Economics

Over the past week, direct losses to Ukraine's economy due to the destruction and damage of civilian and military infrastructure, recorded in open sources, increased by $12.2 billion. As of April 11, the total amount of documented direct infrastructural losses, based on public sources alone, has already reached $80.4 billion or UAH2.4 trillion. This data can be found in the analysis carried out within the Russia Will Pay Project run by the analytical unit of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and volunteers from partner organizations, including the Center for Economic Strategy, Dragon Capital, Anti-Corruption Headquarters, Institute of Analytics and…

The Russian forces have been targeting gas station networks across Ukraine as more than 30 such facilities have already been hit in strikes. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal addressed the issue, speaking at the national telethon, Ukrinform reports. “The government’s key task today is to provide our military with fuel. And we do it, 100%. It’s also about ensuring our sowing season because it is a matter of our future survival, plus fulfillment of exports and our commitments to other countries in terms of food security. And the third task is to provide fuel to our citizens, although the…

The US government is helping Elon Musk’s SpaceX fund and ship thousands of Starlink satellite internet terminals to Ukraine. The relevant statement was made by CNN, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. On Tuesday, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the delivery of 5,000 Starlink terminals to the Ukrainian government as a potential safeguard in the event Russia disrupts the country’s communication infrastructure. According to the USAID, the Starlink satellite terminals will enable unlimited, unthrottled data connectivity from anywhere in Ukraine, “even if Putin’s brutal aggression severs Ukraine’s fiber optic or cellular communication infrastructure connections”. A reminder that Elon Musk…

The frozen foreign exchange reserves have been lost to Russia forever, and these funds are likely to be used to rebuild Ukraine. The relevant statement was made by Advisor to President of Ukraine on Economic Affairs Oleh Ustenko on 24 TV Channel, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. According to Ustenko, half of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, which were available before February 24, 2022 (about $325 billion out of $650 billion), are now frozen in the United States and EU countries. “Ukraine is actively holding talks to make it a sort of the first tranche to our country’s restoration fund after the…

Activists from Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the UK on Monday blocked the A2 highway on the Polish-German border, demanding an end to EU trade with Russia. They were holding national flags and photos of those killed by Russian invaders in settlements just outside Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Activists were calling on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to "stop financing Russia's war crimes" by ending international trade with Russia. "We, the citizens of Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Great Britain, and Ukraine, demand that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stop trading with Russia completely. For two weeks, the German government…

The post-war restoration of Ukraine will have three sources: reparations, confiscated Russian property, aid from Western partners. "Three sources. These are frozen Russian funds, i.e., their confiscation and reparations. The second, similarly, Russian property. The third is the funds of Western partners. We are already negotiating the establishment of a recovery fund. We have already received more than $3 billion. This is the first step in order to fill the budget, to fulfill our obligations," Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with NV, Ukrinform reports. According to him, now the country deals with the daily spending…

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has developed a draft bill on compensation for the housing lost by Ukrainians due to hostilities. The relevant statement was made by Servant of the People Faction Head Olena Shuliak on Telegram, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “The state is preparing to provide compensation to the Ukrainians, whose housing was damaged or destroyed during the war. In particular, this refers to providing not money but a housing area of up to 150 square meters in area. Relevant draft bill No. 7198 was already registered in Parliament,” Shuliak noted. In her words, people who lost their housing…

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine makes efforts to resume agri-food exports to foreign countries. As the Ministry’s press service informs, tens of millions of tonnes of agricultural products intended for export are currently stored in the country. Due to transportation problems, Ukraine is short of $1.5 billion a month, while other countries suffer a food crisis. "Therefore, we are looking for alternative logistics routes to send our goods through European seaports, including the Romanian seaport of Constanța. We also discuss the possibility of rail transport, increasing the volume of transit freight," said Minister of Agrarian Policy…

Azovstal, a metallurgical giant based in Mariupol, the Ukrainian city now being viciously attacked by Russian invaders, was completely shut down only once – in 1941, the year that Nazi Germany attacked Ukraine. This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security with reference to a video address by Azovstal CEO Enver Tskitishvili, seen by Ukrinform. "We will return to the city, rebuild the enterprise and revive it. It will work and bring glory to Ukraine the same way it always has. Because Mariupol is Ukraine. Azovstal is Ukraine," Tskitishvili said. He noted that since February 24,…