. Buildings that already modernized for blackout conditions will lease faster.
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Medium-term growth trigger. If Ukraine locks in EU/NATO formats, the number of mission-type offices, liaison offices and joint industrial platforms will increase — and that is exactly the type of tenant now replacing the IT vacuum.
In short, the office market did not return to the 2021 model — it is being rebuilt around defense-industrial cooperation and future integration projects, which makes demand fewer in number but higher in resilience and strategic importance.
