Varus is a Ukrainian chain of supermarkets founded in 2003 by the Cyprus-based company Weygant Enterprises limited. As of October 2022, the chain operated 116 supermarkets[2][3] in Dnipro, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Odesa oblasts, as well as in Kyiv.[4] In 2021, the company ranked 49th in Forbes magazine’s list of the "100 Largest Private Companies in Ukraine 2021."[5]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
The first Varus supermarket opened in 2003 in the city of Dnipro.[6]
In 2009, the supermarket chain Brusnychka acquired 22 Varus-Express stores.[7]
In 2011, the owners of Varus acquired a number of Rainford and Tsentr supermarkets in seven cities of central Ukraine and began opening Varus stores in the convenience store format at those locations.[8]
In March 2014, Varus obtained lease rights to premises, equipment, and inventory of the Russian supermarket chain Perekrestok in Ukraine and, within several months, completed a rebranding and reopened the stores under its own brand.[8]
By 2019, the number of Varus supermarkets had increased to 76,[10] and in November 2020, the chain reached 100 stores.[11] In December 2019, the delivery service Zakaz.ua launched grocery delivery from Varus supermarkets in Kyiv.[12]
Entrance to a Varus store in Dnipro.
In September 2022, Varus and Binance launched the option to pay for purchases on the chain’s website using cryptocurrency.[13]
According to 2024 results, Varus’s revenue reached UAH 23.92 billion, representing a 14.36% increase compared to 2023. Net profit amounted to UAH 30.07 million. During the year, Varus opened nine new supermarkets with a total sales area of 6,264 m², investing approximately US $7.5 million. The company also invested an additional US $2.5 million in the modernization and reconstruction of existing stores and allocated US $1 million for the purchase of generators to ensure uninterrupted operations.[14]
During the advance on Kyiv, shelling destroyed the company’s frozen goods warehouse in Brovary.[16][3] In Dnipro, a missile strike destroyed a Varus equipment warehouse with a total area of 7,000 m².[3]
Company representatives stated that Varus stores would continue operating in occupied Kherson as long as cash collection could be conducted in non-occupied territory or until prohibited by Ukrainian authorities.[3]
Preliminary losses from the Russian invasion were estimated at “hundreds of millions” of hryvnias by Varus co-owner Ruslan Shostak.[3]
In March 2025, Varus legally documented losses caused by the shelling of the Aurora shopping center in Zaporizhzhia in May 2022, where a Varus supermarket was located, as well as losses resulting from the suspension of operations in temporarily occupied Energodar. The shelling caused losses of US$663,000. Total losses were estimated at over US$1.3 million. These assessments were conducted to support future compensation claims against the Russian Federation through international mechanisms.[17]
As part of the Yedynozbir fundraising initiative for anti-drone interceptor UAVs, Varus contributed UAH 1 million in November 2025.[18]
₴12.22 billion (2020)