According to Kravchenko, due to Russian attacks, air raid alerts in Ukraine can last up to ten hours a day, and during this time employees go to shelters. The minister said: “If people are in the bunker, business stops”.
He called the strikes on industrial enterprises, warehouses, logistics centers, and data centers an attempt to “destroy practically the entire economy”. In his assessment, only in 2026 Russian strikes caused damage to the country’s fixed assets of about $10 billion.
To reduce the time of forced downtime, the Ukrainian authorities introduced a differentiated air raid alert system. A “red” level is announced in the event of a missile, missile-drone, or massive drone threat, while a “yellow” level is announced in the event of a drone attack threat. According to the minister, during yellow warnings more than half of enterprises continue to operate.
Kravchenko noted that the yellow level does not guarantee safety. On September 28, a Russian jet-powered drone struck the building of the National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv during such a warning. Two people were killed, and employees were still working in the building at the moment of the strike.
The minister also said that the authorities are discussing the possibility of allowing more private companies to buy Ukrainian air defense systems to protect their facilities. He added that business will not be able to fully protect itself from Russian missiles and drones. According to him, Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously estimated the funding shortfall this year at about $27 billion, and the government managed to reduce the gap to $20 billion by cutting spending and finding additional domestic reserves. Kyiv is negotiating additional support with the EU, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Kravchenko estimated Ukraine’s need for external financing in 2027 at $52.6 billion, while about $20 billion has been secured so far; the authorities are discussing further tax increases and spending cuts.
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