How Should Businesses Act in the Event of Property Damage Caused by War?

Download the Guide
How Should Businesses Act in the Event of Property Damage Caused by War?


“How businesses should act in case of property damage resulting from armed aggression: step-by-step plan 2.0” is an updated and expanded version of a practical guide developed by the European Business Association’s Ukraine Recovery Committee, with the support of BDO in Ukraine. It is designed to help companies properly document losses, organize their crisis response, and initiate the compensation process.


Ukrainian businesses face heightened risks of property damage and operational disruption. It is important to understand in advance how to respond in such situations in order to protect your rights and secure compensation for incurred losses.

The guide outlines the steps businesses should take immediately after an incident, explains how to act within the legal framework, and specifies which documents are required to substantiate losses. The material is based on the practical experience of companies that have already faced property damage, relocation, business interruption, and the need to restore operations. It covers legal, financial, tax, and operational aspects of crisis response, and serves as a practical tool for companies seeking to respond quickly and systematically to challenges and resume their activities.

The updated version of the guide includes:

  • updated regulatory framework to reflect recent legislative changes
  • updated ECA programme terms, including compensation limits, as well as application procedures and timelines 
  • expanded definition of assets eligible for compensation mechanisms 
  • clarified wording on grant support for processing enterprises to avoid inflated or inaccurate expectations 
  • integrated a cloud-first approach as a business continuity model, with a focus on migrating critical systems to the cloud, maintaining backups, enabling remote access, duplicating key roles, establishing electronic document archives, and ensuring rapid recovery without reliance on a physical office 
  • strengthened practical component, including crisis response algorithms, preparation of supporting evidence, role allocation, and financial assessment of downtime 
  • additional guidance on the special regulatory regime for the use of cloud services for state information resources and restricted-access information



Як діяти бізнесу в разі пошкодження майна внаслідок війни



This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute individual legal advice. Before making any decisions, we recommend verifying the current legislation and seeking professional legal counsel.

If you have any questions or require additional support, please contact BDO in Ukraine.

Key Contact

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Inventory — a procedure for verifying the actual existence of assets and recording changes resulting from damage to or destruction of assets.

Compensation for losses — the process of obtaining financial compensation for damaged or destroyed property through state, international, or insurance mechanisms.

Independent loss assessment — the valuation of damaged property by a certified expert for the purposes of subsequent compensation or submission of documents to a court or insurance company.

Suspension of the employment contract — the temporary suspension of duties by both the employee and the employer in situations where the business is unable to operate due to war damage.

Downtime — an officially recognised status under which a company’s operations are suspended for reasons beyond the employee’s control, including damage to production facilities.

Write off of assets — an accounting transaction that records the derecognition of property destroyed or lost as a result of hostilities.

Insurance mechanisms — specialised insurance instruments that enable businesses to obtain compensation for losses resulting from property damage, including war related risks.

Documenting damage — the process of collecting evidence, including photographs, videos, inspection reports, and documentation from relevant authorities, required to substantiate the occurrence and extent of losses.

Manager’s checklist — a ready to use list of actions and documents that should be kept readily available to ensure a prompt response to property damage and the effective initiation of compensation procedures.