With each passing day, it becomes increasingly evident that Western support for Ukraine has become ensnared in various domestic and geopolitical developments that have nothing to do with Ukraine’s struggle to defend itself. As Russia’s war of aggression approaches its second anniversary, it is crucial to establish a more resilient and stable funding mechanism.
Although economists rarely agree on anything, there is a broad consensus that the cost of failing to provide Ukraine with enough support to win the war would be far greater than the cost of assisting it. But the current funding model relies heavily on tense last-minute negotiations among lawmakers in the United States and the European Union, and the resulting uncertainty inflicts enormous costs on Ukraine’s economy and undermines its political stability.
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The vulnerability of Western support for Ukraine to domestic political infighting suggests that a centralized decision-making system would be more effective than the current funding process. The goal of such a system would be to protect Ukraine from the effects of its allies’ internal challenges, distractions, and dramas.
It’s almost like people in charge want a proxy war but don’t want to fund it.
