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."
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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).