Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
David Clark: West must show the Kremlin it means business in Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew (L) poses with Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko prior to a meeting at the Treasury Department March 16, 2015 in Washington, DC.
Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine's finance minister, is in London this week to drum up support for her country's ailing economy. It is badly needed. The physical destruction of property, the loss of production and the disruption to trade and finance caused by Russia's military intervention mean that Ukraine has lost around a fifth of its economy in the last year. Forecasts that it will contract by a further 5.5 per cent this year are widely seen as optimistic. With the value of the hryvnia down by 70 per cent, inflation at around 35 per cent and foreign currency reserves running low, the IMF's recently agreed $17.5bn support package already looks like a sticking plaster solution for an economy that needs a blood transfusion.
