Despite the ongoing threat of war
Kyiv is in a hurry to rebuild
By Juliane Kipper
12.06.2024, 16:10
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Ukraine wants to push ahead with the reconstruction of the country despite the ongoing war with Russia. Germany and other countries support the plan. Experts also think that the timing is right. But it will take years until the power supply is restored, for example.
With the high-level Ukraine reconstruction conference, Germany wants to give the country attacked by Russia a longer-term perspective beyond military aid. Reconstruction is not planned for the post-war period, but should begin now.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for rapid investment from companies at the conference in Berlin. “Don’t wait until the war is over,” Kuleba told business representatives. Zelensky said Ukraine offers a “big market” for foreign companies. “Many partners from all over the world will leave this conference with contracts worth billions of euros,” the president said confidently.
According to Julian Bergmann, research associate at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability, the timing for reconstruction is quite reasonable. “It is important to tackle reconstruction now in order to support the daily lives of Ukrainians in times of war and also to ensure the survival of Ukraine as a state and society,” said Bergmann in an interview with WDR. Of course, it is important to support the country militarily, but he also attaches equal importance to short- and long-term civilian support.
In response to criticism that rebuilding the energy infrastructure, for example, is a bad investment because Russia will continue to attack these targets, he replied that the basic requirement is to ensure security and strengthen Ukraine’s air defense. “Ultimately, Ukrainians have no choice but to invest now,” said Bergmann. In many Ukrainian cities, electricity is currently only available for a few hours. Investments must therefore be made in repairing the power grids as quickly as possible.
“It will take years to restore supplies”
This reconstruction should be as sustainable as possible. That is why investments are now being made in decentralized power supplies, which will then be less vulnerable to Russian attacks. According to Bergmann, the goal is also a better energy mix. Investments are also being made in solar systems and heat pumps. But we also have to be realistic. “It will take years to restore the supply. Now it’s about finding a solution for the coming winter as quickly as possible,” said Bergmann.
Russia has been relentlessly attacking Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure with missiles and drones since its invasion in February 2022. At times, millions of people were left without heating in freezing temperatures. According to the state-owned electricity company Ukrenergo, it could take years for the country to fully restore its electricity industry.
At the reconstruction conference, Germany not only declared its willingness to continue supporting the Ukrainian energy sector. Berlin also wants to mobilize private capital for Ukraine by providing additional risk protection. Without this, things will be difficult: “Reconstruction will only succeed if the international community and the private sector work together,” said Christiane Laibach, head of the German state development bank KfW.
Specifically, a new international alliance was founded to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. They are the backbone of the Ukrainian economy. The aim of the new alliance is to “help small and medium-sized enterprises in times of war and make them fit for reconstruction,” it said. The founding members are to provide financial investments, political advice and capacity-building programs.