Introduction
Rebuilding the Ukrainian economy after years of war will be a monumental task that the country’s allies and partners know they must assist. Helping Ukraine to prosper should be just as big a priority for those who believe Ukraine’s victory is key to preventing further Russian aggression and sending a cautionary message to other autocrats around the world. While rarely dismissed out of hand, the reconstruction is intuitively seen by many in the West as secondary to the need to help Ukraine fight back against aggression. This is understandable, but neglects how reviving the Ukrainian economy—and the government’s cash flow—also helps the war effort through additional funds, resources, and motivation.
The Ukrainian government is staffed by clever, innovative experts capable of expressing a clear vision of how to reach prosperity. But when the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center and GeoEconomics Center embarked on a weeklong research trip in February 2024 to meet them, Kyiv faced cash-flow problems and high uncertainty over future macrofinancial assistance, especially from the United States.
The situation has since improved, not least thanks to the US supplemental spending law that includes $10 billion of budgetary support—but it’s imperative that the West does not create doubts about its support for Ukraine again in 2025. The macrofinancial assistance meant to keep Ukraine’s government functioning cannot finance the recovery as well. In addition to central government funds, a myriad of Western grants and loans need to be tied to individual projects. The innovative systems designed to implement this are up and running but not always used to their full potential.
Voice of Ukraine 