Ukraine has appealed to people to invest in state debt
Ongoing war has drained coffers, raising borrowing needs
Retail investors increase their exposure to war bonds
Despite rising demand, share of overall borrowing is small

KYIV, Oct 10 Reuters Buy new bonds. It39;s like a donation, lawyer Olesia Mykhailenko wrote, urging her nearly 14,000 social media followers to buy Ukrainian war bonds and publishing a screenshot of her own bond portfolio on X.

With her knowledge of financial markets and experience as an early retail investor in Ukraine39;s domestic debt, Mykhailenko added her voice to a broader government effort to encourage citizens to help fund the war with Russia.

This is, first of all, a way to help the state, and secondly, taking into account quite high bond interest rates, it is also a way to protect your hryvnias from inflation, Mykhailenko told Reuters.

The 30yearold, speaking at a cafe in a quiet, leafy neighbourhood of central Kyiv, added that many of her followers had taken her advice and invested in war bonds a common way of raising funds at times of major conflict.

The need for residential bond purchases has grown more acute as the war drags towards its 32nd month.

The ballooning costs of funding its resistance to Russia39;s invasion have left a gaping hole in Ukraine39;s finances, and by the end of the year the government will need an additional 12 billion to finance its defence sector.

During the war, international bond markets have been…