The war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on the country’s economy and agricultural production and exports. As it enters its fourth year, an estimated five million Ukrainians are facing food insecurity, with the greatest needs concentrated in areas near the frontlines. According to data collected by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), millions of people are resorting to coping mechanisms, sacrificing their own meals so their children can eat. Others are going into debt to buy sufficient food supplies to feed their families.
This focus report, which is an extract from the Global Crisis Report, examines how intensified conflict in 2024 damaged critical infrastructure and led to the abandonment of agricultural land, raising production costs and the need for energy imports. It includes an analysis on how rising energy, transport and food production costs continued to drive up prices, including for food, eroding purchasing power.