Ukraine's economy minister urges joint state–business plans for extra support ahead of a difficult winter

What happened

At the Economic Resilience Forum in Kyiv organized by Forbes Ukraine, Ukraine's Minister of Economy and Environment Oleksandr Kravchenko warned that the coming winter will be "very difficult" and called for coordinated action between the state and business.

The minister's core point

Kravchenko said the state should continue simplifying regulations but must go further. He urged government and private sector leaders to "jointly seek mechanisms for additional support for business" so firms can continue to operate and invest during the winter stress period.

Why he says support is needed

Kravchenko pointed to two factors that allowed businesses to adapt quickly at the start of the full-scale invasion: deregulation and the availability of financial resources in the form of macrofinancial assistance. He credited those funds with supporting consumption and investment, which helped firms remain resilient.

His warning: that model is "beginning to exhaust itself." Without replacement measures, the cushion that helped businesses adapt may not be sufficient for the new stresses expected this winter.

What this means in practice

• Expect proposals or discussions about targeted support measures that combine regulatory relief with financial instruments tailored to sectors at risk.
• Policymakers may prioritize interventions that preserve business investment capacity rather than only temporary relief.

• If macrofinancial assistance wanes, public and private actors will need to design mechanisms that can mobilize domestic resources or reallocate existing spending to maintain investment incentives.
• The government may have to balance regulatory simplification with carefully targeted subsidies, credit lines, or guarantees to avoid long-term fiscal strain.

Kravchenko's remarks also carried nearby headlines indicating fiscal pressure across government: a Cabinet reallocation of funds for military pay and reports of budget revenue lagging plan. Other reporting in the feed noted continuing donor support such as EU disbursements and ongoing IMF engagement. Those items show the financial environment Kravchenko referenced when saying prior macrofinancial support helped businesses, and they underline the constraints facing policymakers.

Takeaway for business leaders and planners

"The state should indeed simplify regulations, but it seems to me that we also need to jointly seek mechanisms for additional support for business because I think this winter will be very difficult," Oleksandr Kravchenko said at the forum.

Bottom line

Kravchenko's message is a practical call for shared planning: simplify rules where useful, but also design new financial and policy tools with business to bridge an expected winter of heightened economic stress, because the previous combination of deregulation plus external macrofinancial aid is losing momentum.