Zelensky says his country needs action, not just pledges
(From left) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President of Estonia Alar Karis, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at the conference in London. Pic/AP
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.
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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 allies are in it for the long haul.
The World Bank has estimated the cost of the reconstruction at more than $400 billion, a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of Russia’s invasion. Politicians from Europe and the U.S. vowed that Russia would one day be made to pay for the destruction — though officials acknowledged that day is some way off.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, 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.
Russia says it shot down three drones
Two drones were brought down outside Moscow as they approached the warehouses of a local military unit, Moscow region Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said on Wednesday, in what could be Ukraine’s latest attempt to strike targets inside Russia. The two drones came down near the village of Lukino. The wreckage of a third drone was reportedly found about 20 km. No damage or casualties were reported.
$6.2 bn extra aid due to accounting error
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years—about double the early estimates—resulting in a surplus that will be used to support Ukraine in its latest counteroffensive.
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