Kyiv – Ukraine is preparing for a difficult winter after a year of intensified Russian attacks on its infrastructure and export sectors, officials said on Saturday. Economy Minister Oleksandr Kravchenko told investors, officials and diplomats at a YES conference that damage to fixed assets from air strikes is estimated at close to $10 billion this year.

Economic impact of the attacks

Kravchenko added that the broader economic cost of the attacks and the de‑facto blockage of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports amounts to about 1.5 percentage points of gross domestic product. He warned that the combination of destroyed critical infrastructure and a constrained fiscal space will make the coming winter “very difficult” for the country.

Russia has intensified its use of fast, jet‑powered drones to target Kyiv and other urban centers for more than two weeks, disrupting daily life, business operations and government functions. While both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians, the sustained air campaign has effectively sealed off Ukraine’s southern ports, putting roughly $40 billion in export revenue at risk. Ukraine’s primary exports – agricultural products and iron and steel – rely on those ports.

Budget pressures mounting

Domestic revenue has also come under pressure. Roksolana Pidlasa, head of the parliamentary budget committee, said revenue fell short by $1.35 billion in the first eight months of the year, with a quarter of that shortfall occurring in August alone. She noted that the war has become so expensive that Ukraine can no longer fully finance its defence needs from domestic resources as it did in earlier years.

Ukraine has spent about $42 billion on defence in the same eight‑month period, excluding in‑kind military aid, while domestic revenue generation and local borrowing produced only $39 billion. The daily cost of the war has risen to about $190 million this year, up from $140 million in 2024, driven by inflation, expanded troop numbers, increased social payments for families of fallen soldiers, and higher ammunition consumption.

Looking for solutions

The government is exploring ways to cut or postpone non‑military budget spending and is negotiating with Western partners for additional financial support. So far, no clear and rapid solution has emerged.

As the conflict enters its fifth year, the focus remains on preserving critical infrastructure, sustaining export flows and finding fiscal pathways to support both defence and civilian needs through the harsh winter months ahead.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.