More than a month after Ukraine’s foreign minister urged McDonald’s to jump-start its operations in the battle-scarred country, the fast-food giant announced that it will begin to reopen some of its 109 restaurants, despite the ongoing war and serious disruptions to the company’s supply chain.

In a company memo, Paul Pomroy, corporate senior vice president of international operated markets, said McDonald’s would reopen restaurants in Kyiv, the capital, and in western Ukraine, where “other businesses have safely reopened.”

“Over the next few months, we will begin working with suppliers to get product to restaurants, making the physical properties ready to serve customers, bringing restaurant teams and employees back on-site, and implementing enhanced procedures and protocols to support the safety of our people and customers,” Pomroy wrote in the memo.

It’s unclear how many restaurants will reopen and how many employees will go back to work. A spokesman for McDonald’s declined to provide any more information.

McDonald’s had closed all of its restaurants in Ukraine on Feb. 24, when Russia invaded the country. Amid public pressure, McDonald’s also temporarily shut down its 850 restaurants in Russia, including the Moscow location that took years to open and became a symbol of a new era in Soviet-Western relations. Unlike some other chains, McDonald’s had the ability to act unilaterally in closing its restaurants in Russia and Ukraine. The company owns all 109 locations in Ukraine and more than 80% in Russia, according to a company financial document.

McDonald’s has continued to pay the salaries of more than 10,000 employees in Ukraine, Pomroy noted in his memo. In May, McDonald’s sold its entire Russian portfolio to a franchisee, Alexander Govor, who has rebranded the restaurants. In June, Govor opened 50 locations in and around Moscow under the name Vkusno i Tochka, which translates to “Tasty and that’s it,” a reference to the Russian slogan for Mickey D’s: fun and tasty.

The Russian rebrand was reportedly a major hit, despite a limited menu. An executive with the new Russian company said they sold nearly 120,000 burgers on the first day. But the Russian relaunch eventually ran into trouble with its supply of potatoes, which executives reportedly blamed on a poor harvest in Russia and international sanctions that have disrupted imports. French fries and wedges are apparently off the menu at Vkusno i Tochka until the fall.

The supply chain appears to be a concern for McDonald’s, too, as it reenters the Ukrainian market. A Ukrainian news outlet reported that, among other things, McDonald’s “sauces are supplied by the Chumak plant in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, which is not operating at the moment.” A restaurant consultant told the New Voice of Ukraine that McDonald’s may have to find different suppliers for ingredients.

Yet the supply chain challenges didn’t stop Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, from urging McDonald’s to return to the country, whose economy has been devastated by the war. The World Bank has estimated that Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45% this year.

Reopening Mickey D’s locations in Ukraine “was also mentioned with our official contacts with the U.S. government, because McDonald’s is one of the most famous American brands. The process is underway,” Kuleba said in June, according to the New Voice of Ukraine.

In his memo, Pomroy acknowledged that Ukrainian officials told McDonald’s that resuming operations would support the country’s economy and people.

But Pomroy also added: “We’ve spoken extensively to our employees who have expressed a strong desire to return to work and see our restaurants in Ukraine reopen, where it is safe and responsible to do so. In recent months, the belief that this would support a small but important sense of normalcy has grown stronger.”

One Ukrainian restaurateur told the New Voice that McDonald’s decision to reopen was as much a political decision as a business one.

It was a “good signal that the civilized world supports Ukraine,” Maxim Khramov, co-owner of the Pastateca chain, told the news outlet. “McDonald’s is more than just food – it’s an indicator that shows the attitude of the international community towards our country.”

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