A few years ago, even with occupied Crimea and the war in Donbas continuing, Ukrainians would complain that too much money was spent on defense; in this, Ukraine was much like other nations. That attitude is now close to extinction — infrastructure repairs or bright communal projects have provoked a backlash. There’s a war on, you know.
Sometimes, of course, taxpayer-funded purchases simply look corrupt: take the recent story about a $19,000 deep fryer (with a built-in touchscreen) for an air raid shelter, or the idiotic purchase of toy drums “for psychological relief.”
The backlash is furious. “Spending money on drums, flowers, didactic materials about wind energy, stadiums, and other nonsense, while we need drones, special vehicles, and while thousands of people have no roof over their heads, is a crime and treason. All the possible and impossible funds should be redirected to the survival of the people and the state as a whole,” says Evgeniya Podobna, a journalist and writer states.
She focused on two projects in particular. The first will replace the Soviet coat of arms on the Motherland Monument sculpture in Kyiv with the Ukrainian coat of arms. The second is finishing the second phase of the Museum of the Holodomor (the Soviet-organized genocide of the Ukrainian nation that led to the starvation of at least 4 million people.)
“The museum and the replacement of the coat of arms are definitely needed. But they can wait. Because if you spend money on them, and not on defense, then the newly constructed museum building will soon become a ‘Special Military Operation’ museum, and the Motherland Monument might soon be decorated with a Russian tricolor,” Podobna says.
Ukrainian authorities explain that replacing the coat of arms on the Motherland Monument is actually funded by businesses. Those 28m hryvnias (about $760,000) are designed to rid the landmark of the Soviet emblem before Independence Day on August 24. However, Ukrainians have been making merry with the issue, producing memes where the monument’s shield says “Buy drones!” and similar.
There is a profound sense that with the county at war, such gestures distract from the key aim — defeating the Russian invader. Even if the money does not come from the state budget, people want efforts focused on war aims rather than discretionary projects.
“We need to stop burying money for defense in the swamp; to take it away from those who don’t read the news”, says Yuriy Mykhalchyshyn, an army officer and former MP.
The national outcry, mostly visible on social media, threatens to damage the political establishment if not stopped. “Pouring funds into bizarre projects could be dismissed as escapism or wishful thinking. That can be explained, but cannot be confined to simple bureaucracy, stupidity, corruption . . . But the draining of financial resources also raises — less obvious, but possible — questions of Russian sabotage or subversion. Because actions which afflict the image of Ukrainian authorities might be benefiting Russians,” Mykhalchyshyn says.
The government has taken note. Davyd Arakhamia, chairman of Ukraine’s ruling party, called on local officials to curtail spending on non-essential projects that do not bring Ukraine closer to victory.
“We in the parliament are actively discussing the idea of limiting the use of these funds, but the only thing that stops us is what we know: when we do it, you’ll start shouting loudly about the ‘attack on decentralization’, that ‘the government is attacking local self-government’ and spreading other similar messages”, Arahamia stated. He added that this was the government’s “final warning.”
The issue is perhaps not as clear-cut as it seems. On one hand — aside from the drums — it is sad when a society can’t “allow” itself even basic things without a sense of guilt – things like taking down the coat of arms representing our murderers. Things like repairing a road.
On the other, that is the spirit of the time. And it’s good that people feel that pressure and remind the authorities about their duty. Not the other way around.
Lera Burlakova is a Democracy Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA.) She is a journalist and former soldier from Ukraine. She served in combat from 2014-2017 after joining the Ukrainian army following the Russian invasion of Crimea. Her war diary “Life P.S.” received the UN Women in Arts award in 2021.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.
