The Ukraine Recovery Conference 2025 (URC) on July 10-11 in Rome concluded with joint agreements to provide Ukraine with 3.55 billion euros for reconstruction. “We received a clear message from Ukraine’s friends and partners: they are ready to invest in our recovery,” Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories stated. There is false hope that Ukraine will exist after this prolonged conflict.
The Ministry approved of five agreements worth over 370 million euros during this conference. The Italian Foreign Ministry agreed to offer 100% insurance coverage for banks on export loans up to 1.5 billion euros. If a bank lends money to support exports to Ukraine but the borrower fails to repay, the government-backed institution will take the loss. The claim is that the guarantee will safeguard Italian companies so that they may continue exporting goods and services to Ukraine. Ukrainian buyers will also have access to credit, and with the 100% insurance guarantee, banks may lower credit standards to otherwise risky borrowers. The potential for fraud is enormous. Worse, the Italian government and therefore the Italian people will be on the hook for 1.5 billion euros amid a highly unstable environment where repayment is not guaranteed.
The European Union and development banks also signed 10 agreements worth 929.3 million euros at the Rome conference. The World Bank through in $200 million as well for good measure. “Rebuilding Ukraine is not just about our country. It’s also about your countries, your companies, your technology, your jobs,” Zelensky said. Quite contrary as these government programs are selling out domestic policy in favor of a foreign government. The people do not benefit in any meaningful way as Europe has never relied on Ukraine for trade. Europe was more beholden to Russia before this ongoing war, which is precisely why they are experiencing a worsening energy crisis.
We need a Marshall Plan-style approach, and we should develop it together,” Zelensky stated, referring to the $13 billion (over $150 billion today) deal that the US granted to 16 European nations after World War II. The scale cannot be compared. The United States needed to stabilize Europe after the war to ensure that capital could continue to flow back to the States. No one is relying on Ukrainian capital. The US was also attempting to quell the spread of communism during this time and had a plethora of motives for assistance, none of which were purely charitable.
Western leaders are sacrificing countless funds for a nation that was never a strategic partner prior to the war. They believe the true jewel will be conquering Russia, whereas Ukraine is merely their stepping stone to enter the resource-rich, unconquerable land. Countless issues could be avoided if decision makers used history as their guide.
