How long will it take for every person on that panel to realize, that all they’ve been reproducing over one and a half hours is ukrainian propaganda?
One lifetime? Two lifetimes?
It’s such a bliss seeing all those over 60 year old diplomats rediscovering genuinely ukrainian talkingpoints all by themselves (and a little help from their ukrainian friends) and then managing to convince themselves, that thats actually what they are thinking as well, because of a rational deliberation processes they’ve engaged in.
Then of course you also need an almost 60 year old “former journalist” to motivate the audience to clap, because why not what else would they do? Produce actual journalism?
Lets go through this, while we have the time to do so, why not?
Whats the russian win condition in a war of attrition?
Keeping the ukrainian economy in a dysfunctional state for as long as possible, so the ukrainians who have fled don’t return for another two to three years.
Children get integrated into the western educational system, returning to ukraine seems like a worse and worse idea for the actual people who have fled, over time, and the reunification process therefore reverses and more people (the men) actually flee the Ukraine at the end of the process, rather than reimmigrate.
To counteract that, Ukraine HAS TO start the rebuilding process while the war is still ongoing.
To attract investors, they now have proposed, and started to implement a flat tax of sub 20%.
But to also attract half of the country, and coincidentally the younger more educated half, they now have to invest massively in new infrastructure projects - and film PR spots of the kindergardens they will construct, to have any messaging for the not so well off classes at all.
There are still no new plans on how to diversify the energy infrastructure, because you cant at scale (if they invest in solar right now, it takes Russia about 4 months to delete half that investment - considering how long it took Russia in the past to do so, in the Ukraine, last year).
Private investment in theory is possible, because Ukraine opted to 10x their grain export business as a way of futureproofing their landowners bankrolls, as soon as it had open borders to do so, so the investment in most of their industries still remained outstanding.
So now the infrastructure reconstruction push is currently put into place, where they also negotiated meetings with private investors, who will shortly visit the Ukraine by train to consider how they can help in rebuilding the (energy) infrastructure.
So if you are russia, you look at those trains. You look at the four stops those congregations make in the next two to three months, and then those projects become your primary targets for disillusioning the western investor class.
Those and the new steelplants of course that the Ukraine plans to build in western regions of the country.
And then you wait. And destroy the energy infrastructure.
And as long as you can keep up disrupting the new Ukrainian economy, wanting a sense of safety will win out over the fear of being drafted, and the want to thrive in an economy, with half the people, who now has implemented a flat tax, but oh so high growth potential, if russian rockets dont hit.
And after about ten years, you have also lost the next generation of expats, in an aging country - with a flat tax, whose energy infrastructure once in a while might still be targeted by russia, and which still needs a victory - because, well neutrality was off the table after Butscha of course…
I mean what could go wrong? Everyone on the panel is very optimistic!
Because its the strength of the over 60 year old austrian diplomats on this panel to identify for themselves, that “thinking that this all ends on day 0 when the war is over” is wrong argumentatively, and it can all be over once businesses just change their risk assessment procedures to see all the great growth potential of a country at war, with a flat tax.
So far - thats 8 billion USD worth of private sector investment after the London investment conference, right?
So whats the next speaker in Vienna selling, following that unique strategic investment plan?
A human centered rebuilding of their infrastructure. In a country where the median age has now just increased by four years, with a flat tax, and a PR push that they will be building more kindergardens soon, so the population should not be afraid to get more children, or even think about leaving the country…
Because this all ends, as soon as we in the west invest, and Putin starts to realize, that we will integrate the Ukraine into the EU no matter what it takes, and that Russia has already lost!
Ok, so what if Russia manages to destroy the first foreign investment push and demonstratively so?
Another 50 billion for infrastructure rebuilding before the second one?
This all ends when the war is frozen, and not one day earlier.
And if that takes too long, say goodbye to your next generation.
Or do you want to establish that good “revisit ukraine, to see your dad suffering from PTSD curled up in the corner of the room, we will have all that flat tax money to help him tough it out!” massaging first? Probably not.
But thats not as positive, as panel II on Ukrainian Statehood made it sound… How come?
Because I’m underestimating the motivational power of repeated propaganda messaging?
Now clap for the new ukrainian slogan: Please dear population and investors, return to a warzone. Our country is so big, you will hardly notice it.
Or was it - come to Ukraine, as a country at war, we have very low wages, and our median pension is just 100 USD a month. Dear Expats, please return to our country, for ample growth potential!
Also we would like to talk with your companies risk assessment department, if you dont mind.
Slava.
This is getting better by the day.
edit: Es gibt aber natürlich auch wieder gute Nachrichten: Schallenberg sieht in der Pressestunde “Risse im russischen Gebälk”
Na Gott sei Dank.
edit: Context:
[United Nations Development Programme] Uncovering the reality of Ukraine’s decimated energy infrastructure
A new countrywide energy assessment confirms damages exceeding $10 billion, with Ukraine’s capacity to produce electricity reduced by 61 percent. But with no let-up on attacks on energy networks, where does Ukraine go from here?
src: click
edit2: More Context:
Livelihoods
The majority of households reported that the work of their household members had been affected since the start of the full-scale invasion, primarily due to job loss, salary cuts, and reduced working hours.
Most households reported a decrease in income, with IDPs and returnees being particularly vulnerable in this respect. There has been a decrease in access to paid work, as well as an increase in reliance upon humanitarian and government assistance, alongside support from friends and relatives (including remittances) as primary sources of income. The majority of households reported engaging in economically driven coping strategies to meet essential needs, such as spending savings, acquiring additional work, and reducing health expenditure in order to meet other essential needs. Households reported that they could continue engaging in taking on additional work, but could not continue spending savings, reducing essential health expenditures, or taking on debt. Geographically, the impact of the war on livelihoods has been felt most greatly in the Southeastern macro-region.
src: click
