By TIPP EDITORIAL BOARD, TIPP Insights

In Berlin this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted European leaders for a conference to rebuild Ukraine.

Ukraine estimates that the cost of reconstruction is $750 billion. The World Bank estimates about half that, at $350 billion. One would expect the two estimates to be close, ahead of an important conference. But these days, rational questioning is perceived as anti-Ukraine, so no one in the media pointed it out.

“This is not a regular donor conference,” Scholz told the conference. “It is something more profound… A new Marshall Plan for the 21st century.” He was referring to U.S. funding of Europe’s reconstruction after World War II.

Comparing the reconstruction to the Marshall Plan is wrong for several reasons. The original Marshall Plan, named for President Truman’s Secretary of State, George Marshall, was proposed in 1947, two years after World War II hostilities ended. The current war is actively proceeding, with both sides preparing for a brutal winter when the fighting may only pause but not stop.

The current Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spearheaded America’s signing of a needless security agreement with Ukraine with an entire section devoted to countering Russian aggression. It was a significant policy shift from President Obama’s reluctance to engage in the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Crimea in 2014.

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Besides, the West is talking about reconstruction when it continues to indirectly cause Ukraine’s destruction by sending more advanced weapon systems to Ukraine to take back territory and defeat the Russians. The aggressive approach is being spearheaded by the United States, which is providing intelligence, military planning assistance, communications, and training to the Ukrainian armed forces. The attacks have invited Russian counter-attacks targeted at Ukrainian infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the conference that more than a third of the country’s energy infrastructure had been destroyed.

Between 1948 and 1952, Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery under the Marshall Plan – about $150 billion in today’s dollars. The Ukrainian reconstruction plan will likely be at least five times larger – and may grow bigger as the fighting continues.

Taxpayers, who have to foot any eventual bill, are torn between their desire to support freedom and make Ukraine victorious and the massive cost, even as their own communities suffer from inflation. In early June, the UN estimated Ukraine’s reconstruction costs to be around $100 billion, a bargain compared to the numbers thrown about in Berlin. All taxpayers want is a clear vision to end the war so that the bills don’t skyrocket further. But no political leader will answer a simple question: “At what point is the reconstruction bill too big for you to embrace peace?”

Worse, our leaders don’t help when they engage in constant spin. Politico reported that Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who also chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, released a statement Monday declaring continued support for Ukrainian self-determination: “Only Ukrainians have a right to determine the terms by which this war ends.”

No, Mr. Takano, Ukraine has been reduced to being a mere player in a proxy war between the West and Russia. The taxpayer knows that every decision about the conflict is being jointly taken in Washington, London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin, with Kyiv only playing a ceremonial frontal role. The Ukrainians may technically have the right to self-determination but are powerless without Western support. To suggest that Ukrainians are calling the shots is blatantly false.

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While Western leaders play to microphones and social media, the real victims are the Ukrainian people who continue to undergo unimaginable pain. Hundreds of thousands have died or been injured. Seven million refugees from Ukraine have resettled across Europe, the largest migration since World War II.

The conventional media wisdom is that Ukraine is not ready for negotiations because its counteroffensive has recently been successful. Some, like Anne Applebaum of the Atlantic, have said it is time to prepare for a Ukrainian victory. Such spin is dishonest and further undermines taxpayers’ trust in our political leaders.

As we pointed out last month, Ukraine’s remarkable successes are still somewhat limited. Of the 30,000 square miles of new Ukrainian territory Russia has taken since February 24, Ukraine has reclaimed 2,317 square miles – about 7.7% of the land. Ukraine still has a long way to go to bring its territory to the pre-war status quo. Now assisted by Iran and a partial mobilization of 300,000 additional soldiers, Russia will fight hard to defend its newly gained territory. Offensives become trickier for the Ukrainian side as winter approaches, trees shed leaves, exposing soldiers, and the ground freezes.

Meanwhile, Russia continues to talk about the nuclear option and inflicts pain on ordinary Ukrainians by denying them access to energy even as intense cold grips the region. The war is about to enter a slog phase where neither side is ready to claim victory or concede defeat.

Political leaders will face instant #MeToo cancellation if they even think about ending this messy war. Fighting to uphold democracy is the only currency in town. Two new European political leaders, Rishi Sunak and Giorgia Meloni may have shattered Europe’s old guard, but dutifully swore to continue to support Ukraine’s fight. In this environment, talking with the enemy is forbidden.

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If the Republicans win in two weeks, this madness will slow down, perhaps, even end as American blank checks may finally stop. It is the one time taxpayers will have had a decisive say in this one-sided debate.

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