Saturday, March 4, 2023

Has The Ukraine Economy Stabilized?

Reuters: Ukraine's economy stabilizes after shock of war 

KYIV (Reuters) - When Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, the shelves of the Novus supermarket chain in Kyiv quickly emptied as its supply chains - domestic and overseas - collapsed.

Fresh produce became scarce and panic buying spread. Oleksiy Panasenko, deputy director general for operations at the popular outlet, recalls how the business reeled before Novus, like many other large retail chains, managed to adapt. 

"On the second day (of the war), there was already fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv," he told Reuters. "In February and March, our shops became more than a place to buy food: they were a place to meet, to communicate; so-called islands of stability."  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: Aside from the retail sector, there is no Ukraine economy. The industrial base has been more or less destroyed. The official inflation rate is around 30%, but everyone I know in Ukraine is telling me the rate is significantly higher. The official unemployment rate is over 35%, but again everyone I know in Ukraine is telling me that it is much higher. The entire country is dependent on Western aid and debt at a level that is simply not sustainable. And as for investment. Not going to happen as this war grinds on.

Update: This is also a economic war of attrition, and one that Russia is winning .... The third front: How the Ukraine conflict became an economic war of attrition (CBC).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

V,
God willing this conflict ends with some level of confidence, what is your advice from an investment perspective. Been following WNU for 15 years and I don’t think there’s a more suited individual to advise on what happens after this war ends.

Anonymous said...

Turn off the US money spigot and that line drops down to 10%.

Anonymous said...

Lmao.

The only investment he wants is Russian investment in Ukraine.

Anonymous said...

This is also a economic war of attrition, and one that Russia is winning

What percentage of young males being lost in Putin's elective war is too many?

Maybe there isn't a concept of too many. Maybe horndogs like Putin will get around and all male children will look like Putin.

Anonymous said...

The newest part of the Ukrainian economy is the diaspora economy. It would be interesting to see data on how Ukrainians now exiled in Europe are impacting the Ukrainian economy and if a remittance economy has been created.