Interesting statistics. Sobering.

Great that the US sent $54 billion of our money to the most corrupt country in Europe to support, uh..."democracy."

You didn't mention that Ukraine is one of the leading countries dealing black market weapons. And that was before the war.

Why are you keen on Ukraine joining the EU?

I'm not sure that all the Eastern European countries that joined in the last 20 years or so have made the EU stronger. Certainly it has been good for big companies - banks in particular. For one anecdote I've watched local Romanian banks disappear to be replaced by big central European banks. Is that better for the Romanians?

I don't know for sure. You can be trading partners without having to be in the EU.

I think Ukraine has a VERY long way to go. Plus there is NO WAY to judge Ukraine as a country while it is actively in a war. What if in 2 years Ukraine is another 25% smaller and landlocked? That certainly will have an effect on their economy.