Ukrainian economy demonstrating remarkable resilience – Austrian expert

Gabriel Felbermayr, director at the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO), said this in comments to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“Ukraine surprises us time and again with how resilient it is. For example, the export figures of auto component manufacturers in Western Ukraine are simply incredible,” he said.

He also pointed to Ukraine’s substantial grain exports via the Black Sea, which persist despite Russian attempts to impose a blockade.

“Ukraine certainly demonstrates very high resilience, despite everything that is happening in the country,” Felbermayr said.

However, he stressed that the macro-financial situation in Ukraine does not look promising, and the key issue is continued economic assistance from Ukraine’s partners.

“Everything depends on how the war evolves. And here a lot depends on what happens in the United States,” Felbermayr said.

He said that the fight against corruption in Ukraine remains an important issue.

“We need to do much more and establish far more trust with the outside world,” he said.

Commenting on the situation in the Russian economy, Felbermayr said that despite the current relative stability, significant problems are expected in the Russian Federation in the long term.

“A war economy means that people are producing tanks and missiles instead of furniture, clothes, or food. Parts of the Russian economy do not serve the Russian people but are instead dedicated to creating weapons that explode in Ukraine. This is not a productive economy,” he said.

According to the economist, to make Western sanctions against Russia more effective, they need to be supported by other countries, particularly China, India, and Turkey.

Felbermayr added that European countries still have the opportunity to tighten sanctions, particularly by imposing embargoes on imports of Russian goods such as metals and natural gas.