Ukraine ranked second among Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries most frequently considered by German companies for investment, despite the ongoing war. This is according to the German-Central and Eastern European Business Outlook 2026, prepared by KPMG in Germany jointly with the German Eastern Business Association.
According to a survey of 115 companies conducted between November 2025 and January 2026, 43% of German companies planning investments in the CEE region consider Ukraine a potential destination for capital deployment. This is 8 percentage points higher than a year earlier. Overall, the share of companies open to investing in Ukraine increased to 48%.
At the same time, 19% of respondents are ready to invest in Ukraine already in the short term, despite the war, while another 19% of companies are already present in the Ukrainian market. At the same time, 15% of companies are not considering investment because of the war, while 16% do not plan to operate in Ukraine regardless of the situation.
Poland remains the leading investment destination in the region, with 56% of German companies intending to expand investments there. Romania, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were also among the most attractive countries.
The authors of the study note that a key factor supporting continued interest in Ukraine is stable international financial assistance, which contributes to the country’s macroeconomic resilience. For investors, the key priorities remain quality transaction preparation, well-structured partnerships, and the use of war-risk insurance mechanisms.
The main challenges for German business in the CEE region remain security issues and political risks, cited by 60% of the surveyed companies. Among other concerns, investors highlighted corruption, bureaucratic barriers, rising wages, and intensifying competition.
Nearly half of respondents said that Russia’s war against Ukraine does not affect their investment decisions in the CEE region. At the same time, 15% of companies said they had postponed or cancelled investments because of the war, while 13% had reallocated investment activity within the region.
