UK announces fresh support to help rebuild Ukraine

By Linus Aleke
The United Kingdom (UK), has announced a fresh package of support for Ukraine’s recovery effort to bolster its resilience in the immediate term and enable the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine as a modern, stable and resilient democracy.

The UK also, called on the private sector to boost Ukraine’s recovery, and support both urgent recovery needs and galvanise action for long-term reconstruction.

Senior Communications & Public Diplomacy Officer, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office/ British High Commission, Ms. Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, in a statement in Abuja, said, the announcements were made at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in London on Wednesday.

These measures, she further explained, follow the major package of financial support announced by the Prime Minister to bolster Ukraine’s economic stability as it continues to push back Russian forces.

“The event represents a coalition to rebuild Ukraine, bringing together a broad variety of businesses, governments and civil society to unlock the potential of the private sector to support Ukraine’s immediate and longer-term recovery needs. UK support announced at the conference will help kick-start Ukraine’s road to recovery and help lay the foundations for private sector investment. In the immediate term, this means repairing vital energy, transport and social infrastructure and rebuilding liberated towns and bomb-destroyed cities, to bolster Ukraine’s resilience for the months ahead,” the statement said.

The UK said that Putin’s illegal war has caused untold destruction and devastation across Ukraine.

The recent destruction of the Kakhovka dam, it said, has wide-reaching ecological and humanitarian consequences, which has dramatically worsened the situation.

The UK Government added that following the fresh announcements, the UK’s non-military assistance to Ukraine now totals more than £4.7 billion.

Speaking earlier, the UK Prime Minister announced a landmark package of financial support for the country, including $3 billion of additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending, and £240 million of bilateral assistance.

The UK, the PM said, is also working with international partners to provide further new financial backing for Ukraine’s economy, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) looking to raise between €3-5 billion of new capital from shareholders, backed by the UK.

This, he said, has the potential to quadruple investment capacity in Ukraine.

The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly said that as Ukraine enters a second year defending itself against Putin’s illegal invasion, it is vital the global community continues to shows strength of support for Ukraine’s recovery.

“Through hosting this event, we are standing in solidarity with Ukraine and committing our support for them to emerge from the war not only victorious, but as a sustainable, modern and resilient democracy.The commitments the UK has made today will bolster Ukraine’s current and future recovery needs,” he concluded.

The statement said that a memorandum of understanding signed by UK Minister for Europe Leo Docherty and Ukrainian Minister for Energy German Galushchenko, committing UK support to Ukraine’s energy sector and help to secure a green energy future.