After Russia’s intensified strikes on Ukraine’s civilian logistics and retail businesses, added rebuilding costs and rising expenses could contribute roughly 0.4-0.6 percentage points to annual inflation by the end of 2026, National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Deputy Governor Volodymyr Lepushynskyi wrote in an op-ed for Interfax-Ukraine. During August, Russian forces have been conducting massive attacks on civilian logistics and the retail sector, creating another push for already challenging inflation as a result of the war in the Middle East, devastating Russian ballistic strikes, and the halt of the Black Sea corridor caused by Russian strikes on vessels.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. According to previous reports, Ukraine’s annual consumer inflation rate accelerated to 7.7%, while core inflation held at 8.1%. The economic toll of Russia’s intensified strikes on Ukraine’s civilian and business infrastructure has moved from a line item in risk forecasts to a measurable entry in the country’s inflation data, said Lepushynskyi. Strikes on enterprises, warehouses, and logistics hubs, along with attacks on energy infrastructure, and the de-facto blockade of maritime shipping routes now carry a price tag that can be measured directly, he added. They raise business costs, complicate exports, generate extra demand for imports, and put pressure on prices, the currency market, and corporate expectations.