BERLIN (AP) — Germany hosted a conference Tuesday to rally support for Ukraine’s recovery from the destruction wrought by Russia’s war, signaling renewed solidarity with Kiev at the start of a tense diplomatic week.
The two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin follows a similar gathering in London a year ago and comes ahead of this weekend’s G7 summit of Ukraine’s main Western allies in Italy and the World Peace Summit in Switzerland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France last week, is also due to attend the rally, which German organizers say is expected to attract 2,000 people from politics, business and other sectors.
“Even amid the current war, Ukraine needs to continue to rebuild homes, water pipes, hospitals and power grids,” German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said in a statement. “People want to continue living in their country and for that they need electricity, water and a roof over their heads.”
Orban: Western war hawks only want to exploit Ukraine’s natural resourceshttps://t.co/W55ixVYTud
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 11, 2024
The task of supporting Ukraine’s short- and long-term recovery “is too big for the government to tackle alone, which is why we are explicitly inviting business, civil society and local governments to the forum,” Schulze added.
Among other pressing problems facing Ukraine, sustained Russian attacks on the power grid in recent weeks have forced leaders in Kiev to implement rolling blackouts across the country.
In London last year, Ukraine’s allies pledged billions of dollars in non-military aid to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, root out corruption and pave the way for Kiev to join the European Union.
The focus on reform will remain central this year.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure that Ukraine has a seat at the European Union table as soon as possible, because that is its best protection, in addition to our military support,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
On Monday, Mustafa Nayem, head of Ukraine’s National Reconstruction Agency, announced his resignation on Facebook. He cited “systematic obstacles preventing the effective exercise of my powers” and accused the government of bogging down the agency with bureaucracy.
Ukraine has been without a minister for reconstruction since Oleksandr Kubrakov was fired in May, and Nayem complained that the Ukrainian prime minister had barred him from attending the Berlin conference.
Zelensky is due to address the German Bundestag on his third visit to Berlin since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. The president delivered a video address to lawmakers just weeks after the start of the war.
The Ukrainian president last visited Ukraine in mid-February, when he signed a bilateral security agreement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, one in a series of deals the allies have made with Kyiv to show their long-term support.
