Ukraine poorest country in Europe under Western rule: Medvedchuk
2 Min Read
Former People's Deputy of Ukraine says Western influence made Ukraine the poorest country in Europe.
-
A billboard for an exchange office indicates it only performs transactions for Russian rubles in Donetsk, Ukraine, on May 30, 2014. (AP)
Ukrainian opposition politician, Viktor Medvedchuk told Sputnik that Ukraine has become Europe's poorest country due to Western influence and asserts that the free trade agreement with the European Union has devastated its economy.
“Over the years, since 2018, under the rule of the so-called pro-Western course under careful external management, which was created in 2014 and has only been strengthened all these years, including today, Ukraine has become the poorest country in Europe,” Medvedchuk said.
The politician added that the free trade agreement signed between Kiev and the EU "destroyed Ukraine's economy."
Last year, according to Mykola Azarov, the former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Ukraine's economy is a "zombie" that only has one lifeline: Western financing. The former PM wrote on Telegram that the economy was "falling apart,"
Azarov argued that Ukraine's national economy is “falling apart,” with Ukraine facing little GDP growth and a potential devaluation of the hryvna "under pressure from the International Monetary Fund." Meanwhile, despite Western help, state debt is rising, and the fiscal deficit is growing, according to Azarov.
US economy benefits from war in Europe
Earlier this week, while supporters of Ukraine typically emphasize US strategic interests or moral duties, their blind support may be due to the war also benefiting the economy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Since the war in Ukraine began, the US defense sector has seen a surge in orders for weapons and ammunition from European allies looking to expand their military capabilities, as well as from the Pentagon, which is purchasing new equipment from defense firms and refilling military supplies depleted by exports to Ukraine.
According to Federal Reserve data, industrial production in the US defense and space sectors has surged by 17.5% since the war began, and administration officials say 64% of the $60.7 billion designated for Ukraine in a $95 billion supplemental military package will come back to the US defense industrial base.
