AP Photo
Ukraine's economy is being crippled by intensifying Russian strikes hitting key sectors and its GDP could slump by 1.5 points in 2026, Kiev officials said on Sept. 12, warning of a "very difficult" winter ahead.
Russia, which devastated Ukraine's energy sector during the course of 4.5 years of war, has since this summer stepped up a campaign of missiles and drones that Kiev is struggling to intercept.
These have severely restricted grain exports in the Black Sea — a crucial source of Kiev's revenue.
The strikes have also targeted steel companies, another key sector, as well as supply chains — notably in the rail sector — and major warehouses.
"The economy is in the most difficult situation," Ukraine's Prime Minister Sergiy Koretsky said during the annual Yalta European Strategy forum in Kiev.
He said the intensity of the strikes and the level of destruction have increased.
"We anticipate a very difficult winter in terms of both critical infrastructure, which is being destroyed every day by Russian attacks, but also in terms of overall economic conditions in the country," said Ukraine's economy minister, Oleksandr Kravchenko.
Kiev estimates that "the total destruction of infrastructure and assets are likely to be close to $10 billion" this year.
This destruction and the blockage of seaports are likely to reduce national GDP by 1.5 points, he added, with some Western experts calling the situation "catastrophic."
Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the budget committee in Ukraine’s parliament, described a bleak outlook.
“It can get worse, but it’s already bad now,” she told the same forum.
Pidlasa said that in 2024 “one day of war costs 140 million US dollars per day, this year it costs 190 million dollars a day.”
