Ukraine will not wait for the end of the war to rebuild the country, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday. At an international reconstruction conference in London, he demanded that the money come from frozen Russian assets.
Almost all participants agreed that the Russian government should pay for “the crimes and destruction it has committed in Ukraine”. Foreign donors have already pledged 60 billion euros for reconstruction. A large part (50 billion euros) of this comes from an EU aid package that must be provided in 2027. The US government announced 1.3 billion dollars (equivalent to 1.2 billion euros), which should mainly flow to the energy sector and infrastructure.
donor conference “not planned”
“It was not our intention for this to be a donor conference,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said at the end of the conference on Thursday. “Nevertheless, today we can announce a total of EUR 60 billion in aid to Ukraine.” The conference was the second of its kind and the private sector should also be involved. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal thanked the supporters for their financial help. “We will start rebuilding Ukraine this year,” he said. His country is not waiting for the end of the war.
Further aid from the EU
The conference on reconstruction in Germany will take place next year. The EU recently made another 1.5 billion euros available for hospitals, schools and refugee shelters in Ukraine, among other things. In addition, it must be guaranteed that the country can pay wages and pensions, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
Since the start of the war, the EU has paid more than €70 billion in aid to Ukraine. “There is more to come. We have just proposed to continue financial support to Ukraine until 2027,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. From 2024 to 2027, 50 billion euros must flow into Ukraine’s financial reserve. The 27 Member States still have to agree to this proposal. The Ukrainian government would have to meet conditions for the money, such as strengthening the rule of law and disclosing where the money goes.
Source: Krone
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