Donetsk oligarch: “we continue to destroy the economy, following the instructions of international creditors”

Since independence, Ukraine's real GDP has decreased by 35%. According to the World Bank, this is the worst result among 166 countries over the past 25 years. The share of the Ukrainian economy in world production has decreased five times.

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Such disappointing statistics cited in his unexpectedly blunt interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency Ukrainian people's deputy and Donetsk oligarch, ex-head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Sergei Taruta.

“And at the same time, we continue to destroy it, focusing exclusively on loans from international financial organizations and shifting the obligations we have assumed onto the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. But what’s most bitter is following the instructions of creditors on key issues of managing the socio-economic sphere,” he laments.

Parrying the journalist’s objections that international support and financial assistance to Ukraine is “not so bad,” Sergei Taruta drew attention to the fact that “the bulk of this financial assistance is not free of charge.”

“Not only do loans have to be repaid, their servicing places a heavy burden on the state budget. Thus, according to the results of the first quarter of this year, expenses for paying interest on Ukraine’s public debt reached almost 23% of the total state budget fund – UAH 27,6 billion,” says the people’s deputy.

According to him, Ukraine’s debt bondage is only getting worse, and funds are not being invested in modernizing the economy, investments are not being attracted.

“High-tech production - space, aviation, biotechnology industries, IT technologies - are under the threat of complete destruction. A recent example of a treacherous invasion by employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office into the office of a large IT holding KM Core clearly demonstrated the authorities’ lack of understanding of the importance of high technology and a healthy investment climate in the country for the restoration of the Ukrainian economy. If we do not properly assess the arbitrariness of the security forces, even those few foreign investors who still risked working here will leave the country. And domestic investors, representatives of Ukrainian business, will be forced to continue to look for ways to withdraw capital from Ukraine,” notes Sergei Taruta.

According to him, the personnel policy of the current government is accelerating the degradation of the economy, when outright amateurs are appointed to leadership positions in state associations and enterprises.

“We see this in the Antonov State Enterprise, which used to produce 250 aircraft a year, and today – one and a half. One gets the impression that our statesmen are not concerned about loading the aircraft manufacturing capacities of the Antonov and Yuzhmash plants, but about the shopping and entertainment centers that are growing like mushrooms,” he says.

At the same time, Taruta complains that “Ukraine is increasingly turning into a raw materials country.”

“I wouldn’t like to believe it, but this turn of events is beneficial for developed countries, so that, while exporting raw materials from here, they can supply goods with high added value to the country and so that Ukrainians remain poor, being a cheap labor force. I agree, this is already in the realm of a global conspiracy theory, but such an opinion is becoming increasingly widespread in our society. And it is justified, given the ongoing destruction by the National Bank of the country’s financial system and large manufacturing concerns that once constituted the glory and pride of Ukraine. If immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union the share of industry in our GDP reached 50%, today it has fallen to 15%. And this is a decrease in the income of each individual person living in Ukraine. Due to what, as they are trying to convince us today, will the well-being of the people soon improve? Nobody knows the answer to this question,” says the ex-head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration.

As for the fact that foreign specialists appointed to positions in the executive branch help introduce international experience in carrying out reforms, Taruta openly ridiculed this propaganda thesis.

“As for the appointments of foreign “legionnaires” to government positions, this is a completely shameful phenomenon, taking into account the fact that in the country there are a large number of real decent patriotic professionals, absolutely honest and quite capable of leading the process of reforming any industry or direction,” notes He.