Ambassador Melnyk is apparently supposed to move to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

Ukraine needs 720 billion euros for reconstruction

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 on Monday at the first major reconstruction conference in Lugano, Switzerland.

In Ukraine’s infrastructure alone, direct damage of almost 100 billion euros has so far been incurred.

The assets of the Russian state and oligarchs of around 300 to 500 billion dollars should be usedwhich are frozen worldwide, Schmyhal said.

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 1000 representatives of donor countries as well as international organizations and financial institutions with a hundreds of pages thick recovery plan.

Ukraine is aiming for an economic miraclehe said, counting on partners who can not only contribute money, but above all expertise for “smart cities”.

Germany promised the country an additional 426 million euros, according to the Development Ministry. In addition, the federal government is providing humanitarian aid and is stabilizing the Ukrainian budget with over one billion euros in budget support.

But his country also needs financial support from other countries, the private sector and loans, said Schmyhal. He appealed to partners to tackle the most urgent repairs immediately, such as water supply and bridges (dpa, Reuters).

Source: Tagesspiegel

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