Air raid alerts cost Ukraine's economy up to $45 million per hour

Ukraine's economy loses an estimated $45 million for every hour during which an air raid alert effectively halts business operations. This estimate was given by Minister of Economy and Environment Oleksandr Kravchenko in a comment to The Guardian.

According to him, Russian attacks are increasingly aimed not only at energy, but also at industrial enterprises, warehouses, logistics facilities, and data centers. Due to prolonged air raid alerts, employees are forced to move to shelters, and production, trade, and other activities are partially or completely stopped.

On some days, sirens can last up to ten hours. Kravchenko noted that the rapid proliferation of Russian jet-powered drones has significantly exacerbated the problem: they are used to hit a wide range of economic and infrastructure targets. According to the minister, Russian attacks have caused about $10 billion in damage to Ukraine's fixed assets this year alone.

To reduce economic losses from multi-hour alerts, the government introduced two levels of air threat in September. Yellow is declared during a drone attack, red—in case of a missile or combined threat.

Under the yellow level, enterprises can continue operating if they meet safety requirements and have access to shelter or a safe space. Under the red level, work must stop and people must move to shelters. The government explained the new system by the need to prevent paralysis of cities, economy, and critical infrastructure due to prolonged attacks.

According to Kravchenko, more than half of enterprises already continue working during yellow alerts. However, this level does not mean there is no danger: jet-powered UAVs remain a serious threat even where there is no missile attack.

Constant air strikes also increase the burden on public finances. According to the minister, the government managed to reduce this year's unfunded budget gap to about $20 billion by revising expenditures and finding additional internal reserves. At the same time, spending on air defense and the development of interception means for new jet-powered drones is growing.

Based on materials from: The Guardian, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine