Speaking via video link at a high-level conference in Lugano, Switzerland, attended by many senior Ukrainian politicians, Volodymyr Zelenskiy admitted the task was colossal, arguing the war was a battle of prospects in which Russia was determined to destroy the physical and the country’s moral fabric. He added that the recovery process led by a Ukrainian national recovery council would allow his country to deepen its ties with Europe. The scale of the project is such that there is a risk of multiple bids from multilateral agencies, as well as tensions between the plans developed by Ukraine itself and those drawn up by agencies such as the European Investment Bank. The willingness of the private sector to invest billions in Ukraine will depend on the country’s security and Ukraine’s ability to resist the clutches of the oligarchs. Denys Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, said Ukraine’s direct infrastructure losses amounted to more than $100 billion, adding that more than 1,200 educational institutions, 200 hospitals and thousands of kilometers of natural gas pipelines, water and electricity networks, roads and railways have damaged or destroyed. . He said ordinary Ukrainians had submitted 200,000 entries to an open government electronic map documenting incidents of disaster. He argued there would be three stages of recovery that together could require more than $750 billion in investment, a third of which would come from the private sector and some from Russian reparations and asset freezes. He said: “The Russian authorities launched this bloody war and caused this mass destruction and they must be held accountable for it.” The first stage would be an immediate implementation plan starting with emergency humanitarian assistance such as restoring water supplies and bridges. a medium-term framework from 2023 to 2025 to bring life back to devastated communities by rebuilding schools, hospitals and housing and finally a long-term modernization vision from 2026 to 2032 for a Ukrainian green digital economy that finally leaves the Soviet era behind , and prepares the country for possible EU membership. The draft framework, consulted on by more than 2,000 experts over six weeks, includes proposals for regional plans funded by overseas states and a 24-sector recovery plan intended to ensure sectors such as household energy and agriculture can meet standards of the EU and ensures an annual growth of 7%. But such is the blow to the Ukrainian economy that Kyiv needs another $30 billion to stay afloat between now and December. Shmyhal insisted that Ukraine’s reform process would continue, arguing that changes implemented before the invasion, including digitization and decentralization of government, contributed to the country’s resilience in the face of Russian aggression. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, presented plans for an EU reconstruction platform to map Ukraine’s investment needs, channel resources, shape strategic options and coordinate multilateral actors as well as private companies. The Commission is considering various ways to raise these funds, including grants and loans, as well as pooled borrowing, similar to the EU’s pandemic recovery fund. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST He repeatedly stressed the need for reforms and transparency from the Ukrainian government to ensure that corruption does not undermine the integrity of any reconstruction program. He said: “We’ve never done it on this scale before,” adding that donors should know not only that their money is serving a good cause “but that it will be spent effectively and efficiently with maximum impact for the people of Ukraine.” Olena Zelenska, the president’s wife, told the conference that future spiritual reconstruction will be as important as material reconstruction. Ukraine currently has 8 million internally displaced people, 6 million forced abroad, most of whom are children, and 22,000 teachers are no longer working. He showed photos of destroyed schools and hospitals and said that in the modern world this could not be seen as someone else’s war.
