Ukraine has a month to avoid default
Lending to a borrower at war entails an additional gamble: that it will win
![A shopkeeper shines a torch during a blackout in an underground shopping mall in central Kyiv, Ukraine, June 19th 2024](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240706_FNP002.jpg)
War is still exacting a heavy toll on Ukraine’s economy. The country’s GDP is a quarter smaller than on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, last year the central bank tore through foreign reserves and Russia’s attacks on critical infrastructure have hurt growth forecasts. “Strong armies”, warned Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine’s finance minister, on June 17th, “must be underpinned by strong economies.”
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “In the wars”
Finance & economics July 6th 2024
More from Finance & economics
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240824_FNP508.jpg)
Jerome Powell (almost) declares victory over inflation
The Federal Reserve chairman strikes a notably doveish tone
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240824_FND004.jpg)
Investors should avoid a new generation of rip-off ETFs
Some proposals may even be a risk to financial stability
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20240824_FNP505.jpg)
Why investors are not buying Europe’s revival
Even though the continent’s stocks are in a “sweet spot”
America’s recession signals are flashing red. Don’t believe them
We assess a range of measures
America’s anti-price-gouging laws are too minor to be communist
No matter what critics of Kamala Harris allege
Why don’t women use artificial intelligence?
Even when in the same jobs, men are much more likely to turn to the tech