Russia has been bombing large parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure for months. Prime Minister Schmyhal explained at a reconstruction conference in Lugano that at least 750 billion dollars are now needed for repairs. The assets of Russian oligarchs should be used for financing.
The Ukrainian government wants to finance the reconstruction of its war-torn country largely with Russian money. According to estimates, at least 750 billion dollars (almost 720 billion euros) are needed, said Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal at the first major reconstruction conference in Lugano in Switzerland.
According to Schmyhal, the assets of the Russian state and oligarchs, which are frozen around the world, should be used around 300 to 500 billion dollars. Lawyers stress how difficult it is to confiscate and spend frozen assets. Judgments before international courts may be necessary. Oligarchs would have to be shown direct responsibility for contributions to the war.
Schmyhal presented around 1,000 representatives of donor countries as well as international organizations and financial institutions with an initial reconstruction plan, hundreds of pages long. But his country also needs financial support from other countries, the private sector and loans. He appealed to partners to tackle the most urgent repairs immediately, such as water supply and bridges. His country has already lost $100 billion worth of infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was connected via video link. “As long as there are ruins, the war will continue, as long as the aggressor believes he can destroy the basis of life, as long as there is no peace,” Zelenskyy said, according to the translator. The European Union will support Ukraine, confirmed EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Europe has a special responsibility and a strategic interest in accompanying Ukraine on this path,” she said. Since the beginning of the war, the EU has mobilized 6.2 billion euros in financial support. “And you know: there is more to come.”
