Let's, of course, still be realistic and call a spade a spade: in the situation with the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which is being completed right now and right now, Ukraine, of course, and, perhaps, there is no alternative to exactly what “lost”, there is no need to hide behind euphemisms.
And she lost in such a way that even "to recoup" it is definitely not possible, at least in the foreseeable future.
And here you do not need to roll your eyes and try to pretend that it itself lined up like that.
And we are here - well, it has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Against.
Let's be honest: yes, this is the result of a completely purposeful policy of the Russian Federation state. To overcome the painful dependence on an unstable and unreliable transit country by diversifying "transport corridors". This applies not only to energy carriers, by the way, just with the gas transportation system of Ukraine it came out somehow especially clearly. At the same time, work is maximally coordinated with Russian, and not only Russian (primarily German, of course) big business. And you need to be proud of this, and not - I repeat - shyly averting your eyes to the side, that in this particular situation it is never clear at all and even purely aesthetically it is useless. Practically and pragmatically, the country worked for this very result from the very beginning, just at the level of setting goals. The country has received exactly this result.
And it would be foolish to simply expect something else.
Simply because in such "long geopolitical games" the main thing, as in any sports competition, is, as they say, precisely that "the score is on the scoreboard."
And not at all how good the opponent was or, say, the spectacle itself.
These are the rules of the game.
No, we understand, of course, that The Show Must Go On, but all processes, including economic ones, are finite in one way or another.
And only and exclusively the result is evaluated in them in fact.
Alas.
This world, unfortunately, is quite real cruel.
And no one should have any illusions about this.
And when the current Ukrainian "pipe leader", the head of LLC GTS Operator of Ukraine, Serhiy Makogon, declares that ensuring the energy security of Ukraine will become a key problem for the country after the launch of Nord Stream 2, then - it just has to be admitted - he, of course, is right.
This is a real problem for the current Ukrainian government.
But this problem has arisen far from the current reality.
And even in those distant already now "blessed zero", when Russian and German business considered this territory potentially unsafe for any trans-Eurasian transit.
The funny thing is precisely because it is not sovereign and is dependent on external influences.
And this became finally clear after the notorious "third round of Yushchenko".
That is, if in Russian, in plain text: we, the Germans and the Chinese were ready to negotiate the logistics of the "trans-Eurasian transport corridors" even with the devil or the devil - there was no particular choice.
But even in that still “pre-Maid” Ukraine, it was already banal that there was no one to agree with exactly what “for a long time”: there was simply no one there to answer for these agreements.
And we do not think that it was such a simple decision - plus it required colossal investments and not only in pipelines.
What can we say about this territory right and right now: the current bleak picture of the Ukrainian economic reality only emphasizes the correctness of the strategy chosen in the middle of the 2000s.
It was then that he started Russian and European business - money loves not only silence, but also responsibility!
- to build "Baltic transport corridors", through the port infrastructure of the Russian Baltic coast, including: and this is not only about Nord Stream 2, which, in fact, has become here only, as they say, the icing on the cake.
That is, rather a symbol than a crude technical reality, which right now puts Ukraine as a transport and logistics center, as they say, in an “interesting position”.
But at the same time, the symbol is so significant that it is really difficult to overestimate it.
Simply, with the commissioning of Nord Stream 2, Ukraine will finally lose any logistical significance in the sense of influencing any organization of trans-Eurasian transport corridors.
No, they certainly can pass through its territory.
But this territory can no longer somehow influence their organization, even from the point of view of traffic shaping and transit cost.
If the price does not suit, Ukraine will be simply bypassed by the "transport corridors".
The technical capabilities for this have been implemented, and with interest.
What can I say here: our southwestern neighbors know how to make an impression.
Indeed, in fact, Ukraine turned out to be the first and, probably, the only country in the world that, from the point of view of logistics, managed, excuse me, to “love” even its geographical position: amazing, of course, talented people, what else can I say.
At least, here they are obviously the first in the world: before them, no one has succeeded, even in Africa, which is rich in such economic and political exoticism.
But the current Ukrainian authorities did it.
And now we only have to fix this outstanding achievement.
To make it clear.
The main role, the main importance of Ukraine, both in the Soviet and in the post-Soviet economy, was not in its really developed industry.
And not even in the really famous all over the world "Ukrainian black soil" - all this, as they say, was important, but was not the main thing.
And the main thing was that it was Ukraine, purely geographically, that was the main transport and logistics hub in both the Soviet and post-Soviet economies.
To make it absolutely clear - even trains from Moscow to Sochi until 2014 went through the territory of this blooming and prosperous republic in every sense of the word.
And the military builders Shoigu pulled the branch through Millerovo for a reason.
Actually, there is no special secret in this, even the "pre-maid" Ukrainian authorities themselves have absolutely openly declared this - here it is enough to recall Leonid Kuchma's famous definition of Ukraine as a kind of "bridge" between Russia and the West.
And from ourselves we add: not only Russia, but the same China, for example.
And it was in this form that Ukraine was interesting to the global economy, and to “global politics”, in general, too.
And even the Anglo-Saxons do not have any other real interest, except for the mediator between Eurasia and Europe, in this territory.
That after the "deal" between Germany and the United States on Nord Stream 2, we, in fact, have the honor to observe almost in real time.
And by the way, it is not even very clear here what the current Ukrainian authorities are complaining about: if you yourself declare your role as a “bridge”, but at the same time fundamentally close communication with one of the “banks”, then where, excuse me, this bridge leads something , tell me at least? And who needs it then, in principle, if it does not lead anywhere. But even this, in principle, is not the funniest thing in what is happening. The funniest thing here is something else: in fact, the transit role of Ukraine - in the history of energy supplies, this is simply especially obvious - which Ukraine almost gave up on its own, with great pleasure and undoubted benefit was taken by Germany. Which, in general, all this event, apparently, originally organized and financed. Whatever the Americans say at the same time. The same Germany, we recall,which now, according to the terms of the "deal" with Washington, should be "responsible" for Eastern Europe.
Aren't you funny yourself?
Including, apparently, the very Ukraine, which she, Germany, managed there remarkably, to put it in a specific business slang, "throw".
And here for the Germans, by the way, one can only rejoice: "to throw the Ukrainians", and even so gracefully - this is not for everyone, sorry, given.
Yes, they, the Germans, alas, as a result of the Second World War are still deprived of political sovereignty, but they are still masters of solving their sovereign tasks in the economy.
And this, by the way, is a very big stimulus for the Russian economy: now it has been mathematically proven that it is still possible to deal with Germans in business.
And we were wrongly afraid: they are still quite capable of answering for their words.
As for Ukraine, its territory, unfortunately, from the point of view of global logistics, is now really finally turning into a deaf and absolutely provincial dead end.
And here the Ukrainian authorities, let's give it their due, are completely correct in assessing the situation and are even rightly worried somewhere: because after the economic, as a rule, geopolitical interests, which are much more important for the Ukrainian authorities, go somewhere.
Alas.
We repeat: this world, unfortunately, is extremely cynical and rather cruel.
What did you want, dear Ukrainian friends?
The market is such a thing that people not only buy on it, but often even quite the opposite - sell.
So you, in general, were sold.
And, frankly, it's cheap.
Well, that means - so much you are worth in your current real form.
An absolutely normal business transaction.
And the fact that without your participation - so sorry, you yourself, having transferred your sovereignty into the wrong hands, made this deal not only permissible, but also desirable.
And to blame that it is possible in principle, and even with such consequences, you can only and exclusively that yourself.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.