Ukraine may need $600 billion for postwar reconstruction-and more the longer the war drags on. Its infrastructure losses are already over $100 billion, according to an estimate by the United Nations that is likely outdated given Russia’s stepped-up attack on civilian infrastructure this past week. To be sure, Ukraine’s economic situation is daunting. President Joe Biden argued last week when requesting congressional approval for $33 billion in additional aid, Ukrainians need this outsized support to “make their courage and sacrifice have purpose so they can continue this fight.” Just as the West has become the arsenal of Ukraine’s democracy, it will also need to open the financial floodgates further if Ukraine is to beat back its invaders. Over the past few days, the West has started to provide a much-needed economic lifeline to Ukraine through unprecedented trade liberalization in addition to billions of dollars mobilized for military equipment, refugee aid, and budgetary support.

The scale of Ukraine’s economic implosion is mind-boggling: GDP is projected by the World Bank to contract by 45 percent this year. The latter is a bitter echo of the 1930s, when Moscow engineered a genocidal famine in the restive region by taking its food. Russia has blocked Ukrainian ports from exporting goods, targeted factories and essential infrastructure with barrages of missiles, and stolen an estimated 400,000 tons of grain for transport to Russia.

A functioning economy is essential for morale and momentum on the front.īut Ukraine’s economy is running on fumes and needs urgent assistance everywhere one looks. Although tens of thousands of Ukrainians are fighting on the front and millions of people have been forced to flee, the country still needs to support some 38 million citizens with food and jobs, keep its infrastructure running, and finance public services. An often-overlooked element in enabling Ukraine to prevail in its struggle against Russia: keeping its wartime economy running.

Ukraine economy 2020