Weekend Economists Make War on Charlie Wilson August 22-24, 2014

[MattSh]

43. The War Breaks The Spine of Ukraine’s Economy

Ukraine was already limping along, but the Russia-backed separatist rebellion in the east has crippled its economy

By Maxim Eristavi

What you need to know:

- Ukraine’s hryvnia is in freefall, now the second-worst performing currency in the world
- Ukrainian economy is in the middle of a two year-long recession that is expected to deepen later this year
- Ukraine was already limping along, but the Russia-backed separatist rebellion in the east has crippled its economy. The country struggles to afford paying its war bills

In Kyiv, barely a day passes by without hearing of someone being laid off or getting their paycheck cut. Usual traffic jams have almost vanished, and on Saturday nights bars and restaurants are half-empty.

Post-revolutionary Kyiv

It’s easy to spot the frustration of locals as they pass by currency exchange offices: the hryvnia is in free fall, having plunged to record 40 percent against the U.S. dollar this year. It’s now the second-worst performing currency in the world—even the Syrian pound is doing better.

Complete story at - https://medium.com/MaximEristavi/the-war-breaks-the-spine-of-ukraines-economy-d752a776ce95

Note that they mention that hot water has been cut off in Kiev. But our flat still has it. One reason might be that we're in a "touristy" district and they don't want visitors to Kiev to go home and tell everybody Ukraine is a Third World Country.