Garry Poluschkin, an economic advisor for the Ukrainian government in a project financed by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, describes the current needs and level of support required by Ukraine at the moment. At the same time, the expert underlines that there are discussions about the post-war reconstruction and the reforms that Ukraine will have to implement in order to attract investment and ensure compliance with EU requirements. A perspective of EU membership would attract investors and help the country. Interview conducted by John Beauchamp, a long-time radio journalist and the voice of the Warsaw Metro.

Checkmate on one board will affect the other.

In January of last year, Ukraine’s parliament passed a new law on the privatisation of state-owned and municipal property. The law, prepared with the assistance of the EU and the IMF, introduced clear rules for the process of privatisation of state property. But will the current reforms be enough to convince foreign investors to come to Ukraine?

Ukraine’s economy has improved significantly since the crisis it was caught in after Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014. As a result of the war that broke out in the eastern parts of the country, Ukraine lost important industrial territories, which in 2012 generated as much as 15.75 per cent of its GDP. It was also forced to quickly and radically increase military spending. Not surprisingly, in 2014 – the year of the most intense military activity in Donbas – the Ukrainian economy was in trouble.