The Russia-Ukraine war, which began with Russia’s invasion four years ago, on February 24, 2022, has continued despite thousands of casualties and numerous rounds of peace negotiations. A joint report by the World Bank, European Union (EU), United Nations, and Ukraine, published on February 23, estimates the cost of post-war construction in Ukraine to be around $558 billion over the next decade, nearly three times the country’s estimated GDP in 2025.

The war has taken a toll on both countries. Russia, one of the world’s largest economies, has been battered by sanctions imposed by the EU and the U.S. As shown in the chart below, its economy grew by less than 1% last year and is estimated to grow by another 1% in 2026.

The economic condition of Ukraine, one of the poorest European nations even before the war, has worsened in recent years. The country is reeling under mounting government debt, rising reliance on aid, and heavy damage to infrastructure. Its GDP growth contracted by almost 30% in 2022. Its economy, which grew by just 2% last year, is estimated to recover to 4.5% in 2026.

Data show that people in both Russia and Ukraine have been feeling the pinch of the conflict.

Consumer price inflation in both countries surged to a six-year high at the outset of the war in 2022. It has remained persistently elevated in the years since. For instance, in Russia, inflation surged to 14% in 2022, moderated to 5% in 2023, but subsequently increased to 9% in the last year.

The cost of essential items such as basic food products has risen substantially in both countries. In Russia, a kilogramme of bread increased by 13% this month compared to a year ago and increased by over 50% compared to five years ago, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index.

Similarly, the price of a kilogramme of rice increased by 40% this month, compared to 2022. The chart below shows the retail prices of select food items in Russia and Ukraine.

In Ukraine, the cost of basic food products such as wheat and maize has increased by 15% compared to four years ago. The price of wheat flour increased from 12,633 Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH)/tonne in February 2022 to 14,700 UAH/tonne in 2026.

High levels of defence spending also resulted in decreased allocation for social spending, education, and healthcare in both countries. In Ukraine, defence spending consistently accounted for more than half of the country’s spending since 2022. In contrast, expenditure on education, health care, and social protection declined by more than half when compared to 2021.

Defence spending surged to over 20% of the country’s GDP in 2022 and was estimated to reach 26% by 2025. The sharp increase has widened the budget deficit, and the country’s gross government debt accounted for over 109% of the country’s GDP in 2025.

In Russia, defence spending accounted for almost 30% of the total expenditure. The country’s social spending did not decrease drastically like Ukraine’s.

However, a research paper published by SIPRI notes that Russia’s military spending is not always classified under ‘national defence’, but is sometimes recorded under other categories, such as social support. This makes it difficult to find out its exact non-defence expenditure.

The war has come at a severe human cost. Last month, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated that 1.2 million people were killed, wounded, and missing in Russia between February 2022 and December 2025. The corresponding figure for Ukraine was 5 lakh-6 lakh.

The data for the charts were sourced from the International Monetary Fund, Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index, World Bank, OECD Economic Survey, and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Published – February 26, 2026 08:00 am IST

A major Russian air attack on Kyiv early Thursday (August 28, 2025), including a rare strike in the city centre that damaged the European Union’s diplomatic offices, killed at least 17 people and wounded 48 more, authorities said.

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The bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as U.S.-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. It also prompted Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, to say she planned to summon Russia’s EU envoy to Brussels.

Two of Ukraine’s top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation.

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The Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursday’s air attack, which was one of the war’s biggest since it began in 2022.

Among the dead were four children between 2 and 17, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv’s city administration. The numbers are expected to rise.

The attack was one of the few times Russian drones and missiles have penetrated the heart of Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 598 strike drones and decoys and 31 missiles of different types across the country early Thursday (August 28, 2025), most of them striking targets in Kyiv.

At least 33 locations across all 10 of the city’s districts were directly hit or damaged by debris, Tkachenko said. Thousands of windows shattered as nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a shopping mall in the city center.

Oleksandr Khilko arrived at the scene after a missile hit the residential building where his sister lives in the capital’s Darnytsia district. He heard screams from people who were trapped under the rubble and pulled out three survivors, including a boy.

“It’s inhuman, striking civilians,” Khilko said, his clothes covered in dust and the tips of his fingers black with soot. “With every cell of my body I want this war to end as soon as possible. I wait, but every time the air raid alarm sounds, I am afraid.”

Sophia Akylina said her home in Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district was damaged.

“It’s never happened before that they attacked so close,” the 21-year old said. “Negotiations haven’t yielded anything yet, unfortunately people are suffering.”

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said two strikes landed 20 seconds apart about 50 meters (164 feet) from the EU Mission to Ukraine building in Kyiv. She said no staff were injured in the strike.

“No diplomatic mission should ever be a target. In response, we are summoning the Russian envoy in Brussels,” Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said Thursday in a post on X.

The British Council, which promotes cultural relations and educational opportunities, also said its Kyiv office had been “severely damaged” in the attack and was closed to visitors until further notice.

The organization posted a photo showing the building with its windows and entrance smashed open and surrounded by glass and debris. A guard was injured and is “shaken but stable,” council chief executive Scott McDonald posted on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “sabotaging” hopes of peace following the “senseless” strikes. The Russian ambassador to London was summoned to the foreign office.

Thursday’s attack is the first major combined Russian mass drone and missile attack to strike Kyiv since U.S. President Donald Trump met with Putin in Alaska earlier this month to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

“Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. “We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions.”

While a diplomatic push to end the war appeared to gain momentum shortly after that meeting, few details have emerged about the next steps.

Western leaders have accused Mr. Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine. This week, Ukrainian military leaders conceded Russian forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine seeking to capture more ground.

Mr. Zelenskyy hopes for harsher U.S. sanctions to cripple the Russian economy if Mr. Putin does not demonstrate seriousness about ending the war. He reiterated those demands following Thursday’s attack.

Mr. Trump bristled this week at Putin’s stalling on an American proposal for direct peace talks with Mr. Zelenskyy. Mr. Trump said Friday he expects to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren’t scheduled.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it carried out a strike against military air bases and companies “within Ukraine’s military-industrial complex” using long-range weapons, including Kinzhal missiles.

“All designated objects were hit,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine has ramped up domestic arms production to fight Russia’s invasion. Many weapons factories operate covertly, with some embedded in civilian areas with superior air defenses. Indiscriminate Russian attacks claiming to target Ukraine’s defense industry have killed many civilians.

The Russian defense ministry also said it shot down 102 Ukrainian drones overnight, mostly in the country’s southwest. A drone attack sparked a blaze at the Afipsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, local officials said, while a second fire was reported at the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in the Samara region.

Ukrainian drones have repeatedly struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia’s war economy, causing gas stations in some Russian regions to run dry and prices to spike.

Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia, reported damage to its infrastructure in the Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, causing delays and requiring trains to use alternative routes.

Published – August 28, 2025 09:00 am IST

Pillars of smoke rise over a tree line in a field in the Kharkiv region, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Ukraine. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

At least two people were killed and three more injured after a Russian missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, said Governor Oleh Syniehubov on July 20.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials confirmed that the death toll following a Russian strike on July 19 on the city of Mykolaiv, had risen to four. A child was among the victims, said the city’s mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Writing about the Mykolaiv strike on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a projectile had hit a playground next to an apartment block.

“Russia proves every day with its terror that ‘pressure’ is not enough,” he said. “This destruction of life must be stopped. We need new solutions to support our defences. Russia must feel the power of the world.”

Ukraine’s air force said on July 20 that Russia had launched four missiles and 17 drones overnight, of which 13 drones had been shot down.

The attacks have left thousands of people without power or running water in the Poltava region of central Ukraine, Governor Filip Pronin said. Russia has continuously targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to blackouts across the country.

A pulverizing Russian onslaught in recent months has forced Kyiv’s troops to withdraw from some towns and villages in the eastern Donetsk region.

The latest targets are the mining town of Toretsk and the city of Pokrovsk, where Russia is stepping up its assaults. Ukrainian forces repelled 20 and 27 attacks on those areas respectively over 24 hours, Ukraine’s General Staff said on July 19. That was almost double the number of assaults recorded at other hot spots along the front line, it said.

Russia’s Defence Ministry also announced on July 20 that it had shot down 26 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s southern Rostov region, several hundred kilometers from the front line. Three more drones were destroyed over the Belgorod region, as well as one over the Smolensk region, it said. No casualties were reported.