The third Lviv Invest Forum recently took place in Lviv, bringing together investment experts and investors themselves to discuss current asset opportunities in Ukraine. As part of the event, our association organised a panel dedicated to investment opportunities in the defence and energy sectors. We also touched on industrial parks and presented the results of M&A activity in Ukraine. The panel was moderated by UVCA CEO Dmytro Kuzmenko. Below is a summary.

Igor Sotnik, Managing Director of Investment Banking at Concorde Capital.

According to Ukrenergo, approximately 10 GW of power generation capacity has been taken offline in Ukraine today, and replacing it will require $7–9 billion in investment. Furthermore, even after the war ends, the shortfall will persist until at least 2029. Rebuilding thermal power plants is too risky, so the focus should be on decentralisation.

Igor emphasised that the greatest shortage is precisely in flexible generation capacity. Consequently, in 2024, Concorde Capital launched the Encraft project, combining gas-piston generation with energy storage systems. The facilities are already generating 18.4 MW, and the plan is to increase this figure to 62.4 MW by 2027. Investors can invest either up to $45,000 or from $300,000, while the fund’s expected IRR is 16–17% per annum in dollars after management fees for the former and 19–20% for the latter.

Volodymyr Stetsyk, Director at Kearney Ukraine.

The Ukrainian defence industry is currently valued at $50 billion, but due to a lack of funding, capacity utilisation stands at a mere 30–35%. He highlights several risks, including assets that are prime targets for the enemy, a de facto monopsony, a short technology cycle and protectionism from allies.

Furthermore, investment in the sector is complicated by dependence on government contracts and policy decisions, as well as by the expected drop in demand once hostilities cease. Unfortunately, the dynamics of capital are usually dictated by the war.

Bogdan Shyshkovskyi, Director and Attorney-at-law at KPMG Ukraine.

In the first quarter of 2026, 40 M&A deals were completed in Ukraine, compared to 35 during the same period last year, totalling $978 million. Of these deals, ten involved the acquisition of Ukrainian assets by foreign capital. A few more statistics:

• 11 deals were in the innovation and technology sectors.

• Six were in agriculture and food.

• Four were in energy.

• Four were in defence technology.

Bogdan also highlighted the heavy workload employees face, particularly regarding deals in Ukraine, and announced the launch of the KPMG Ukraine Gateway initiative, which aims to attract investment to Ukraine and help Ukrainian companies enter international markets.

Andriy Brynzylo, CEO of the Industrial Parks Department at Dragon Capital.

Industrial parks are ready-made platforms on which you can set up your own production facilities and solutions. The main advantage is that you don’t have to act as a builder, since these parks have all the necessary infrastructure in place, including water supply, electricity, gas, roads and facilities. Certain categories of manufacturers can also benefit from legal incentives.

On military risks. The speakers are aware of successful insurance case studies from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the German government. They also recommend the 'umbrella' principle. However, diversification of physical assets would be best.

Among the Defence Industry Support Programmes, preferential loans at 5% and grants from Brave1, NATO and Horizon Europe were mentioned.