The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of slower global economic growth due to the Ukraine war.

On Thursday, IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva referred, among other things, to rising prices for food and energy.

The corona pandemic was already a "crisis like no other", now the global economy is entering "even more shocking terrain" with the war in Europe.

Georgieva expects a "brutal contraction of the Russian economy" and a "deep recession" because of the sanctions against Russia.

Russia is threatened with a massive devaluation of the currency, which will drive up inflation.

The standard of living of most Russians will fall.

It is "no longer improbable" that Moscow will no longer be able to service its foreign debt.

However, this is not due to a lack of funds, but to the fact that the Kremlin no longer has access to its lavish foreign exchange reserves due to Western sanctions.

Regional faults

"The impact on neighboring countries is also significant," Georgieva warned, referring to Central Asia, Moldova and the Baltic States.

They have close economic ties with Russia and Ukraine.

Beyond the region, there are "reasons for serious concern in many parts of the world," Georgieva said.

"It is particularly dangerous for families living in poverty, for whom food and fuel make up most of their expenses."

World trade soon to plummet?

In addition, because of concerns about war, world trade would decline and consumer confidence would dwindle.

According to the IMF, this could lead to interest rates rising faster than expected, which in turn would hit heavily indebted developing countries the hardest.

Georgieva did not want to say on Thursday how much the IMF would lower its forecast for global economic growth.

The IMF had already lowered its forecast for this year before the war from 4.9 to 4.4 percent.

IMF economic assistance to Ukraine

Because of the war, the IMF approved aid payments of 1.4 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) to the Ukrainian government on Wednesday.

However, the economic adviser to the Ukrainian president, Oleg Ustenko, had estimated the damage caused by the Russian war of aggression at $100 billion on Thursday.