Recovery of Ukraine's economy slows down after Russian strikes on energy infrastructure

The rate of growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Ukraine slowed down in April. According to the Ministry of Economy, last month growth was at the level of 4.3% +/- 1 percentage point.

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This is more than in January (3.5%) or February (3.9%), but less than in March (4.6%).

In general, for January-April 2024, growth is estimated at the level of 4.4% +/- 1%.

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko explained that high security risks, mass attacks on power plants, and a severe shortage of qualified personnel negatively affected GDP growth in April. Problems with electricity generation can have a potentially negative impact on the work of industry, especially the largest consumers of electricity, which, due to the technological features of production processes, are almost impossible to reorient to alternative sources of electricity supply.

The recovery in GDP is supported by record volumes of goods exports, increased demand for construction services thanks to the restoration of infrastructure, improved business sentiment and revival of consumer activity.

Thanks to the stable operation of the sea corridor, there is a revival in metallurgy and mining of metal ores, as well as in railway transportation. Positive trends were also observed in agriculture and domestic trade.

Since March 2024, Russia has carried out five massive attacks on Ukraine's energy system, knocking out up to 8 GW of electricity generation capacity.