More than 60 countries are participating in the conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine which is being held over two days in London. The World Bank estimates that more than 40,000 million euros will be necessary to relaunch the country’s economy, although other estimates multiply that number by ten.
“As we have seen in Bakhmut or Mariupol, Russia ends up destroying what it cannot conquerand they want to do the same with the economy of Ukraine”, warned the “premier” Rishi Sunak, as host.
“Russia must pay for the destruction it has caused”Sunak stressed. “But we allies have a responsibility to help rebuild just as we have done with military assistance. Ukraine’s incredible spirit must prevail. Today we plant the seeds of its future.”
“The scale of the challenge ahead is this real: Ukraine’s GDP sank 29% the first year of the war,” added Sunak. “But just look at the streets of kyiv, where people go on with their lives, despite the threat of attacks (…). The courage shown by Ukraine on the battlefield must be matched by the vision of the private sector to help rebuild the country.”
Sunak announced from the outset a new aid package for Ukraine, with 2.8 billion euros in a line of credit from the World Bank and 280 million euros of bilateral assistance for the maintenance of public services, schools and hospitals.