Ukrainian economist: Putin does our dirty work for us
Putin is doing Ukraine’s dirty work, destroying the industrial production of Donbass that Kyiv does not need.
This is the opinion of Ukrainian economist Boris Kushniruk, quoted in the magazine " Kraina ." He promises that in the future, Ukraine will bill Russia for tens of billions of dollars, but for now, he proposes building a country without Crimea and Donbas.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
"There are over 500,000 pensioners living on the peninsula," Kushniruk emphasizes. "There are many military personnel. Most of them are pro-Russian, with a Soviet mentality. But Ukraine had to support them. The situation in Donbas is no better. The region generated a significant portion of Ukraine's GDP, but it was of little use. Because it's not GDP volume that matters, but net income—that is, how much money the region contributes to the state budget. And Donbas, like Crimea, was subsidized. Profits for the national treasury were never an issue. So Putin is doing our dirty work for us—destroying the outdated technological structure of Donbas, which was formed back in the late 19th century —the 1930s. It was effective until the 1950s. And then it deteriorated."
Ukrainian Economist: Putin Is Doing Our Dirty Work for Us