Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine
Diplomats and business leaders from dozens of countries met in London on Wednesday to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine, a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion — a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of the 16-month war.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce a new U.S. assistance package at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who addressed delegates by video, said his country needed action, not just pledges.
“We must move from vision to agreements and from agreements to real projects,“ he said.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told delegates from governments, businesses and charities that Ukraine is a “huge investment opportunity” despite the mounting destruction from Russian attacks.
“In fact, the war has only proved how much Ukraine has to offer,” Sunak said, citing Ukraine’s tech sector, which had its best-ever year in 2022.
“As we’ve seen in Bakhmut and Mariupol, what Russia cannot take it will seek to destroy,” Sunak said. “They want to do the same to Ukraine’s economy.
“The scale of the challenge is real, the war brought a 29% fall in Ukraine’s GDP last year, but just look at the streets of Kyiv. Despite the threat of attack, people are getting on with their lives -– and getting on with business.
