COVID-19 cases in Ukraine 2021, by region

Most COVID-19 cases in Ukraine were recorded in the capital Kyiv, measured at nearly 212 thousand as of June 15, 2021. The Kharkiv Oblast had the second-highest number of infections at approximately 148 thousand. In total, over 2.2 million cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the country as of that date.

Ukraine’s adaptive quarantine

After the nationwide lockdown from March 12 to May 21, 2020, Ukraine was placed under the so-called 'adaptive quarantine' by the national government, meaning that most restrictive measures have been lifted, except for the areas with high infection rates. There, confinement measures were to be taken by local authorities. Red, orange, yellow, and green risk levels have been assigned on the regional level according to the data provided by the Ministry of Health. The 'adaptive quarantine' was later extended until October 31, 2020.

Economic implications for the Ukrainian economy

The IMF estimated Ukraine’s GDP to reach 151.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Furthermore, the country’s national debt was forecast to increase to over 110 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. The financial fund of approximately seven billion U.S. dollars was created by the Cabinet of Ministers and the Bank of Ukraine in an attempt to stabilize the economy and strengthen the national currency Ukrainian hryvnia. However, despite the efforts, Ukraine could require assistance from the international community to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic. In July 2020, Ukraine signed a memorandum with the European Commission to receive macro-financial assistance (MFA) funds in the form of long-term loans worth up to 1.2 billion euros from the European Union.