What help does the Ukrainian economy need?
Tessa Szyszkowitz in conversation with Alexander Rodnyansky
What help does the Ukrainian economy need?
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has been going on for over three years. Russia began fighting in Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula as early as 2014. Under this pressure, the Ukrainian economy was forced to switch to a war economy. The war has left deep scars: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently spoke of more than 46,000 soldiers killed. In addition, there are 12,500 civilian casualties. Tens of thousands of people are missing. Parts of Ukraine are occupied by Russia: The Crimean peninsula, the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, and entire areas near the front line have been devastated.
Nevertheless, Ukrainian agriculture is holding its own; the 44 million people need to be fed. And the country needs grain exports. The mineral resources - rare earths, which not only Vladimir Putin's Russia but also the USA under Donald Trump have their eyes on - must be developed to give Ukraine a chance of surviving the war as an independent state.
Alexander Rodnyansky was economic advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky until the end of 2024. In his talk, Rodnyansky will outline Ukraine's economic prospects, what initiatives the country needs and what support European partners can provide should aid from the USA be cancelled.
Alexander Rodnyansky, Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge - Faculty of Economics; Member of the Supervisory Board of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine (2021 - 2024), Economic Advisor to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (2020 - 2024), Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine (2019 - 2020). Honoured as Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in Davos (2024 -).
Tessa Szyszkowitz, Falter columnist, journalist and author. Was a correspondent in Moscow, Brussels, Jerusalem and London. Curator of the Philoxenia series at the Kreiskyforum, Senior Associate Fellow Royal United Services Institute in London.