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Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears on a giant screen as he speaks at the start of a two-day international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 4.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears on a giant screen as he speaks at the start of a two-day international conference on reconstruction of Ukraine, in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 4. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/ Getty Images)

Reconstructing Ukraine is a “common task” of the democratic world, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday in his opening statement at the “Conference to restore Ukraine” in Lugano, Switzerland – a lengthy conference two days to lay out a roadmap for reconstruction. of Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

“The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project. It is not a project of one country, but a common task of the whole democratic world, all countries can say they are culture. smart,” Zelensky said in the virtual address.

The Ukrainian president also said that restoring his country means restoring the principle of life, “recovering the space of life, restoring everything that makes up man”.

This reconstruction also implies that “an opportunity for our nations and our companies and our experts to demonstrate why freedom is stronger than any tyranny,” he added.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced on Monday that the European Union has proposed setting up a reconstruction platform to help the Ukrainian government rebuild the country after the war with Russia.

“The European Commission proposed to the Ukrainian government to set up a reconstruction platform to map investment needs, coordinate actions, allocate resources and, of course, support a full reform agenda. ambition,” Von der Leyen said during the opening ceremony. ceremony of the Ukraine restoration conference.

“This platform will be where we shape the strategic directions and priorities for our joint work,” she added.

Von der Leyen also said the platform will “focus on future reconstruction, towards climate neutrality, embracing the digital decade.” [and] building a social market economy that leaves no one behind”.

She went on to say that the Kremlin’s aim is to “undermine Ukraine’s existence as a state”, the “military, political and economic devastation” of the country and that the Union Europe “will never let that happen.”

Von der Leyen added that the EU had already raised 6.2 billion euros in financial support and that “much work has to come and there will be more”.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reiterated the need for financial assistance in his speech at the conference, saying that the country’s recovery plan would cost about $750 billion. Shmyhal says the seized Russian assets should be the main source of funding.

“Who will pay for the recovery plan that has been estimated at $750 billion? We believe that the key source of recovery should be the confiscated assets of Russia and its oligarchs. The Russian government started this bloody war. They have caused this massive destruction and they are responsible for it,” Shmyhal said during the conference, adding that “Russia’s frozen assets are, by many estimates, between 300 billion and 500 billion dollars. billion USD”.

According to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, other sources of funding for the recovery plan should include grants and concessional loans from international financial institutions and partner countries, investments of private sector and non-budgetary contributions from individuals and corporations as well as Ukraine’s own budget funds.

The Prime Minister also said that the damage to Ukraine’s direct infrastructure amounted to more than 100 billion USD.

“More than 1,200 educational institutions, more than 200 hospitals, thousands of kilometers of gas and water pipelines and electricity, road and rail networks have been destroyed or damaged,” Shmyhal said.



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