The ongoing struggle between Ukraine and Russia has left Ukraine facing years of recession as it tries to cut ties with Russia, warns the World Bank.

“Given the situation in the east, we expect gross domestic product (GDP) to continue contracting sharply especially during the first half of the year,” said the World Bank.

While the World Bank expects Ukraine to emerge from the recession sometime in 2016, they say it is not without “substantial risks,” saying that the economy faced a “prolonged” period of contraction if trade relations between the two countries decreased any further.

“Growth is expected to be led by a modest recovery of investment from a low base following large declines for three consecutive years,” said the World Bank.

But, it added: “Further deterioration in trade relations with Russia could result in prolonged recession as reorientation of Ukrainian exports towards other markets will require more time and investments.”

The conflict, which intensified with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, has also hurt the Russian economy.

The Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, said last week that the double shock of the collapse in oil prices and sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations following the annexation have presented an unprecedented challenge for the economy.