Russia-Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian flag flies again on Snake Island; Zelenskiy vows to retake Lysychansk
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Leaders from dozens of countries, international organisations and the private sector are set to gather in Switzerland today to hash out a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who will take part virtually, earlier warned that the work ahead in the areas that have been liberated alone was “really colossal”.
“And we will have to free over 2,000 villages and towns in the east and south of Ukraine,” he said.
It is estimated that more than 120,000 homes in Ukraine have been destroyed during the Russian invasion, creating the need for billions in income to restore the country economically and make it a Europe-faced economy.
Lingering concerns about widespread corruption in Ukraine mean far-reaching reforms remain in focus and will be a condition for any recovery plan.
Lugano is not a pledging conference, but will instead attempt to lay out the principles and priorities for a rebuilding process aimed to begin even as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to rage, according to AFP.
In practice, the scale of the reconstruction will depend on the outcome and length of the war, and whether eastern Ukraine – where there has been the worst devastation – is returned to Kyiv or remains in Russian hands.
The cost of the war is estimated at $1tn if it lasts until the end of the year. The International Monetary Fund has estimated Ukraine’s balance of payments gap until June to be roughly €14.3bn ($15bn).
One of the goals of the conference will be to sketch out a vision of a Ukrainian economy that dovetails with Europe, providing specialisms in agriculture, renewable energy and technology sectors.
One of the most sensitive issues will be a programme of de-oligarchisation and how to entrench powerful anti-corruption institutions at a time when large flows of money from the US and Europe are likely.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Switzerland, Artem Rybchenko, said ahead of the conference that it would help create “the roadmap” to his country’s recovery.
In all, around 1,000 people are scheduled to participate in the conference, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, several government chiefs and numerous ministers, according to AFP.
Rebuilding Ukraine is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) has estimated the damage done so far to buildings and infrastructure at nearly $104bn.
It estimated that at least 45m square metres of housing, 256 enterprises, 656 medical institutions, and 1,177 educational institutions had been damaged, destroyed or seized, while Ukraine’s economy had already suffered losses of up to $600bn.