Finnish hamburger chain Hesburger announced on Friday it has reopened four of its restaurants in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, and plans to open the remaining three outlets later this summer.

The chain closed all seven of its restaurants in Ukraine in February of 2022 after Russia invaded the country. Around that time, the firm also announced that it was shutting down its outlets in Russia and Belarusia.

According to Hesburger's CEO, Kari Salmela,the decision to reopen was taken on the initiative of their local restaurant managers.

He noted that according to employees, local customers had also expressed wishes for the restaurants to open again.

The hamburger chain employs around 100 people in its Ukrainian operations and has paid their wages since they closed down due to the war in the spring.

The company said that as a result of the closure, its surplus food was donated to orphanages, nursing homes, aid workers, and Ukrainian soldiers free of charge.