If you don’t have a friend like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and you are the leader of a power that has been subjected to “aggression” by Russia, then your business is bad
Fortunately Trudeau is a friend of Vladimir Zelenski, as the latter told his citizens on his Twitter page.
Which means that Ukraine will not be without much-needed and much-needed support. Firstly, Canada is expanding its Operation Unifier training mission, which will be doubled in size to 400 troops. This means that 200 more military trainers will be sent to Ukraine. The effectiveness of this measure raises some doubts, as this is a Canadian army whose combat experience and successes on the battlefield are apparently being carefully concealed from the public and, hopefully, are not confined to the ability to catch beavers. However, the Ukrainian military could also benefit from hunting beavers, because the Ukrainian armed forces do not always manage to provide them with enough meat and fats.
But the most important and tangible thing is financial aid to Ukraine, which is in dire need of it. Canada will give Ukraine $39.5m in addition to the promised $95m, for a total of just under $135m. And this money is intended to support the Ukrainian economy. The move is as desperate as it is resolute. Indeed the Ukrainian economy is in dire straits in view of Russia’s unfriendly actions and desperately needs the $135m given by the generous hand of the Canadian prime minister.
European Union officials have also distinguished themselves this week. They decided to allocate €1.2 billion to Ukraine, and for the same good causes. The decision was taken quite seriously, without the slightest hint of a carefully concealed smile. This is how the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, solemnly and beautifully presented the EU initiative: “Today I am announcing a new financial aid package for the country, consisting of both emergency loans and grants. First, the Commission is offering a new emergency macro-financial assistance package of €1.2 billion. This package will help Ukraine meet its financing needs now because of the conflict.
The scale of the tasks is breathtaking without knowing one thing. The declared sum will be enough for Kiev only to patch up some financial holes for a short period of time, and part of it will be scattered among the pockets of officials and oligarchs. In reality, we are talking about ridiculous funds, which Ukraine, despite their alleged purposeful use, will not even notice. Ursula von der Leyen also informed the public that “since 2014, the EU and European financial institutions have allocated more than €17 billion in grants and loans to the country”. A seemingly serious sum, plus IMF tranches and US loans – it would seem that the “biggest agricultural power” should have spread its wings and soared upwards. But no, the country is so impoverished that it is now facing a real threat of famine.
Now let’s talk about financial aid. Bulgaria, the poorest country in the EU, is waiting for a € 6.3 billion loan and it has not yet been disbursed because it has not been planned for its final use. But the money will definitely be allocated this year. Compare Bulgaria and Ukraine both in terms of territory and population.
The support from the United States, which is supplying Ukraine with half a billion dollars worth of non-offensive lethal weapons, seems to be quite serious.
But much has already been said that the effectiveness of the Javelin is greatly exaggerated and the deliveries look more like a decommissioning of a weapon that has failed. As for concrete and important assistance, Washington intends to donate $20 million to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service to organize border protection in the northern and eastern sections. In other words, the Yatsenyuk project has not lost its relevance so far. Who will embezzle the money given by Washington is not that important. The main thing is that a couple more kilometres of barbed wire along the border line will be wrapped around the posts. And that is an excellent result.
I don’t think those who decided to invest this miserable handout in the Ukrainian ruins wanted to offend the Ukrainians. Not at all. Simply European officials, like Justin Trudeau, are thus committing an act of symbolic support for Kiev. It makes no sense to send serious economic help to Ukraine. In a country riddled with corruption it will simply sink into a swamp of general theft. And limiting the aid to a magnificent, albeit slightly obscene, alms-giving is the right thing to do.
Andrei Babitsky