IPv4 for Ukrainian Companies: RIPE LIR, PI or Lease in 2026

IPv4 for Ukrainian Companies: RIPE LIR, PI or Lease in 2026

Short answer (checked 2026-10-30): Ukraine is in the RIPE NCC service region, so a Ukrainian company gets IPv4 the same way as any company in Europe: there is no separate route and no Ukrainian surcharge. It has three options. It can open its own LIR (EUR 1,000 sign-up, EUR 1,800 a year in 2026 and EUR 1,894 from 2027), hold a PI block through a sponsoring LIR (EUR 75 a year per assignment), or take addresses from an LIR without any contract with the RIPE NCC. The registry data shows that Ukrainian networks lean on PI far more than their neighbours do, and that shapes which route makes sense. Prices for buying or leasing are on /ipv4/pricing.

Checked on 2026-10-30. RIPE NCC: Become a member, RIPE-867, Charging Scheme 2027, RIPE-807, Resource Transfer Policies, Voluntary Transfer Lock. Counts: the RIPE NCC extended delegation file, dated 2026-10-29.

What the registry shows for Ukraine

The RIPE NCC publishes every IPv4 block it has registered in one text file, with a country code and a status on each line: allocated for space given to an LIR (PA), assigned for independent assignments such as PI. The script below counts, for each country you pass, the records, the addresses, the distinct organisation IDs in the file and the share held as independent assignments. Python 3, standard library only. Save it as ripe_cc.py:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""IPv4 registered by the RIPE NCC per country: records, addresses, holders, PA vs PI."""
import sys
import urllib.request
from collections import Counter, defaultdict

URL = "https://ftp.ripe.net/pub/stats/ripencc/delegated-ripencc-extended-latest"
countries = [c.upper() for c in sys.argv[1:]] or ["UA"]

stats = defaultdict(Counter)
holders = defaultdict(set)
with urllib.request.urlopen(URL, timeout=120) as r:
    for line in r:
        f = line.decode().strip().split("|")
        if len(f) < 8 or f[2] != "ipv4" or f[1] not in countries:
            continue
        if f[6] not in ("allocated", "assigned"):
            continue
        cc, size, status = f[1], int(f[4]), f[6]
        stats[cc]["records"] += 1
        stats[cc]["addresses"] += size
        stats[cc][status] += size
        holders[cc].add(f[7])
        stats[cc][status + "_n"] += 1

print("cc  records    addresses  ids  PI records  PI addresses")
for cc in countries:
    s = stats[cc]
    share = 100 * s["assigned"] / s["addresses"] if s["addresses"] else 0
    print(f"{cc:<4}{s['records']:>7}{s['addresses']:>13,}{len(holders[cc]):>5}"
          f"{s['assigned_n']:>12}{share:>13.1f}%")

python3 ripe_cc.py UA PL CZ DE MD

Output, run on the author's Linux workstation with Python 3.14.4 on 2026-10-30 (not DCXV Cloud):

cc  records    addresses  ids  PI records  PI addresses
UA     2893    9,090,560 1349        1826         22.9%
PL     4297   20,034,248 1898        2217         12.4%
CZ     1784    9,160,384  626         273         10.9%
DE    10817  126,282,368 3988        3201         31.3%
MD      424    1,258,496   71          41          2.6%

How to read it. Ukraine has about as many RIPE-registered IPv4 addresses as Czechia, 9.09 million, spread over twice as many organisation IDs. 1,826 of its 2,893 records are independent assignments: 63% of the records, but only 22.9% of the addresses. That is a market of many small networks, each with a small block of its own; of the countries listed, only Poland comes close (2,217 of 4,297 records). Germany's higher address share has the opposite shape: 3,201 independent records against 10,817 in total, so its independent blocks are larger. The file counts registrations, not prices, and the country is the holder's, not where the addresses are routed.

Three routes compared

Since IPv4 ran out, the RIPE NCC no longer assigns new IPv4 PI. A PI block can still be bought and transferred, and a new LIR can join the waiting list for one /24 (about 15-19 months for a new request, see RIPE waiting list vs buying a /24). Everything else comes from the market.

	Own LIR	PI via a sponsoring LIR	Addresses from an LIR
Contract	Standard Service Agreement with the RIPE NCC	End-user contract with a sponsoring LIR	Contract with the LIR only
Registry fees	EUR 1,000 sign-up; EUR 1,800 (2026), EUR 1,894 from 2027; first ASN included	EUR 75 a year per PI assignment, billed to the sponsoring LIR	None to the RIPE NCC
Where the IPv4 comes from	Waiting list (one /24) or a purchase, held as ALLOCATED PA	A purchase of an existing PI block	The LIR's own pool, bought or leased
Who holds it	You; resold no earlier than 24 months after receipt	You; same 24-month rule (RIPE-807 section 2.2.1)	The LIR; it goes back when the contract ends
Fits	ISPs and hosters that sub-assign to customers	One company network with its own AS	A fast start without capital outlay

The 2027 fee change is explained in RIPE charging scheme 2027. Whether buying or leasing pays off at your size is worked through in IPv4 lease vs buy. For scale: the ip4.market 90-day median for a /24 was $25.40 per IP in sales to 2026-10-26, and IPv4Center's average /24 lease was $0.49 per IP a month on 2026-10-28.

What is different for a Ukrainian applicant

The rules are the same; the paperwork has a few Ukrainian edges.

• English only. All communication with the RIPE NCC is in English. The company's official registration document is needed; for a Ukrainian company that is the extract from the Unified State Register. Have an English translation ready.
• Signatures by hand. The RIPE NCC does not accept electronic signatures on the membership documents, so a qualified electronic signature (KEP, Diia) does not replace the signed paper Standard Service Agreement.
• Paying the invoice. RIPE NCC invoices are in euros. Payments from Ukraine abroad have followed NBU Resolution No. 18 since February 2022, amended many times since; ask your bank which basis covers a RIPE NCC or LIR invoice before you sign anything.
• Sanctions. Nobody subject to EU sanctions can become a member. When you buy a block, check the seller as carefully as the range itself: blacklist check before buying.
• Lock what you hold. The voluntary transfer lock blocks any transfer of a whole allocation or assignment for 6, 12 or 24 months. It is irrevocable for that period, published by the RIPE NCC, and requested in the LIR Portal; for PI, the sponsoring LIR files it. Legacy space cannot be locked. It grew out of the measures the RIPE NCC announced in December 2022 to protect Ukrainian networks, and is open to every member.

Registered in Ukraine, routed from the EU

The country in the registry is the holder's, not where the network runs. A Ukrainian company can hold a block and announce it from servers in Prague or Covilha, or use addresses that come with the servers. Two things then need attention: an RPKI ROA and a route object for the AS that announces the block, and geolocation, because GeoIP databases may keep showing Ukraine or show the wrong city. The fix is a geofeed and a correction request to each provider: GeoIP after a transfer. For infrastructure under EU jurisdiction with Ukrainian-speaking support, see cloud servers.

Step by step: a /24 for a Ukrainian company

1. Pick the route from the table: LIR, PI or addresses from an LIR. If you need the block for a few months only, leasing is simpler: lease IPv4.
2. Prepare the documents in English: the register extract with a translation, the director's details, and contacts for admin, technical and abuse matters.
3. Clear the payment with your bank before the invoice arrives.
4. Check the block and the seller, and agree how funds are held until the registry confirms.
5. Transfer in the RIPE Database. Inside the region the RIPE NCC charges no transfer fee; the process is in the RIPE NCC transfer guide.
6. Secure and route it. Request the transfer lock, create the ROA and route objects, publish a geofeed.

DCXV brokers RIPE IPv4 and works in Ukrainian and Russian as well as English. Region notes are on /ipv4/ripe. Planning a block for a Ukrainian company? Talk to the IPv4 desk or email ipv4@dcxv.com.