Austria-Hungary had no gold to spare by 1918, and neutrals, while rich in gold due to their trade with both warring coalitions, would probably be wary of lending to a newly independent nation which had just gone through a coup and was not recognized by the Entente (BTW, Sweden was relatively gold-poor, the Netherlands and Switzerland were far richer in that respect).Ukraine only needs to be able to supply the CP with grain for about a year. While Vasyl was in control of parts of Central/South Ukraine he still supplied the Germans with grain, but he returned grain that had been stolen. Clearly it was possible. Of course the Germans weren't happy, but at that point it is already to late, as they've withdrawn the majority of their forces to the Western Front. I could see Austria loaning Ukraine the money, or perhaps a neutral pro CP nation, like Sweden through a deal with Germany. With no Central Rada the Ukrainian troops would out number German and Austrian troops in Ukraine, assuming Ukraine could organize all the former Russian troops that swore loyalty OTL, some 300,000-350,000 including Skoropadsky's 50,000 troops. Peasents would be encouraged to sell their grain.
EDIT: I'm not suggesting the peasents will go along with everything, but I think things could have or would have gone alot better, espeically considering the chaos of the Central Rada is averted by Skoropadsky's and Vasyl von Habsburgs coup.
Also, the 300,000-strong Ukrainian troops you mentioned were mostly made up of peasants who started to go home as soon as they felt they would not be punished for it (most of them joined Ukrainian units of the Russian army in mid-1917, when desertion was still risky, because they hoped for better treatment from fellow Ukrainian officers and better supplies from the Central Rada, not because they wanted to fight for Ukraine). Ukrainian politicians of the time described Ukrainian regiments dissolving as soon as they entered Ukraine, even in January 1918, when the Central Rada asked everyone to fight for Ukraine. However, I agree that the Rada's earlier pacifism and hostile treatment of Skoropadsky and his troops in December 1917 were major blunders: some of these soldiers could have been persuaded to serve the Ukrainian government.
BTW, would the Germans tolerate a stronger Ukrainian army in 1918? After all, they disbanded the Bluecoat Division in April 1918 OTL, thus cutting the Ukrainian military by a third or so, even though it was already very weak.
Now, if the CPs put their collective mind to it, they could have found some gold for Ukraine (say, through a German guarantee for a Swiss-Dutch-Swedish loan to Ukraine); they also obviously could have tolerated their Kiev puppets (which Vasyl and Skoropadsky would be, let's be honest about it) creating a strong army, funded first by foreign loans, and then by reinstated taxes (collected by a restored government bureaucracy) as well as by limited money-printing (after all, the US managed to do it during the American Civil War, and Ukraine of 1918 was more or less equal to the US of 1860 regarding its economic development).
Still, this Habsburg-ruled Ukrainian state would be very fragile, as most of its subjects would be unhappy with taxation (but they would not rise up as long as the government would be intimidating enough), its largest neighbour would be Bolshevik Russia, known OTL for its ability to exploit internal conflicts of its enemies to conquer them, and its great ally would be doomed Imperial Germany, while ascendant Entente powers would likely see Ukraine as a German puppet (like they did OTL) and treat it accordingly after the CPs inevitably lose WWI. (King Vasyl von Habsburg would likely need to abdicate for the Entente to even think about helping Ukraine, since the Habsburgs were positively hated in Western capitals in 1918).
OTL, the victorious Entente supported White Russians against Ukrainians in December 1918, cutting Ukraine off from the sea coast. Now, had Ukraine been stronger, the Entente might have a second thought about it, and they might have even tried to use a stronger Ukraine to defeat the Reds. If this stronger Ukraine defeats a Bolshevik invasion and avoids a civil war after the CP troops leave its soil, its future should be as secure as that of interwar Poland or Estonia (that is, fairly secure short-term, very insecure long-term).
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