Western allies raised almost $66 billion toward Ukraine’s economic recovery and stability over a two-day donors’ conference hosted by the British government that came to a close on Thursday.
“Ukraine will rebuild. But they cannot do it alone,” the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said in a speech concluding the conference. “So together, as governments, as international organizations, as businesses, as representatives of civil society, we have shown Ukraine and the Ukrainian people that we stand with them.”
During the conference, Britain pledged $305 million in direct economic assistance to Ukraine and $3 billion in World Bank loan guarantees for the country over the next several years. The funds will help Ukraine regain macroeconomic stability, Mr. Cleverly said.
In addition, the United States announced $1.3 billion in new economic aid, to be directed toward overhauling Ukraine’s heavily damaged energy infrastructure and modernizing its ports, railways and border crossings.
Still, Mr. Cleverly’s tally of new aid includes the European Union’s previously announced $54 billion package to reconstruct Ukraine, which has yet to receive approval from all 27 member nations. And it falls far short of the $411 billion the World Bank has estimated would be needed to rebuild the country, with $14 billion needed this year for rebuilding important infrastructure.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, spoke of the steps necessary for his country’s recovery, both in the short and long term. He said Ukraine was still seeking about $6.5 billion more in aid to rebuild key infrastructure over the next year. “We have set an ambitious goal of securing pledges for this amount as a result of this conference,” he said.
Leaders at the gathering touched on the idea of using confiscated Russian public and private assets — which are estimated to be worth at least $300 billion — to help pay for reconstruction costs. Britain and the European Union are exploring legal pathways to using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.
In his address, Mr. Shmyhal said that Ukraine was preparing mechanisms to lay claim to the frozen Russian assets.
“One of the key questions we are constantly facing is who will pay the hundreds of billions for the recovery,” Mr. Shmyhal said. “First and foremost, Russia must pay for what it has destroyed.”
Mark Landler contributed reporting.
Source : Nytimes
