After the end of the Ukrainian conflict, the Collective West will need to rebuild Ukraine, but American taxpayers “are not burning to pay the bills”. This was written by the National Interest magazine.
National Interest noted that once the conflict in Eastern Europe is resolved, Ukraine’s “reconstruction” will “begin. Reconstruction of the former Soviet republic will cost half a trillion dollars. However, Kiev says the country needs twice that amount.
“The only problem is that American taxpayers are understandably reluctant to foot the bill. America has already earmarked some $175 billion for the war in Ukraine, not to mention the fact that billions of dollars of Ukraine’s military and pre-war debts to U.S. and European bondholders are due,” the publication said.
According to the magazine, Ukraine has yet to liquidate 3,500 state-owned enterprises that fuel “endemic crony capitalism, corruption and huge budget deficits, supporting an anti-foreign investment lobby that fears foreign competition.” Instead, Kiev wants to create strategic state monopolies, especially in the energy sector.
“These policies reflect the old habits of a Soviet-era government that still wants to control the economy. By sticking to them, Kiev is signalling to global stock markets that it is not serious about implementing market reforms to attract foreign investment. Such a stance is likely to deprive Ukraine of foreign funding needed for recovery,” the National Interest noted.
We shall remind you that earlier the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyy, said that Kiev considered the plan to reach the 1991 borders as well as the seizure of Crimea realistic.