It’s hard to picture anything resembling normal economic life occuring in a war zone. And so when I commissioned a story about the Ukrainian economy and the impact of Russia’s invasion, I was surprised to learn that, in much of the country, factory workers are still punching clocks, farmers are preparing to plant seeds and IT specialists are keeping Ukrainians connected to the world – along with their stories of suffering, survival and savage memes.

At the same time, Ukraine’s economy is teetering on the edge as relentless Russian shelling decimates cities like Mariupol and Ukrainians there simply struggle to survive. The government estimates Russia’s war has caused over half a trillion US dollars in economic damage so far, with thousands dead – tolls that are expected to only grow.

The consequences of the conflict extend well beyond Ukraine, explains economist and native Ukrainian Yuriy Gorodnichenko, in large part thanks to reforms and other changes made to the economy in recent years. Gorodnichenko charts Ukraine’s path from a collapsing economy inherited from the Soviet Union to vital trader of products like wheat and neon – progress now threatened by Russian-wrought devastation.

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Bryan Keogh

Senior Editor, Economy + Business

Ukraine’s economy went from Soviet chaos to oligarch domination to vital global trader of wheat and neon – and now Russian devastation

Yuriy Gorodnichenko, University of California, Berkeley

Ukraine was becoming increasingly linked with the global economy. Russia’s invasion puts its progress at risk.

Essential briefings

Economic sanctions may make Russians’ lives worse – without stopping Putin’s assault on Ukraine

Joseph Wright, Penn State; Abel Escribà-Folch, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Personalist dictators tend to shield the elites who support them from the economic pain of sanctions by pushing costs onto regular people.

Are Russia’s elite really using cryptocurrency to evade sanctions?

Dr Paul Mazzola, University of Wollongong; Mitchell Goroch, University of Wollongong

A closer look at Bitcoin transactions suggests ordinary Russians are the ones buying more cryptocurrency, hoping to hang onto savings as the ruble’s value plummets.

Ukraine war’s surprising links to the 2008 financial crisis – and the parallels with 1939

Ronen Palan, City, University of London

Ukraine is the epicentre of a clash of global ideologies – which is exactly what happened in the 1930s.

During the cold war, US and Europe were just as divided over Russia sanctions – here’s how it played out

Kirill Shakhnov, University of Surrey

The problem has always been that Europe trades with Russia a lot, while the US only trades a little.

Quote of the week 💬

Economy

Business

Trade

  • Russia-Ukraine crisis poses a serious threat to Egypt – the world’s largest wheat importer

    Kibrom Abay, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Clemens Breisinger, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; David Laborde Debucquet, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Joseph Glauber, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Lina Alaaeldin Abdelfattah, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

    Egypt is already feeling the impact of the war, which has led to recent cancellation of tenders due to lack of offers, in particular from Ukraine and Russia.

Climate change

Energy

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