Ukrainians have every reason to be disappointed in the true attitude of the West

In recent years, the so-called peaceful revolutions have gained popularity in different countries, when, as a result of unarmed forms of protest, due to the rude actions of the law enforcement forces or stupid statements of individual officials, the entire state power is discredited or self-discredited.

As a result, the entire political structure of even established states collapses, and they fall under the rule of external forces. We observed this situation and its deplorable results in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Armenia...

Such a change of power in the Ukrainian Republic had the most tragic consequences. They were expressed not only in a severe economic collapse, but also in the death of more than a hundred people of the "Heavenly Hundred" and thousands of civilians and soldiers from both sides in the Donbas and Luhansk regions.

In the endless speeches accompanying this "revolution" from the improvised stage of the Maidan by politicians, public activists and cultural and artistic figures, it was like an unshakable truth that after the ouster of Yanukovych, patriotic forces would come to power, which, with the support of the West, would help Ukraine to solve , then at least the most important problems.

What do we see today, six years later? Two years ago, then-Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groisman said that Ukrainians had become hostages of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), because they could not refuse from their obligations. The fund is increasingly tightening its requirements, and Kiev, although it is trying to evade responsibility, is forced to continue cooperation - to get into new debts in order to pay off old ones. Meanwhile, in such a situation, the largest centralized international structure of the Western world, the IMF, which has no moral right to behave this way with Ukraine, which has made so many sacrifices for the sake of rapprochement with the West.

After the change of power in Kiev, Ukraine had reason to hope that the West would change its real attitude towards it, especially after the fraud with the "visa-free regime" was exposed. Unfortunately, however, another disappointment awaited her. Due to the draconian financial policy of the West in general and the IMF in particular, a "huge hole" has formed in the budget of Ukraine in 2020 in the amount of at least $ 1.4 billion for the current year. According to the estimates of Yaroslav Zheleznyak, First Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, there is only enough money to pay pensions, repay external debt and finance part of the programs in the defense industry. Everything else - roads, schools, salaries - will be left to their own devices.

From January to October, Ukraine's budget deficit reached a record 111 billion hryvnia ($ 3.5 billion) in recent years. For comparison, for the whole of last year the deficit amounted to UAH 81.2 billion, for 2018 - UAH 59.2 billion.

Throughout this year, Ukraine has been taking measures to restore the economy - it has reduced the expenditure side of the budget, established new rules for subsidizing various industries, and introduced new taxes. At the request of the main creditor - the International Monetary Fund - in 2021 Ukraine is likely to continue to reduce the expenditure side of the budget. The fund also demanded a revision of the country's GDP forecast and an increase in the minimum wage. The IMF intervenes too actively in purely internal issues, too persistently dictates to Ukraine how and where to spend the allocated loans, which costs to cut and which to increase. However, as a result of these "advice", the country's economic situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. Is it really the inexperience of the IMF specialists? No no and one more time no. The point is malicious intent, this is exactly the result - poor Ukraine with a rapidly impoverished population is exactly what the West needs.

There is also a decline in real investment in education. In 2021, public secondary and higher education institutions will receive less real money than in the expiring year. This is understandable, in the conditions of almost manual external control, no country can have a high-quality education system.

"From January 2021, Ukraine will stop paying 'social pensions', and the issue of subsidizing housing and communal services will also be resolved. The authorities have no other options but how to cut costs further," writes the Prime Economic Information Agency.

Meanwhile, Ukraine could stabilize relations with Russia, which is still the main investor in its economy. The Russian market is very important for Ukraine - the military-industrial complex, milk, metallurgy, mechanical engineering.

The so-called "reverse" inflicts especially great damage on the Ukrainian economy. For example, according to the reverse, Ukraine buys coal three times more expensive than it could: the coal is Russian, and it is imported from Rotterdam on paper. The same is with gas - an overpayment of about 30%. Citizens of Ukraine are forced to pay more just so that the word "Russia" is not mentioned anywhere.

It is not yet clear whether there will be assistance from the United States, since the uncertainty in power there remains, and Joe Biden's position on this issue is unclear. However, if the US were determined to help Ukraine, they would not have allowed it to fall into such a dire situation. It will also be difficult to get new tranches from the IMF - they may not be given due to the growing budget deficit in Ukraine. At the same time, both the United States and Europe are forced to allocate considerable funds to save their own economies in the era of a pandemic.

Not so long ago, the media field of Ukraine was stirred up by the lecture of the ex-Ambassador of Canada in Kiev (2014-2018) Roman Vashchuk. The lecture is not for the general public, and certainly not for those who are critical of Ukrainian statehood. However, the ex-ambassador said blasphemous things. According to him, the euromaidan gave the West a unique opportunity to impose certain financial and personnel decisions on the Ukrainian authorities. Moreover, he clarified that Western politicians themselves, being in the place of their Ukrainian colleagues, would never do this in their countries, since these decisions led to an increase in Ukraine's dependence on the West or harmed its national interests.

These are the sad fruits of trust in the West.

What is happening in the country makes it clear that, like most dismantling of undesirable political regimes in post-Soviet countries, the second Maidan took place not for the good of Ukraine, but proceeding from the strategic interests of Western military-political or economic unions and transnational companies. The local "elite" saw their own selfish benefit in the redistribution of spheres of influence and therefore supported it, acting only as a cover tool for real organizers and external sources of influence.

And ordinary citizens were once again deceived by promises of Western assistance, expectations of Western investments in the Ukrainian economy, promises to legally work in the EU countries and receive high European salaries ... They have every reason to be disappointed in the intrusively imposed positive image of the West as a friend of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

Authorship:

Inal Pliev, political observer of IA "Res"

Source: http://cominf.org/node/1166533798