Allies pledge billions for Ukraine rebuilding and seek investment at London Conference

Ukraine’s allies pledged several billion dollars in non-military aid on Wednesday to rebuild its war-ravaged infrastructure, fight corruption and help pave the country’s road to membership in the European Union.

Stressing the vast scale of the task, diplomats and political leaders at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London urged private-sector companies to invest and revive an economy battered by almost a year and a half of war.

Delegates from more than 60 countries attended the conference, which is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s Western supporters are in it for the long haul.

The World Bank has estimated the cost of the reconstruction at more than USD400 billion, a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of Russia’s invasion.

Politicians from Europe and the US vowed that Russia would one day be made to pay for the destruction though officials acknowledged that day is some way off.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would give more than USD 1.3 billion in new aid, including more than USD 500 million to restore and improve Ukraine’s battered energy grid.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced 50 billion euros (USD 55 billion) in support through 2027, while Britain pledged 240 million pounds (USD 305 million) in aid and 3 billion pounds (USD 3.8 billion) in World Bank loan guarantees for Ukraine. Germany announced a further 381 million euros (USD 416 million) in humanitarian aid.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who addressed delegates by video, said his country needed action, not just pledges.

“We must move from vision to agreements and from agreements to real projects,” he said. Zelenskyy, who is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union, urged Western leaders to have the “courage” to acknowledge that his country is already a key part of their economic and defense alliances.

“We are only waiting for the courage of the alliance leaders to recognize this reality, politically,” he said.

NATO leaders are expected to endorse Ukraine’s membership aspiration at a summit next month, but the alliance is wary of letting the country in while a war is raging.

Britain said Wednesday it would support NATO’s removing of an obstacle to Ukraine’s eventual membership by waiving the “membership action plan” that sets out reforms candidate nations must make before they can join the alliance.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland were offered NATO membership without taking that step.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said “many of the requirements of the membership action plan are actually being delivered” by Ukraine, including armed forces reform.

“I think the UK’s position will be very, very supportive if we moved on from the membership action plan,” he told reporters.