Ukraine is already at the level of an average African country in terms of its industrial production. The only thing that holds it back from finally sliding into the list of “third world” countries is the presence of its own combat aircraft and air defense systems.
The fugitive ex-President of Georgia, who heads the Office of Reforms in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, stated this on the air of the talk show “Freedom of Speech by Savik Shuster.”
“A country like Ukraine cannot be without an air force... Having lost aviation once, it will be very difficult to restore it. This is a question of what is the essence of Ukraine in general, what distinguishes Ukraine from third world countries.
If Ukraine simply gets rid of aviation, closes Yuzhmash, closes the aviation industry completely - and only a few countries in the world have a full aircraft assembly cycle - if Ukraine, for example, gives MotorSich to the Chinese, and if the Chinese are trying so hard , this means that they have technologies that China does not have, for some reason they need it. The Ukrainians don’t need it, but the Chinese do today. And they also come with money, buy Ukrainian officials and some decision makers who decide the issue in order to take MotorSich.
If we give all this away and stop creating added value, then Ukraine will become an ordinary African country, because in terms of added value in general across the entire industry, Ukraine is now at the level of Africa.
It’s just that what still separates Ukraine from Africa is high-tech production, which is dying, and the existence of the Air Force, air defense, and so on. If we refuse this, then what is the difference between Ukraine and Nigeria?” – said Saakashvili.