The Aftermath of War: Ukraine Needs $524 Billion To Rebuild

According to the newest report from the World Bank, rebuilding Ukraine after its devastating role as a pawn in NATO's proxy war with Russia will cost about $524 billion dollars - this after "billions and billions" have already been spent just to support the bloody war effort.

Of course, reconstructing buildings, schools, homes, and infrastructure is one thing - but rebuilding lives? That's quite another.

The sorrow and loss both the Ukrainian and Russian people have experienced in this Western-provoked war is incalculable. There is no monetary value that is enough.

People have lost their families and friends and had their entire lives uprooted. I personally know people on both sides who have been affected.

Truly, in so many of these conflicts, it's the normal people who suffer while the insulated elite reap profits and gain points in their deadly games of international chess.

And the reaping of profits couldn't be more true with so much missing and unaccounted for in the billions sent to Ukraine for the war effort. Not to throw shade on Ukraine in comparison to other countries, but it is, in fact, a notoriously corrupt country and money disappears easily.

Much like in the United States.

But there may be some hope.

The Trump administration's deal with Ukraine to receive 50% of the profits from the excavations of their rare earth minerals (which we will be investing in), on the surface, appears to be a money-grab reimbursement of a conflict we enthusiastically encouraged Ukraine to engage in. However, word is that this money will be managed by a committee in the United States that will then use it to responsibly re-invest in the rebuilding of Ukraine - so it doesn't all just get taken by corrupt Ukrainian elites.

Of course, I imagine we'll take some icing on the cake as well for our own profits, but at least there's the potential for the money to be better managed and used in a responsible way.

Zelensky is said to be due in Washington on Friday to sign an agreement with the United States on this very matter. This deal will essentially assure U.S. investment in Ukraine's economy for the long-term.

While this will of course be mutually beneficial from an economic angle, it is often economics that brings about armed conflict and one can only hope that this will not end up being a stumbling block for permanent peace between the West, Ukraine, and Russia. Sometimes the best intentions turn into the worst outcomes.

But if our leaders are wise (unlike previously), perhaps relations can be repaired, future war can be averted, and peace and prevail.

For such one can hope and pray.