– The Ukrainian economy did not manage to get out of pandemic restrictions when the full -scale war began, which resulted in the initial breakdown of the economy. In 2022, the decline in GDP was nearly 30 %, it was a gigantic shock. But since then the economy has been developing at a pace of several percent, so you can say normally and functions at the level of its potential, which in economic language means that all powers are used – said Dr. Jakub Karnowski in an interview with Zbigniew Bartus.
Ukraine spends $ 140 million a day on reinforcements
He noticed that the Ukrainian economy underwent structural changes. – Ukrainians had to switch to producing everything that serves to defend and provide services related to it. Expenses for reinforcements in Ukraine in the budget of 2021. It was 2.1-2.2 percent, which is about as much as on average in NATO countries in peaceful conditions. It was not prepared for what happened. Today, 26 percent are devoted to reinforcement. Ukrainian GDP – is a gigantic number. Nominally it is about $ 140 million a day, i.e. about a billion dollars a week. This is what Ukrainians must allocate from their taxes and from the support of many international institutions and governments – enumerated Dr. Jakub Karnowski.
Ukraine had to specialize in the production of armaments, including It makes huge progress in the drone area. – Here, at the Baltic Forum, I heard that it is already 2 million drones a year. And these are really better and better drones, based on constantly emerging innovations. It is not without significance that after the war they will be able to be used peacefully, and Ukrainians will be able to enjoy peaceful benefits from the patents obtained today – said the head of Kredobank.
The second important structural change is the shift of production and economy from areas that are either occupied, or close to the front line, to safe places, primarily to Western Ukraine. The headquarters of Kredobank is located in Lviv, although the branches are throughout the country, also in Kiev, which lies near the front, but is very well protected from the air.
The modern banking sector supports the modernization of Ukraine
– Another big change in the conditions of war with Russia is the ankle development of the ITC sector. He was at a high level in Ukraine before the war, but Russian cyber attacks forced great progress and in this area. Cybersecurity must be provided in all areas. We are a bank, every day we are dealing with dozens of cyber attacks on a variety of scale and IT solutions must protect us very well. This is a permanent process – the attacks are increasingly advanced, so defensive systems must develop and be a step through aggressors from Russia, Belarus and others – explained Dr. Jakub Karnowski.
He pointed out that in the drama of the war, Ukrainians, with the support of allies, including institutions such as Kredobank, try to find and use a great opportunity to modernize the economy and the whole country. – This can be seen, among others throughout the business environment. Banking services in Ukraine operate on the web, in the cloud, and can be much more developed than in Poland. The infrastructure is constantly destroyed by the Russians, and the Ukrainians constantly rebuild it. So this process of reconstruction – and at the same time modernization – occurs every day each day – emphasized the president of Kredobank.
Support for Ukraine without Donald Trump
He also talked about many problems that Ukraine would have to face after the war, like a trauma of about a million soldiers or – especially – crisis demographic. These are all great challenges in which the Polish and European Union represented by people, institutions and business, try to help Ukrainians meet.
The interview also touched on the thread of the United States involvement in Ukraine and the readiness of Europe to face various scenarios resulting from the attitude of Donald Trump’s administration.
We strongly encourage you to watch and listen to the entire interview.
