Ukrainian economy in war times: rapid assessment, April 2022

Russia’s initial ‘blitzkrieg’ campaign is gradually turning into a standstill. How much does Ukraine has on its hands now to survive economically through the war and what instruments does it have to safeguard  business activity and maintain crucial government functions  in order to protect rapidly expanding vulnerable groups and win the war with the Russian federation?

With a significant part of Ukraine’s territory being either temporarily occupied or turned into a battlefield, and the rest experiencing a less severe, but nevertheless traumatic shocks of war disruptions, the country has been losing a lot in economic terms. The humanitarian catastrophe and the war unfolding in several big cities lead to massive internal and outward migration.

People, who previously had a secure job and accommodation, are rapidly joining a vulnerable group that needs support. The deaths toll keeps rising.

In this brief, we describe the available (although scarce) data on Ukraine’s economy and draw the outlines for the major possible policies in the economic area, including the crisis response and building economic resilience for the nearest future.