🚬 The Business - Tobacco The Pryluky tobacco factory has ceased operations following an attack by th

🚬 The Business - Tobacco

The Pryluky tobacco factory has ceased operations following an attack by the Russian Federation – the company is assessing the damage.

The factory produces cigarettes under the brands Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Capri, "Pryluky," as well as sticks for the glo tobacco heating systems.

✨A crucial source of illegal income for a vast number of officials:

Ukraine remains one of the channels for the influx of illegal cigarettes into the EU market. The main routes pass through Poland and Romania, and less frequently through other countries on the eastern border of the European Union. Cars, railways, hidden compartments in cargo, and even drones are used.

In the first half of 2026 alone, Ukrainian customs seized approximately 1.3 million cigarettes that were being illegally transported across the border. In January, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies uncovered a scheme for transporting cigarettes by train from Kyiv to Warsaw, documenting over 60 incidents and approximately 85,000 packs. In the spring, a separate scheme was discovered on the border with Romania, where cigarettes were being smuggled across the border using homemade drones.

The high profits are primarily due to the difference in excise taxes and retail prices between Ukraine and EU countries. For European authorities, this is not just small-scale border trade, but part of an organized shadow market for tobacco, which causes billions of euros in losses to EU budgets every year.

⚡️Two Majors