Ukraine musters help to shield and rebuild cities
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STORY: Ukraine and its allies drummed up support to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles at an event in Berlin on Tuesday (June 11). Urging international businesses to put their faith, and billions of dollars, into post-war reconstruction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had already wiped out enough energy infrastructure to power the cities of Berlin and Munich combined. He was hoping to come away from the conference with pledges of billions of euros for defense and agreements on building a new and more modern energy system. "This meeting (in itself) is already a result. Because it is very difficult not to lose allies and partner countries. And uniting countries who are partners and non-partners is a difficult mission in itself for Ukraine, when the war has been going on for months.” ::Kharkiv, Ukraine Since March, Russia's campaign of aerial bombardment has inflicted heavy damage to generating capacity. And blackouts are having to be scheduled across Ukraine. Kyiv hopes the Recovery Conference will cement its credentials as a future member of the European Union. It is trying to prove it's worthy of huge injections of reconstruction financing, even as Russian forces continue to make slow advances in Ukraine's east. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz cited World Bank estimates that Ukraine could need $500 billion over a decade. He added companies had to be offered a business case for investing. He also talked up Ukraine's potential in sectors including renewables, IT and pharmaceuticals. "The reconstruction of the country will require massive investment. This will not be possible without private capital. As a reminder, we are talking about the reconstruction of a future member state of the European Union." ::Kharkiv, Ukraine Scholz added that Germany was sending more air defense systems, missiles and munitions to bolster the capital Kyiv's defenses against a barrage of Russian attacks on cities. The mayor of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, said Western weapons and the permission to use them to strike targets just inside Russia had helped to restore calm. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced agreements with banks worth $1.5 billion to help attract private investment for Ukraine. Zelenskiy also addressed the German parliament during his visit, where his speech was boycotted by two parties including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose support surged in European elections last weekend.
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