Ukraine: A worthy investment – The Hill

Two years ago, the world stood in horror as Vladimir Putin launched a brutal, unprovoked, invasion to conquer and occupy Ukraine. Today, though headlines largely focus on battlefield gains and losses, the bigger picture is this: enabled by the United States and other partners, Ukraine is incrementally but assuredly building a future firmly rooted in the Euro-Atlantic world, and in the process demonstrating remarkable economic resilience.  

While Ukraine’s economy still has a long way to go to recover from the shock caused by Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion, succeeding in this endeavor will benefit, first and foremost, the Ukrainian people, who have exhibited extraordinary resolve and bravery in defending their homeland and democratic aspirations. But it will also undoubtedly redound to the benefit of the United States and our allies and partners, who have much to gain from a sovereign, independent, and secure Ukraine fully integrated into the Euro-Atlantic family. This is why it is essential for the U.S. House of Representatives to act, and to act quickly to pass the bipartisan national security supplemental which overwhelmingly passed through the Senate.  

Some mischaracterize our aid to Ukraine as a giveaway. Nothing could be further from the truth. American support to Ukraine, combined with the significant contributions of our allies and partners, is instead an investment in a Europe free, whole and at peace, a long-standing U.S. policy, and one of the foundations of Euro-Atlantic security.   

In the immediate wake of Putin’s invasion, Ukraine struggled to grow and ship the agricultural products on which countries around the world rely for basic sustenance. Like millions of their fellow citizens, many Ukrainian farmers had left their fields to serve on the front lines or fled for safety. The Russian Navy began to block Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, by which Ukraine exported more than 90 percent of its agricultural products.The result was that by early March 2022, global wheat prices had risen 55 percent from where they stood just weeks before, with people in developing countries around the world bearing the brunt of this staggering price hike.

Despite Russia’s efforts to crush the Ukrainian economy, Ukraine’s export picture looks markedly different today. Last year, Ukraine exported an impressive 62 million metric tons of agricultural products, contributing over $17 billion to the Ukrainian economy. Its GDP is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year, and that’s on top of growth in 2023 that some estimate to be as high as 6 percent. These results demonstrate the impact of external support provided by the United States, the European Union, and nations in the Pacific, a broad coalition of partners and allies in stabilizing Ukraine’s economy after it contracted by almost a third in 2022. While assistance is still vitally needed for Ukraine to continue to withstand Putin’s attacks, the work we are doing now is paving the way for Ukraine’s economy to continue to recover and for the country to no longer need external support — a goal shared by the government of Ukraine. 

How has Ukraine done it? The answer of course starts and ends with the ingenuity, resilience, and doggedness of the Ukrainian people. But it’s also a story about how smart American investment and diplomacy, with the bipartisan support of Congress and support from our allies and partners, has generated a remarkable return on investment — and one we can’t give up on now.  

In July 2022, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), launched our Agricultural Resilience Initiative, known as AGRI-Ukraine, to support Ukrainian farmers at every stage of agricultural production. This work has included delivery of fertilizer and seeds to over 14,000 farmers, and provision of storage solutions that have preserved 1.9 million tons of grains and oilseeds like sunflower. Our investment in inputs and storage to date has totaled roughly $30 million, and enabled Ukrainian farmers to generate about $500 million in revenue — a hefty return.  

As the U.S. and our allies work alongside Ukrainian farmers to ramp-up food production to pre-war levels, Ukraine has continued to fight back against Putin’s efforts to bomb and blockade Ukraine into economic submission. In July 2023, Ukraine launched a maritime export corridor that closely hugs the country’s coast along the Black Sea. The opening of this corridor, aided in part by American assistance that knits together Ukraine’s export logistics and infrastructure, has had a huge positive impact on Ukraine’s economy. Last month, the Black Sea Corridor enabled over six million metric tons of agricultural exports, getting the country back to pre-war levels. Tax revenues in Ukraine are now 25-30 percent higher than forecasted in the state budget, primarily due to the successful functioning of this export avenue. 

In parallel, USAID is growing Ukraine’s economic resilience by expanding its ability to export via Danube river ports, as well as by road and rail. At ports on the Danube, for example, USAID is providing boats to transport maritime pilots between land and ships, allowing larger grain vessels to access the ports quickly and safely. We are also delivering loaders, trailers, and railcars, designed specifically for grain, to exporters so they can transport larger quantities of commodities via various routes.  

And USAID is helping upgrade border crossing points to enable the export of more goods in the years to come. Improvements to the first nine of these border crossing points are expected to boost exports by at least $425 million per year. Kyiv’s new trade links with Europe have integrated it economically with the West to a degree that would have been unimaginable before Putin’s invasion.  

The sum of these interventions is an increasingly economically self-sufficient Ukraine anchored in the West — a reality that stands in stark contrast to Putin’s dream of a Ukrainian vassal state.   

Helping Ukraine reach this goal, even as Putin seeks to destroy it, is no small feat. But the stakes remain enormous when it comes to America’s strategic interest. Bipartisan assistance, coupled with that of our European allies and partners across the globe, helped Ukraine get to where it is today. Walking away from our support for Ukraine now would be a win for Putin and bullies around the world, an outcome with potentially devastating effects. 

Ukraine has already demonstrated the return on investment our assistance can provide. On this anniversary, we must demonstrate the fortitude to keep it up. That is why it is vital for Congress to provide military, economic, and development assistance for Ukraine. 

Isobel Coleman is USAID’s Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming, overseeing the Agency’s Regional and Pillar Bureaus. As Deputy Administrator, she guides USAID’s crisis response, including representing USAID on the Deputies Committee of the National Security Council, and oversees Agency efforts to promote food security, global health, democracy, and economic growth, and address the root causes of conflict.