THE GEOECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UKRAINE WAR

Abstract

This article examines in-depth the Ukraine War as a conflict that, aside from its kinetic dimension in traditional battlefields, also involves a confrontation between Western powers and the Russian Federation in the geoeconomic chessboard. In this unconventional theatre of engagement, all sorts of economic instruments, assets, resources and capabilities are being weaponised — on an unprecedented scale — as vectors of power projection. In order to clarify this complex subject matter, it starts by identifying the various elements that make the control of Ukraine worth fighting for from a geoeconomic perspective, including its infrastructure, promising economic potential, strategic position for international economic exchanges and deposits of raw materials. The following subsection explains the rationale and the details of the punitive measures implemented by the so-called “collective West” against Russia as nonmilitary response to the invasion of Ukraine. Next, it examines the myriad of Moscow’s actual and potential asymmetric countermeasures. In turn, the corresponding conclusions summarise the instructive lessons that can be drawn from this ongoing episode about the contemporary significance and dynamics of economic warfare. As a corollary, it argues that the eventual fate of a post-war Ukraine might be, to a certain extent, shaped by the influence of geoeconomic realities.