Economists for Ukraine
A global non-profit working to end Russia's invasion, support Ukrainians, and rebuild.
About Us
We leverage economic expertise and technology to fight off Russia's invasion, increase Ukraine's resilience, and rebuild for a strong, peaceful, and prosperous future.
Our Programs in Numbers
Our programs are active since March 2022 and expanding. We respond quickly to new needs, such as setting up backup Internet in response to Russia’s terrorist strikes against Ukraine’s infrastructure. All of our initiatives are geared towards long-term sustainability and economic resilience: helping Ukraine resist now, while setting up effective frameworks for post-war reconstruction and development though digital aid platforms, resilient infrastructure, and funding science.
Below is a snapshot of what we have achieved to date. We are actively fundraising and look forward to expanding our impact with your help. All contributions are fully tax-deductible, and 100% of the funds are used for Ukraine.
1M+ Aid
Deliveries
24 Staff in Ukraine
Direct Civilian Aid
4 Physical Shelters
120 Power Banks
2,000 Mylar Blankets
80 Light Reflectors
2,500 Pairs of Shoes
Clothing
Medicine
Resilient
Internet
64 Scholars
Non-lethal Military Aid
2 Thermal Drones
60 Power Banks
750 Mylar Blankets
180 Celox Bandages
153 Tourniquets
540 Hand Warmers
800 Foot Warmers
2,000+
Stories
Sanctions on Russia
The LifeForce Project
Securing access to real-time, uninterrupted information about aid requirements and available resources is key to the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
The LifeForce Ukraine platform is ensuring a coordinated and resilient response of government and NGO resources, providing immediate support, advice and real time content on a secure platform to those who are most affected in Ukraine.
Learn more about the LifeForce Ukraine Project and how you can get involved.
Project Svidok
Svidok (Witness) is a collection of private and publicly shared war journal entries, as experienced and witnessed by Ukrainian citizens caught in the war.
The entries shared on the platform serve as a rich, time-stamped archive for evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian leadership and their military.
Learn more about Svidok and the ground truth of the unlawful occupation of Ukraine by Russia.
Rebuilding Ukraine
The damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy from Russia’s war already exceeds $700 billion. Along with other economists and stakeholders, we are developing frameworks and collaboration networks to support the current and future reconstruction efforts. Learn more.
Sanctions and the Economy
Gain insights into the how sanctions and other economic tools can be leveraged to stop Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
Assessing the Impact of International Sanctions on Russian Oil Exports
We use a unique high-frequency Russian customs data to evaluate the impact of international sanctions on Russia. We focus on Russian crude oil and oil products exports, as they are the key sources of export revenues and government finances. We find that Russia was able to redirect crude oil exports from Europe to alternative markets such as India, China, and Turkey with no loss of volumes. In particular, we find that Russian oil exports from Pacific Ocean ports, which are critical for trade with China, do not comply with the G7 price cap.
Why the disclosure of natural gas origins is important for Ukraine
The EU has banned most of Russia’s oil exports, but little action has been taken on natural gas trade. This column argues for a disclosure requirement targeted at gas traders, detailing the share of gas they buy from Russian sources. Such a measure would address the information deficit for consumers and empower supportive citizens and businesses to switch away from Russian gas. As an additional benefit, this measure would accelerate the clean energy transition in Europe.
Full energy embargo: short-term pain for a brighter future
Russia is one of the top three fossil fuel producers in the world, and its economy relies heavily on revenues from oil and natural gas. A full embargo on Russian energy today by the EU alone would already decrease its GDP per capita by 1,500-2,500 USD (or 10 to 25%), a significant reduction to weaken Moscow’s capacity to sustain its aggression against Ukraine.
Moscow’s Gas Freeze Shows EU-Russian Trade Is Doomed
Since Feb. 21, unprecedented sanctions have not only targeted important sectors of the Russian economy but also frozen Russian central bank reserves. The idea was to impose severe economic pain on Russia and indirectly affect its ability to sustain a prolonged war. But today, the situation has reversed, and Russia is self-sanctioning by restricting its gas supplies to the EU. Instead of reaping the revenue from the gas sale over the long term, Russia is choosing to cut the gas flow.
Strategic Insights
Gain insights into the painful truth on the ground in Ukraine, as well as long-term impact of Russia’s actions.
A Recipe for World Peace
The EU has refused to immediately and fully embargo Russian oil and gas purchases out of fear that it would throw the continent into an industrially-led recession, or would cause a much larger spike in prices. These arguments do not reflect the reality of supply-side elasticity in the oil and gas markets, and ignore the enormous costs that we are paying already as a result of the purchases of oil and gas from Russia
What game theory can tell us about the war in Ukraine
As economists specializing in behavioral economics and game theory, we teach strategic concepts from game theory to our business students. The same ideas can help us understand Russia’s current moves, predict its future behavior and derive the best strategies to achieve long-term goals.
Why We Should not Allow Putin to Turn Russia-Ukraine War into a Frozen Conflict
After failing to capture Kyiv, the Kremlin focused its efforts on seizing and holding Donbas region and the south of Ukraine. In Donbass, Kremlin’s scorched-earth tactics have recently stalled. Russia’s slow advance in Ukraine combined with substantial military casualties mean that Putin desperately needs a pause in the war to regain his army’s weakening strength. This may temporarily freeze the conflict, but it will not bring a permanent peace to Europe.
A Future without Putin: Russia’s Military Defeat as a Way to a More Democratic, Green, and Just Europe
The free world – the “West”, but also democracies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America – must prepare for a future without Putin, a future where Russia justly loses its war of choice and aggression.
Analyses and Proposals
Gain insights into how governments, organizations, and the international community can take actionable measures to end the war and rebuild Ukraine.
No justice, no peace?
Peace treaties don’t always bring peace. Sometimes they only change the form of war. As the world anticipates hopefully an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and some observers suggest that peace may come at the cost of Ukrainian territory, it’s important to remember that the short-term joy that will almost certainly accompany peace could be merely a prelude to years or decades of carnage unless the peace is just and stable.
Time to Save Higher Education in Ukraine is Running Out
As the new academic year approaches, government officials, faculty, administrators, and students are tackling the massive challenges of keeping education going in wartime. The survival of many Ukrainian universities is now at stake due to lack of funding, displaced staff and students, and destroyed infrastructure.
Strengthening Financial Sanctions against the Russian Federation
In this paper, we propose further financial sanctions to increase the cost to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, based on further targeting two key vulnerabilities. The first targets Russia’s reliance on the U.S. Dollar and Western currencies as a reserve currency to back the Ruble. The second vulnerability is the Russian economy’s dependence on the Western financial system for a range of services.
Individual Sanctions Roadmap: Recommendations for Sanctions against the Russian Federation
Through this paper, the working group aims to share its expertise and provide assistance to international efforts focused on the formulation of sanctions to increase the cost to Russia and support Ukraine in the defense of its territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
Join Our Efforts
If you would like to stay up to date on our initiatives and hear about opportunities to help, please join our mailing list!
Leadership Team
Tania Babina
Tatyana Deryugina
Anastassia Fedyk
Yuriy Gorodnichenko
James Hodson
Ilona Sologoub
Tetyana Balyuk
Participating Members
Nina Karnaukh
Andrii Parkhomenko
A nation fertile in tradition, soil, and resources, Ukraine finds itself battling for its sovereignty and survival. The Russian invasion is bringing unimaginable suffering to Ukrainian citizens unwillingly drawn into a war.
The unprovoked escalation and relentless bombardment of non-military targets by Russian forces has triggered what is already the largest refugee crisis in Europe since WWII.
People don’t really believe in words. Or rather, people believe in words only for a stretch of time. Then they start to look for action.
Volodymyr Zelensky
