Vladimir Putin has tried to destroy Ukraine in two ways — militarily and economically.
Much has rightly been made of how – with US and European military support – Ukraine’s soldiers have defied the odds and not only fended off attacks by a country more than three times its size, but have already taken back over half of the territory Russia seized.
Far less attention has been paid to the remarkable story of Ukraine’s economic survival, which now hangs in the balance as Congress debates whether to sustain critical economic support. Without this support, Putin can win the war without Russian forces firing another shot.
When Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he – and most of the world – thought he would succeed within a week or two. When Ukraine’s military quickly proved him wrong, he tried another assault, this time on Ukraine’s economy.
He attempted to sabotage Ukrainian industry by attacking the electrical grid and bombing a key steel production facility. He tried to destroy the agricultural sector – the largest export sector of Ukraine’s economy – by blowing up grain silos and putting landmines in fields to prevent the farming of arable land. And he shut off critical Black Sea trade routes and bombarded Ukraine’s ports to try to keep them from exporting their goods to the world.
But the fact is, in the fight to destroy Ukraine’s economy, Putin is losing ground.
