Russia's war has set Ukraine back 15 years in overcoming poverty

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed eight million Ukrainians below the poverty line; however, these numbers could have been higher if Ukraine had not implemented reforms before the war.

Source: Arup Banerji, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine 

Quote: "The country is set back 15 years in achieving its poverty reduction goals. At the same time, the remarkable resilience Ukraine and Ukrainians have shown is in large part attributable to the difficult and successful reforms in macroeconomic management and institution-building that the authorities undertook in recent years, prior to the war..."

Details: Banerji noted that such attention to reform and deepening the capacity and transparency of governance will be essential for the transition to post-war recovery.

"Throughout the recent reform period – both before and during the war – Ukraine has managed to balance efforts towards enhancing competition and economic efficiency with the protection of the most vulnerable population categories," Banerji said.

An example of this ability, he said, is the maintenance of critical social assistance and pension payments, even in a state of war, which has reduced the government's budgetary capacity.

Maintaining this balance by continuing to make use of opportunities that a more competitive market economy offers while strengthening the coverage and targeting of social assistance systems will be keys to inclusive post-war growth that benefits all Ukrainians.

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