Zelensky asks donors for $38 billion
European Union: The world must quickly begin to rebuild Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers fire at Russian positions with a mortar shell near Kharkiv.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that the world should not waste time and help Ukrainians to rebuild their country quickly, adding that the European Union is ready to coordinate reconstruction measures by providing a secretariat for this task, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called, The international community is making financial efforts to cover the expected budget deficit of his country next year, at a value of 38 billion dollars.
"We have no time to waste, the scale of the destruction is enormous," von der Leyen said at a conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine held in Berlin.
The World Bank estimates the damage cost at 350 billion euros ($345 billion).
She noted that billions are needed for reconstruction in Ukraine, where thousands of homes, schools, bridges, roads, power stations and train stations have been destroyed, adding that what matters to many Ukrainians now is to have a warm home in winter.
With regard to rebuilding the infrastructure, von der Leyen said that this should be an integral part of Ukraine's path towards joining the European Union, stressing that the Union will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary.
For his part, Zelensky urged European leaders to provide greater financial support to his country, more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his forces to Ukraine.
"It is at this conference that a decision should be taken on assistance to cover Ukraine's budget deficit next year," Zelensky said in a video call, adding, "It is a very large amount, a deficit of $38 billion."
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the reconstruction of Ukraine would be a "generational task" that should begin immediately, even if the war in Ukraine continued.
He believed that the issue "is nothing less than drawing up a new Marshall Plan for the 21st century, the task of a generation that must begin now."
The Group of Seven has already pledged more financial aid to Ukraine in 2023. According to the data, $20.7 billion has already flowed into Ukraine's budget support this year, in addition to military and humanitarian support, and a total of $33.3 billion has been pledged.
The United States is by far the largest donor.
According to data from the German Finance Ministry, Germany is the largest donor to Ukraine within the European Union, with a share of 1.4 billion euros.
Russia still insists that Ukraine is preparing to detonate a dirty bomb, although Western defense ministers have rejected this statement.
Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Washington's refusal to take this matter into account is unacceptable in light of such a threat.
He added, "This is a trend that only indicates a lack of seriousness, and it is an approach that I say is inappropriate given the seriousness of the threat we are talking about."
Russia had accused Ukraine of preparing to detonate a dirty bomb on Sunday, which Ukraine, the United States, France and Britain denied.
On Monday, US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said there was no truth to Moscow's assertion that Ukraine intended to detonate a dirty bomb, and then blamed Russia.
"It is simply not true," he added.
We know it is not real.”
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