Ukraine: Depending on military events in the conflict against Russia, which started on February 24, since seven months ago,  the economy of Ukraine should stabilise during the ensuing year and grow by as much as 15.5% in 2023, the country's economy minister told Reuters in an interview.

First vice prime minister and spokesperson Yulia Svyrydenko said government experts were gathering macroeconomic estimates in advance of the start of talks with the IMF on a new credit package next month. Svyrydenko stated that the current forecasts for the gross domestic product in 2023, after a likely contraction of 30-35% this year, ranged from a further contraction of 0.4% to an expansion of 15.5% while he was surrounded by sandbags in the basement of the Cabinet of Ministers amid increased warnings of potential attacks on Kyiv.

Russia's record employment rate portends a surprisingly seamless break with the West. McDonald's and Starbucks were quickly replaced, indicating that things are continuing as usual. But the country's economic system is under increasing pressure. Six months into the conflict in Ukraine, the tactics and tribulations of Russia's largest automaker provide a window into the contrasting fortunes of a nation attempting to stave against what Vladimir Putin terms a Western economic "blitzkrieg."

The severity of Russia's economic recession will be less severe than initially anticipated this year, according to the most recent government predictions, which is another indication of official optimism amid high oil prices and popular programmes to mitigate the impact of inflation.

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