Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a rising issue nowadays to global leaders, as they suffer from the economic and political damage. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has already resulted in 30,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine and seems to be doing critical damage to both countries. As the war is prolonged, the U.S. and other countries are supporting Ukraine for weapons. However, it doesn’t seem to be making much difference. As a result, there are many challenges and issues to be faced for both Ukraine and other nations suffering from economic damage.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine started in 2022 on February 24th and is still ongoing. It’s done serious harm to many countries that have been trading with Russia for supplies. Russia has stated that it would block every passageway for trading with NATO. European countries that were trading with Russia for consumables, weapons, and most importantly, oil are having trouble managing decreasing rates. As an example, Germany was trading oil with Russia; thus, they are suffering from a lack of oil and gas.

Moreover, countries all around the world are having trouble with prices going up at a considerable rate. As Russia is colossal, they own numerous factories inland. As a result, all the factories in Russia were shut down, and the price of necessities are increasing. Less factories and stores are being constructed, and in some countries, this would eventually lead to more tax. For example, Bhutan’s and Hungary’s tax rates have increased by fifty and twenty-five percent, respectively.

Most importantly, the death rate of Ukrainian citizens is increasing day by day due to the Russian attack. From the start of the invasion, Russia stated that it would only attack military forces and facilities. However, Russia has violated the statement. They have already killed more than 30,000 citizens and have fatally injured 7,000 citizens. Other countries are still trying to consider if they should join. In the meantime, Russia has already destroyed 1,700 buildings and has caused 3.3 million refugees. Other countries should help Ukraine after the war by giving them supplies, shelter, and necessities.

Furthermore, to talk about the effect on Ukraine’s economy, it is tragic. Ukraine was once one of the poorest countries among the Soviet republics. However, it grew significantly during the past few years before the war, since 1996. In contrast, after the Russian invasion, the country lost 30-35 percent of its GDP. In 2023, it projected a catastrophic growth level of 0.5 percent GDP. In addition, Ukraine citizens' incomes have plummeted. The poverty in the country is significant as the rate soared from 5.5 to 24.2 percent in 2022. Simply, the war pushed 7.1 million more people into poverty, which vanquished fifteen years of progress done by the Ukrainian government and citizens. More shockingly, Ukraine is one of the most food-insecure countries right now. Why is this shocking? This is because Ukraine was one of the world’s leading crop exporters. The war damaged farming through eroding the soil and displacing farmers. Before the war, Ukraine had 55 percent of available land area for farming. Farming was 45 percent of its exports, and it employs more than fourteen percent of the population. Apart from the agricultural effects, one of the issues of rising poverty is job losses due to Russia’s destruction of facilities and infrastructures such as ports. This is also a cause of the economic slow-down.

Apart from these, there are issues with refugees too. It is known that the war has resulted in over six million refugees. This amount is fifteen percent of Ukraine's whole population pre-war. It is predicted that this will cause a serious shortage in workers in Ukraine. However, the citizens have no choice but to leave, due to the economic lifeline that immigration offers them. Immigration also offers them shelter and a brighter future for children, which is unimaginable in Ukraine today. This is the same for the adults as they can train new skills and restore their financial circumstances.

The economies of countries are critically destroyed, and guiltless citizens are dying due to the violent destruction caused by Russia. This conflict has resulted in global issues and, even today, this tragic war is still ongoing and does not seem to come to an end.

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