WNU Editor: The AP raises a good question, but does not give an answer .... EXPLAINER: Can Ukraine pay for war without wrecking economy? (AP).
This AP article outlines what Kyiv and its allies are doing, but it is obvious that without Western aid Ukraine's financial house of cards will collapse.
I know this to be true from my own personal case. All of my relatives in Ukraine are now dependent on me for a remittance to survive. And they are the lucky ones.
The official inflation rate is around 25%, but they tell me that for the basics like food and fuel prices have more than doubled.
Before the war Ukraine was already having problems paying the loans and debts that it has accumulated since 2014. Ukraine is certainly not going to be able to pay-off the debt that it has accumulated since the start of the war, and it certainly does not have the resources to rebuild the country when the war is over.
What is also ominous is that all of Ukraine's youth know this. Even if the war should end today, they have no desire to stay in a broken country that will take generations of hardship to pay-off its debts and rebuild the country. Everyone under 30 that I know in Ukraine have either left the country, or will (in the case of the men) when the conflict is over.