Most eyes are on the fighting in the Donbas as Ukraine’s counteroffensive appears to get under way. But far from the front lines, a vital discussion is taking place in Western capitals: What will it take to rebuild Ukraine when the war is finally over?
According to most estimates, Russia has already inflicted an estimated $400 billion in damages on Ukraine, which is twice the country’s GDP in 2021. And that figure is only going to rise every day the war continues, a fact starkly illustrated by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in eastern Ukraine this week.
This has all sparked serious and high-level discussions about establishing a Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine after the war. But where is all that money going to come from? How is it going to be distributed? And what safeguards will be attached to it to prevent corruption?
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Josh Rudolph, a Senior Fellow and head Malign Finance at the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy and co-author of the recently published report “Toward a Marshall Plan for Ukraine” and veteran journalist Casey Michel, author of the book American Kleptocracy and the recently published article “Make Russia Pay.”
Enjoy…
SHOW NOTES
The audio clips opening the podcast and the second segment came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech on June 5, 2023. The translations are as follows:
“A strong state, a free state, a modern state, a state pleasant to live in.
We are laying the foundation for this now. Everyone who fights for Ukraine. Everyone who works for Ukraine. Everyone who helps.”
“Everyone in the world who helps the terrorist state circumvent sanctions in one way or another, everyone in the world whom Russia uses for the supply of weapons, components, equipment – each such entity must feel the full force of the free world.”
The report from the German Marshall Fund, “Toward a Marshall Plan for Ukraine,” which was discussed on the podcast, can be accessed here. Josh Rudolph’s other work at the German Marshall Fund of the United States can be accessed here.
Casey Michel’s article in The Atlantic, “Make Russia Pay,” which was discussed on the podcast, can be accessed here. Casey Michel’s other work can be accessed here.
Information about the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be held in London on June 21-22 and was discussed on the podcast, can be accessed here.