The London conference on the restoration of Ukraine began with hugs. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba warmly welcomes his German counterpart Annalena Burbock, British Foreign Secretary pats Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the shoulder. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, introducing Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking via video link, calls him a friend and says the UK will be with Ukraine not only during the war, but will also help to recover after the end . Sunak announces $3 billion loan guarantees for Ukraine and a new platform to attract private investment to Ukraine.
“We are launching the Ukrainian Business Pact platform so that the private sector can pledge to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. And I’m happy to report today that more than 400 companies from 38 countries, with a combined market capitalization of $4.9 trillion, have already subscribed.”
Announcements about new funds for the restoration of Ukraine are heard from other countries. The United States is allocating an additional $1.3 billion to rebuild Ukraine, half of which will be used to repair power grids damaged by Russia. The EU promises to support the Ukrainian economy until 2027.
“Until 2027, Ukraine’s budget deficit will remain at 60 billion euros,” said European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. “Furthermore, Ukraine needs an additional €50 billion for urgent recovery. So the total amount that Ukraine needs and has not covered is €110 billion until 2027. Therefore, we have proposed that EU countries make up 45% of this deficit, and we are allocating 50 billion euros for this to Ukraine.
France allocates 40 million euros for the urgent restoration of Ukraine, more than 300 million – Germany. In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, agreements were signed with private companies on specific projects – the Ukrainian government has not yet calculated their total amount. During the latest press briefing, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is slower than expected has not affected investors’ desire to invest in Ukraine.
“Each person’s life matters to us. We will not burn people’s lives in the fire of this war, as the Russians are doing. Therefore, it takes more time for this. But the counter-offensive is progressing, we have to be patient and we will see all the results. And we are optimistic, and we believe that we will liberate all the territory occupied by Russia,” says Shmygal.
According to World Bank estimates released in February, approximately $400 billion is needed to rebuild Ukraine. According to the Kyiv official – about a trillion. Moreover, we are not talking only about the reconstruction of the country to the pre-war level, but about the modernization of the economy and the housing stock of Ukraine, as well as the transfer of the country to energy sources renewables and, as they say at the London conference, “unleash Ukrainian potential”. Ukraine could become a key supplier of clean electricity for Europe, predicts Volodymyr Zelenskyy. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen urges investors to invest in Ukraine like a dream country. At the same time, experts and politicians say Kiev now faces another important task: to quickly rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the housing destroyed by Russia so that it can survive the winter at come. The World Bank estimates that more than $14 billion is needed for this urgent reconstruction.
“There are urgent needs in Ukraine that absolutely must be met this year to ensure that Ukrainians have heated homes, that there are schools that are heated and that Ukraine can continue to function as a state. “The winter season is approaching very quickly. We are at the end of June and we don’t have much time to prepare,” says Anton Antonenko, Vice President of the Analysis Center of DiXi Group.
According to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, of the 14 billion dollars needed for the country’s urgent recovery in the next 12 months, 6.5 billion dollars were missing before the conference. However, following the results, Denys Shmygal assured that he was certain that the G7 countries would help raise the missing money. Encouraging statements for Ukraine were also made on the prospects of EU and NATO membership. Almost all conference participants assured that Ukraine would be in the EU, while France and Britain said they would support an accelerated procedure for Ukraine’s admission to NATO after the war.
One more thing that all speakers at the conference agreed on: Russia will eventually have to pay for the restoration of Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen promised that before leaving for the summer holidays, the European Commission will present a plan on how to mobilize frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.
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