McDonald's Corp. said Thursday it plans to reopen its restaurants in Ukraine over the next few months in an early sign of Western companies returning to the country, even as the conflict with Russia continues.

Close 109 restaurants in Ukraine for McDonald's

The world's largest burger chain closed all of its restaurants in Ukraine and Russia last March, after Moscow's war on the eastern European country.

McDonald's had 109 restaurants in Ukraine, but it did not say how many it plans to reopen again, while it sold most of its 850 restaurants in Russia to a local licensee in May.

“The decision to reopen came after extensive consultations and discussions with Ukrainian officials, suppliers and security professionals, and in light of our employees’ request to return to work,” Paul Pomeroy, McDonald’s head of international markets, said in a letter to employees.

McDonald's said it is working with suppliers to get products to restaurants and return employees to the site through enhanced security protocols.

The opening of a chain of restaurants in Kyiv and Western Ukraine

The burger chain will begin reopening restaurants in Kiev and western Ukraine, areas that were more protected from conflict.

Earlier this year, the Ukrainian government began a program to move companies westward from war-ravaged areas with the aim of