Sustainable Development in the Conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian War: The Local and Global Dimension

Abstract

The escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian war poses a serious threat to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The challenges to meeting the SDGs by 2030 will be even greater, considering the current conditions. The consequences have spread not only to the countries directly involved in the war but also to a global level. Before the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine had made progress in 15 of the 17 SDGs. However, the war nullified all previous achievements in Ukraine’s development progress. Yet, despite these negative tendencies, the SDGs provide a good basis for determining Ukraine’s development
priorities and are also an effective way to attract financial support to increase the country’s resilience and recovery. Although war complicates the movement toward the goals of sustainable development, it necessitates the socially responsible position of different states, businesses, and international organizations. The paper aims to assess the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on indicators that characterize the economic dimension of SDGs, based on a comprehensive analysis of the available data, a literature review, and empirical estimations. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methodology for time series data was used to estimate the main functional dependencies. The investigation proves the destructive impact of war on the global economy, seen mostly through increases in commodity prices, trade, and supply chain distraction. The obtained results confirm the need to support sustainable development as a foundation for peaceful societies, national resilience, and recovery at the local and global levels.