Ukraine’s finance minister says the country’s economy could shrink by half this year due to the war, a report says

Ukraine’s finance minister says the country’s economy could shrink by half this year due to the war, a report says

Ukraine's finance minister has said the country's economy could be half the size it was before Vladimir Putin's forces invaded, amid a mass exodus of citizens and industry shutdowns. Reuters the news, citing an unspecified televised interview on Saturday. The finance minister Serhiy Marchenko said Ukraine's GDP could fall by between 30% and 50% this year, according to the interview reported by Reuters. The comments came as the country seeks financial aid to combat falling tax revenues while trying to hold off Russia's offensive. On Saturday, Reuters that Marchenko was planning to visit Washington next week along with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko to meet with finance officials from G7 countries in a meeting chaired by the World Bank, citing sources. In March, Reuters reported a televised interview from an unspecified source in which Marchenko the war had shut down 30% of Ukraine's economy. "Our tax revenues do not allow us to cover our needs, the main revenue stream is borrowing," Marchenko is reported to have said at the time. His latest assessment is broadly in line with the World Bank's delivered on April 10, which projected a 45% contraction to Ukraine's GDP this year,