"The quickest path to ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and Europe is to make sure that Russia understands that it cannot win a war of attrition" @lucalerymoffat.bsky.social's latest article highlights the EU reparations loan's strategic significance kyivindependent.com/the-key-to-e...

⚡️Destroy. Fix. Repeat: Russia is creating a devastating doom loop inside Ukraine’s energy system. Read our latest in the Kyiv Independent: kyivindependent.com/destroy-fix-...

Ukraine is considering a cocktail of ideas to keep its finances afloat while it waits for Brussels to greenlight new aid, and a big drop in foreign aid in 2026 looms. See my latest piece for the Kyiv Independent: kyivindependent.com/kyiv-plots-h...

When Zelensky’s top legal advisor Iryna Mudra suggested to European partners in 2022 that Russia’s frozen assets be used to compensate Ukraine, she says she was met with little enthusiasm. 3 years later, there is wide European support for a ‘reparations loan’ to Kyiv, backed by the Russian assets.

'Very cautious decision' — Ukraine's central bank leaves interest rate unchanged at 15.5%. See more here: kyivindependent.com/very-cautiou...

Ukraine's central bank has held the country's exchange rate relatively stable in the last year after the initial volatility caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion. But that might be about to change. Read more: kyivindependent.com/will-ukraine...

The International Monetary Fund left its forecasts for Ukraine’s economic growth unchanged, despite a looming hole in the country’s finances and intensifying Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

The European Council has agreed to reduce and eliminate duties on a range of Ukrainian agricultural products, paving the way for the first significant update to tariffs under an EU-Ukraine trade agreement since it was adopted in 2016.

GDU Figure of the Week After 2022 Ukraine often relied on electricity imports. But this summer, Ukraine, once again became a structural exporter. And last month, Ukraine's exports even exceeded pre-invasion levels. www.linkedin.com/posts/green-... thx to R.Stubbe

Check out and follow Work-in-Data! I've been working on this since 2021 — first as a research assistant helping to build the datasets, and now as a writer helping to spread new findings about global inequality. There are three short blogs up on the website with more to come!

As leaders attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, reconstruction feels furthest in the places it's needed most. See my latest for the Kyiv Independent.

Important story in EuroMaidan Press, which builds on reports that Russia uses Ukrainian civilians for ‘target practice’. I recently spoke to Olena who lives just 4km from Russian-occupied territories. She told me that her city, Nikopol, is a “training ground” for new Russian recruits. A short🧵

In my piece for the Kyiv Independent, I report what today’s return of EU tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural goods means for everyone involved. Here are a three charts that tell part of the story. Number 1: the surge of cereal imports from Ukraine into bordering EU countries.

Important story in EuroMaidan Press, which builds on reports that Russia uses Ukrainian civilians for ‘target practice’. I recently spoke to Olena who lives just 4km from Russian-occupied territories. She told me that her city, Nikopol, is a “training ground” for new Russian recruits. A short🧵

"Only 43 vessels are jointly sanctioned by the EU, UK and US, so there’s lots of scope to boost overlap of sanctions, which will maximize their effectiveness.” from @robin-j-brooks.bsky.social

The EU has a non-binding goal to phase out Russian gas by 2027. However, the EU continues to rely on Russian energy. The roadmap to phase out Russian gas, oil and nuclear imports will be published today, 6th May. A thread on @bruegel.bsky.social’s research on gas, oil, and nuclear.

I arrived in Kyiv this week. Here’s what it feels like: open.substack.com/pub/lucalery...

📊 Chart of the week 💡 This week, we are highlighting one of several charts that feature in the freshly updated Russian foreign trade tracker by Zsolt Darvas, @lucalerymoffat.bsky.social, @catmartins.bsky.social and Conor McCaffrey. #EconSky Learn more here: 🔗 https://buff.ly/3Gn28xw

#12daysofBruegel 📝 Dive into the economic and institutional implications of Ukraine’s potential EU accession. ➡️ Zsolt Darvas, Marek Dabrowski, André Sapir, @heathergrabbe.bsky.social @lucalerymoffat.bsky.social @gzachmann.bsky.social 🧷 Read here: https://buff.ly/3vMpLwM #econsky

Ecosystem services are either not given a monetary value or are implicitly priced at zero or negatively. @heathergrabbe.bsky.social @lucalerymoffat.bsky.social summarise the options & outline the main considerations in finding better ways to value nature. #econsky www.bruegel.org/policy-brief...

When @heathergrabbe.bsky.social & @lucalerymoffat.bsky.social announced their work on circular economy, I expected a slap-on-the-wrist talk on correct recycling. It turned out to be about autonomy, value chains, competitiveness, industry, money, kings, and cabbages! Awesome final event of 2024:

💡 Europe's energy challenge: 98% of natural gas is imported—much as LNG—costing 5x more than domestic US gas. This dependency drives high electricity prices, with fossil fuels still central to the power mix. To make energy affordable, Europe must decarbonise. Here's four ways to reduce prices: 🧵

NEW: Assad faces an existential threat given the widespread collapse of regime forces and lack of sufficient external backing to bolster these forces. The Axis of Resistance’s support will almost certainly fail at this time unless larger ground forces are deployed rapidly. isw.pub/IranUpdate12...

Hello, Bluesky! Bruegel is here, ready to explore the big questions of economic policy. Let’s connect!

Check out our new podcast on the circular economy! We talk about all the benefits of using fewer resources and making them stretch further. With @rebeccawire.bsky.social @heathergrabbe.bsky.social and Janez Potočnik. open.spotify.com/episode/5Nof...

The motherhood (and marriage) penalty in 134 countries. Great visualisation by my colleagues of a paper by Kleven, Landais et al. www.economist.com/interactive/...

This is a brilliant explainer

The manufacturing jobs boom that isn’t. Great piece from my colleague!

A sweeping history and in depth analysis of global development since WW2. Reading it exposed the complete disconnect between current Brussels/Washington narratives on industry, and what must be the perspective of the rest of the world. Highly recommend!

TraumaZone, Adam Curtis' latest, is so immersive. Shot from episode 2.

On Starlink's dominance: "In May, Amazon prepared to put its first two satellites into orbit, but the launch was put on hold after a problem was discovered in rocket testing. Since then, Mr. Musk has sent at least 595 more Starlink satellites into space."

territorial and military perspective on Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Benin (agreed to possible ECOWAS coalition) vs Niger (plus Mali and Burkina Faso) from warmapper.org

This was brilliant: a fascinating, colourful history with some interesting characters along the way…