Andrew Hammond

Opinion | Why Ukraine’s badly needed rebuilding must wait until war is over

While the war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unlikely to end soon, European leaders already have an eye on reconstruction

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A police officer inspects the rubble of a building hit by Russian shelling in Orikhiv, near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine, on June 10. Intense fighting has left parts of Ukraine in dire need of reconstruction, but any large-scale rebuilding likely will have to wait until the conflict ceases. Photo: EPA-EFE

Andrew Hammond

Published: 4:30pm, 18 Jun 2024

Around 80 countries, including Ireland, reaffirmed their support on Sunday for Ukraine’s territorial integrity as the basis for any peace deal with Russia. However, a sustainable peace agreement appears as far away as at any stage during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

What was most striking at the peace summit in Switzerland, apart from the absence of China and Russia, was the continuing prevarication of the Global South towards Ukraine. Several of those nations – including India, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, all members of the expanded Brics grouping – declined to sign the joint communique at the end of the event.

Yet, while a peace deal is unlikely this year, there is growing momentum towards the issue of Ukraine reconstruction. This was underlined at last week’s separate Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, which saw multiple new big financial commitments.

Take the example of the European Union, which built on the more than US$100 billion the bloc has already provided in financial, humanitarian, emergency, budget and military support to Kyiv. New announcements last week included signed agreements worth €1.4 billion (US$1.5 billion) with partner banks to attract investments in Ukraine from the private sector and delivery of an additional €1.9 billion from the EU’s Kyiv aid facility by the end of June.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Ukraine Recovery Conference that Kyiv badly needs equipment for heating and electricity plants that are currently out of action. According to the president, 9 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity have been destroyed, including 80 per cent of thermal power and one third of hydroelectric power.

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Hostilities in Ukraine show no sign of ending soon. This is why European leaders want post-war reconstruction to become more prominent on the political radar again, especially ahead of the Group of 7 (G7) summit in Italy. Many Western leaders view the international stakes of Ukraine’s rebuilding as so big that failure could have profound consequences for Ukraine, the broader region and the wider West.