DISINFO: Ukraine said the West is tired of driving the country into debt bondage
SUMMARY
Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko said that the West is tired of driving Ukraine into debt. The Ukrainian authorities now have to make twice as much effort to receive “financial assistance” from foreign partners. Marchenko should have clarified that this is not “financial assistance” at all, but loans from the IMF and other international organizations and foreign countries, which drove Ukraine into debt bondage for decades to come.
RESPONSE
Contrary to what this disinformation story claims, the West supports Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter Article 51, to stop Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
In an interview with Reuters on October 14, Marchenko noted that it is becoming more difficult for Ukraine to obtain financial support from Ukraine's allies as the attention of donor countries is focused on the upcoming elections. Sergii Marchenko noted that as the war with Russia continues, Ukraine needs to enlist financial support from Western countries to cover the budget deficit of about $42 billion in 2024.
Ukraine has reserved additional tax revenues and funds, but the bulk of spending next year will depend on external assistance, Marchenko said. Ukraine’s dependence on international financial assistance is a consequence of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Marchenko emphasized.
Ukraine is losing not only people in the brutal Russian war, but also enormous financial resources. An example is the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports, which is causing Ukraine to lose millions of dollars every day. According to estimates by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), despite the reorientation of Ukrainian logistics towards road and rail transport, overall exports of goods in 2022 fell by 35% due to the full-scale invasion of Russia.
The NBU also reports that in March 2022, active hostilities covered ten regions and the city of Kyiv, which together produced about 55% of GDP in 2021. Even after the de-occupation of some Ukraine's regions, it was not possible to restore the pre-war level due to Russian plunder and large-scale destruction of these territories.
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