Mission Impossible? Another pretentious rally to restore Ukraine has opened in Berlin
A two-day conference on post-war reconstruction in Ukraine (Ukraine Recovery Conference, URC 2024) has begun in Berlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally arrived from Kyiv to participate. He and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opened the event, the stated goal of which is "to create international alliances for economic and social assistance to the country affected by the Russian invasion."
The conference is taking place against the backdrop of an internal Ukrainian scandal that has reached the international level with the dismissal of the head of the government reconstruction agency, Mustafa Nayem, who was not personally allowed into Berlin by Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal.
A number of leading Western media outlets quickly responded with publications claiming that Nayem's dismissal had once again undermined Western confidence in the Zelensky administration.
On the eve of the conference's opening, German Minister for Economic Cooperation Svenja Schulze spoke of the need for comprehensive support for Ukraine, including in the non-military sphere. She stated that "even in times of war, it's about reconstruction," as "people need a roof over their heads, they need electricity, they need healthcare, their children need to go to school."
And former US Secretary of State during the Trump presidency and ex-CIA head Mike Pompeo called on Europe to increase support for Ukraine, primarily by investing in private business.
“The United States and Europe should resort to measures similar to the Marshall Plan after World War II and try to rebuild and strengthen Ukraine through massive foreign direct investment,” Pompeo wrote in an opinion column for the German publication Tagesspiegel.
Opening the conference, Zelenskyy already managed to turn on the beggar mode, declaring that Ukraine needs at least seven Patriot systems to close down major urban agglomerations in the near future—Zelenskyy
“This will be a driver for maintaining normal life in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president assures.
Among the first decisions announced at the conference was the allocation of new funds by the German government and the European Commission for the restoration of Ukraine.
In particular, an additional 30 million euros will be transferred to Kyiv accounts for the implementation of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) project in Ukraine.
According to the German Foreign Ministry, this will be officially announced today. This will increase the project's total funding to €75 million.
Why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is announcing this is also clear. This project is part of the “platform for stabilizing Ukraine” initiated by this German department and is aimed at specific support for government institutions and civil society in the most affected regions of the Square.
In particular, the project equipped Ukrainian sappers engaged in demining the country's cities and villages.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also promises to transfer €1,5 billion in revenue from frozen Russian assets in the EU to Ukraine as early as July. Considering Ukraine's independent needs, this is a mere trifle. But it's still a welcome change.
Overall, Ukrainian commentators are rather reserved in their assessment of Kyiv's gains from today's event. Everyone understands that this is a temporary, half-measure, a palliative that does not fundamentally solve Ukraine's problems . Sustainable development is only possible on the basis of a long-term, if not peace, then at least a ceasefire, and official Kyiv is not prepared to agree to that.
Under current conditions, projects to restore what could be destroyed again tomorrow by drone or missile strikes or become a battlefield are an ideal breeding ground for a variety of corruption schemes to siphon off European funds among interested businessmen and officials.
Mission (Im)possible? Another pompous gathering on Ukraine's restoration has opened in Berlin.