Dispute over war spoils has begun, but Ukrainians wont get any benefit at all

WAR promises profits. This is also true for the Ukrainian war. Before an end to the fighting is in sight, the dispute over the division of the spoils has already begun.

Therein lies the significance of the so- called “Expert Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” which took place in Berlin last week under the patronage of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Huge sums are at stake. At the beginning of July, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal put the financial requirements for reconstruction at US$750 billion, while the World Bank and the EU Commission cited the sum of US$349 billion in September.

These figures, which refer only to the first three months of the conflict, are now considered outdated.

And they do not include the billions with which the US and Europe are supporting the Ukrainian military.

A fierce dispute is raging over how such large sums are to be raised and who will benefit from them.

One thing is certain, however. The Ukrainian population will not see any of it.

Whatever ends up flowing will end up in the bank accounts of Ukrainian oligarchs and Western corporations.

The latter not only expect good business from the “reconstruction” but also a dominant influence over the Ukrainian economy.

German corporations, in particular, are waiting impatiently to profit from the consequences of the conflict and to play the leading role in Ukraine in the future.

The day before the reconstruction conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal opened the 5th German-Ukrainian Business Forum.

The Committee on Eastern European

Economic Relations ( Ostausschuss der deutschen Wirtschaft), which organised the forum in collaboration with other business associations and the Ukrainian government, was pleased: “The large turnout at the conference showed the broad interest of German business in getting involved in reconstruction. It was the first such conference in Germany since the start of the war, and at the same time the most high-profile event of its kind to date.”

Working groups of German companies and business associations had written a dossier for the forum, “Rebuild Ukraine,” which encourages the Ukrainian government to “strategically use allocated funds and policy decisions in a way that creates incentives for the private sector to invest and create wealth.”

It describes numerous investment opportunities and breaks them down into construction, logistics and infrastructure, digitalisation, energy, health and agribusiness.

Ukrainian Trade Minister Yulia Svyrydenko promised the assembled business representatives to reduce the role of the state through privatisation.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) enticed them with the prospect: “Ukraine is a premium trading partner for raw materials, energy and as a supplier. It is therefore worth any commitment to bring Ukraine closer to the EU’s internal market.”

The following day, the conference addressed the task of raising the huge sums needed to integrate Ukraine into the EU internal market as a raw materials supplier and subcontractor.

“Even though one should always be careful with historical comparisons, what is at stake here is nothing less than creating a new Marshall Plan for the 21st century,” Scholz and von der Leyen wrote in a joint guest article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. – WSWS