Planeta Mall, the largest shopping center in Eastern Ukraine, is planning to open in Kharkiv at the end of 2023. This was announced by the director of the Ukrainian Trade Guild (UTG) Yevhenia Loktionova in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.

The shopping mall was supposed to start running in April 2022, but the opening had to be cancelled due to the full-scale invasion. It is currently scheduled to open in late 2023.

Planeta Mall on Okruzhna Street offers 120 shops and 15 restaurants. Before the war, a Cinema City cinema and a Family Park children’s entertainment center were supposed to be located there.

UTG acts as a broker for the project. The company reports that the project’s implementation will depend on the situation at the front line.

“Among the risks of launching a shopping center in today’s conditions, firstly, is the possibility of missile attacks and destruction due to hostilities. Then you need to take into account the work with almost minimal rental income, as almost all shopping malls, except for those located in the western part of the country, have lost most of their visitors due to population migration,” said Yevheniia Loktionova.

Another six shopping centers are planned to be opened in 2023, including Izmail, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Truskavets and Drohobych.