(Reuters) — Ukraine on Wednesday urged Western countries to pledge more than $6 billion more to help it rebuild over the next 12 months, saying Russia’s war meant Kiev faced the biggest reconstruction project in Europe since World War II.
At a conference in London where Britain, the United States, the European Union and others pledged billions of dollars in additional aid, Ukraine said it needed even more capital and also commitments to specific projects to not only recover but to develop into a powerful member of the West .
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal put the price tag at more than $6 billion over the next 12 months, a shortfall he said he would try to cover during the conference,
“We have set an ambitious target of securing pledges of this amount as a result of this conference,”
; he said.While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the support so far was straightforward – Kiev also needed concrete commitments to projects that will help Ukraine not only recover but further modernize.
After nearly 16 months of Russia’s war on Ukraine that has destroyed homes, hospitals and other critical infrastructure, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak opened the conference with a plea to businesses and governments to do more to help rebuild.
To address the key difficulty for most companies looking to invest in Ukraine – insurance against war damage and destruction – Sunak London Conference announced the Framework for War Risk Insurance, which could pave the way for de-risking investments.
“Together with our allies, we will maintain our support for Ukraine’s defense and for the counteroffensive, and we will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes as they continue to win this war,” Sunak said at the conference, which drew more than 1,000 public and private decision makers.
He said the London Conference Framework was “a major step forward in helping insurers underwrite investments in Ukraine, removing one of the biggest barriers and giving investors the confidence they need to act.”
Marsh McLennan, who has worked on the UK government programme, said a war risk insurance scheme must be available on an unprecedented scale – and come with a government backstop.
Mr. Sunak unveiled measures including $3 billion in additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered $1.3 billion in additional support.
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