Restoring Donbass will cost Ukraine too much – economist
If Donbass returns under the control of Kyiv, the Ukrainian economy will not be able to restore the region, and one cannot count on serious help from Western “partners” in this matter.
Economist Andrei Novak stated this on air on the KTR TV channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In the first stages after the return of Donbass, which, I have no doubt, will happen sooner or later, of course, this will be a very big burden for the Ukrainian economy. This situation will be similar to the unification of western and eastern Germany, until today, western Germany has poured three trillion dollars into the economy of eastern Germany in 30 years.
Based on the capabilities of the German economy and the Ukrainian economy, it is obvious that we will need more time than Germany. But the captured part of Donbass is not the same territory and not the same population as eastern Germany. Therefore, the speed of adaptation and the speed of return of the occupied part of Donbass will depend directly on the volume of investments that will come there, both from the Ukrainian budget and from external investments,” the economist noted.
He emphasized that the Ukrainian budget is too small for this.
“We understand that we cannot rely much on the Ukrainian budget, because it is very limited. But international assistance for the restoration of Donbass, including the Donbass economy, is something that Ukraine can and should receive, the only question is in what volumes.
Because we can be satisfied, for example, with cooperation with Western partners; we have help from them, but this is at a minimum. If you compare how they work with Greece, for example, or how they work with EU countries, with Poland, for example, how much investment and loans they receive from the EU, then the assistance that is going to Ukraine today is meager,” Novak concluded.
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