U.S., West pledge billions for Ukraine reconstruction

The United States and European countries on Wednesday announced billions of dollars in new recovery assistance to Ukraine aimed at addressing the staggering destruction wrought by Russia’s invasion.

The pledges, made at a two-day gathering of world leaders in London, added to the already unprecedented outpouring of Western support for Ukraine. But they amounted to only a small fraction of the $411 billion that the World Bank estimates is needed to rebuild the country.

The European Union will provide $54.5 billion in aid for 2024 through 2027, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. “Brick by brick, house by house, school by school, together we are with Ukraine for the long haul,” she said. She did not specify whether the aid would be grants or loans.

The United States will provide an additional $1.3 billion in the near term, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, bringing U.S. contributions to Kyiv since Russia invaded to $64.3 billion. “The United States will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes - and that includes being by Ukraine’s side as it recovers from this catastrophic Russian aggression,” he said.

Britain said it would provide guarantees for $3 billion worth of World Bank loans to help with the rebuilding.

While the West has sought to reassure Ukraine that the country will be rebuilt and that Russia will be made to pay compensation, the war - and the destruction of the country - continues. It is unclear when Ukraine will be able to start largescale reconstruction, and so far there are no clear legal mechanisms to seize Russian funds.

“It’s clear Russia must pay for the destruction that they’ve inflicted,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. “So we’re working with allies to explore lawful routes to use Russian assets.”

Britain, long a haven for Russian oligarchs’ wealth, has faced pressure to revise its laws to allow those assets to be seized to fund Ukraine’s recovery. A senior aid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the government should confiscate oligarchs’ mansions, country estates and Britainbased assets to help pay for the reconstruction.

“It must be Russia which is held accountable and must pay,” Vladyslav Vlasiuk, a sanctions expert working for Zelensky, told British media this week. “Assets which are here in the U.K. and other jurisdictions are easily accessible. We would like to see those confiscated and sent to Ukraine for reconstruction.”