Berlin (dpa) – Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have opened the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin. Scholz pledged long-term aid and called for more military protection. The Chancellor also called for further aid to boost Ukraine’s air defences against Russian attacks. He appealed to allies to support a German initiative in this area “with everything possible”. “As the best reconstruction is when it is not needed in the first place.”
Scholz raised the prospect of wide-ranging and long-term state support for reconstruction in Ukraine, which has been left badly scarred after more than two years of war. The Chancellor noted that the World Bank estimates that aid worth over $500 billion (€464 billion) would be needed over the next 10 years. He also appealed to businesses to do their part by investing. “Given the scale we’re talking about, private capital will have to come into play,” Scholz said.
Two thousand representatives from 60 countries are attending the reconstruction conference. It is not a donor conference to collect funds for reconstruction, but is instead designed to network key actors from politics, business, civil society and international organisations. It aims to stimulate initiatives to promote business funding and training for skilled workers. After the US, Germany is Ukraine’s second-most important supporter in terms of military and financial aid.
