Air Defense Gaps Directly Worsen Ukraine's Economic Outlook, Analyst Warns

Ukraine's civilian economy and its air defenses are not separate systems, analyst Oleksandra Betliy said at an online panel on independent economic forecasts: when air defense fails to protect the skies, businesses take bigger hits and financing needs rise. Dragon Capital, the KSE Institute and the National Bank of Ukraine presented 2026 GDP forecasts ranging from 1% to 1.8% at the same event.