National Bank of Ukraine revises GDP growth forecast for 2023

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects Ukraine's GDP to grow by 1% in 2023, Forbes reported on March 29.

The NBU originally forecasted in January that Ukraine's economic growth in 2023 would be around 0.3%.

According to Forbes, NBU Chairman Serhiy Nikolaychuk attributed the improvement to the influx of international aid and stabilization in Ukraine's energy sector.

The NBU had underestimated the speed and extent to which Ukraine's energy sector would be repaired following a series of Russian mass missile strikes since October, Forbes wrote.

Nikolaychuk also said that lower oil and gas prices could contribute to improvement in trading conditions, and clearer indicators would emerge closer to April.

Although Ukraine has made progress in restoring its energy infrastructure, the economic challenges resulting from the war are still immense.

Ukraine's Economy Ministry said on March 6 that it had lowered its GDP growth forecast from 3.2% to 1%.

Russia's all-out war in Ukraine has resulted in over $143.8 billion in damages, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.

Even after sanctions, Russian economy can pay for war

The Russian economy has faced unprecedented sanctions since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The latest events – the West’s embargo on seaborn oil and price cap on Russian oil sales worldwide – are seen as a blow to the Russian economy, whose backbone is the energ…

Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov