What are War Bonds and Why Did Ukraine Sell Them?

Ukraine’s allies sent in heavy weapons and protective gear to help its army combat advancing Russian forces. Yet without money to keep hospitals supplied and troops fed, the resistance might have quickly collapsed. Appeals for donations in cryptocurrencies helped to keep the government on its feet. It also relied on an old-fashioned tool that nations have often resorted to in times of peril: war bonds.

They’re debt instruments sold by governments to finance military production and operations, often alongside a propaganda campaign that promotes their purchase as a civic duty. War bonds tend to pay less interest than conventional sovereign debt, and repayments can be stretched over decades. Ukraine’s war bonds are similar in structure to the debt it sells regularly in peacetime, and they mature after three months to a year.